English | Thai
I was recently recruiting for a position in my team and I was told by HR that I couldn't conduct all of the interviews as they needed 'more diversity'. It was at that moment that I realised how actions to promote diversity and inclusion can inadvertently have the opposite effect. I felt that my identity had been invalidated for not being visibly diverse enough, and it made me question how often someone needs to re-state all parts of their identity publicly.
Growing up in London, I didn't even realise being mixed-race was anything notable. I had so many friends of different ethnicities, and within my own family, every single one of my cousins was a mixed-race with links to Thailand, The Philippines, The Caribbean, Spain and England. I first became aware of being 'othered' when I went to visit universities as a teenager, and suddenly realised I was the only mixed-race person in the room. It was a strange feeling, and the first time I felt the question 'where are you from?' meant 'why are you not fully White?' rather than being inquisitive about my background. I don't think society has moved on, I think the rest of the country has caught up with London.
I've always felt connected to Thailand, despite not speaking the language. It's something I'm proud of and am happy to share that side of myself. A few years ago my sister and I were really excited when we went on our first trip to Thailand without our family and explored parts of the country we have a connection to. I should have expected it, but we kept overhearing 'falang', the Thai word for foreigner and always had to insist that we were both Thai when local people asked. It was harmless in the long run, but moments like that make you question how strong the links to your heritage are.
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