French | Parsi
My parents met at the party of a mutual friend. As a child I remember they travelled a lot for work. My Mum's family lives in France and some of my extended Indian family live in India. When I was younger (White) parents would often take pity on me and I was really defensive. My parents had an incredible work ethic and worked to make money while raising three children. It also meant sometimes I'd get to visit my parents abroad, and even when I didn't, I grew up with a perspective beyond Britain. It was difficult not being able to see my Bonne-Maman and rest of my family as often as those living in the UK though because it's too expensive to visit and you lose time with them.
I didn't really have a concept of being mixed-race growing up, other than ticking the government forms. I thought of myself as both French and Indian, not a 'mix'. Then later I learnt about being Parsi from my teenage years I'd say. Being mixed-race can feel like a constant struggle trying to convince people you are X enough and it's draining when it comes from within your own family and friends too. But my parents travelled a lot for work, we didn't have loads of money and I grew up in a commune. So I'm lucky to have been raised as fiercely independent with my immigrant family's work ethic. Ultimately that has defined me the most. The older I get the more I use these values to reclaim mixed-race liminality as positive rather than abject. Maybe it's why I like travelling so much.
When I was at secondary school I hid parts of my Indian heritage because of discrimination. When I travel I don't normally share that I'm British because even though I was raised in Britain, it doesn't represent who I am.
People have used terms like intrepid & extrovert to describe me, but I'm the opposite. I'm a loud introvert who talks too much. I wonder if they said the same about the male students. Independent, as well as ‘White really’. Some even call me a hippie based on my upbringing.
A lot of our cultures are shared through my family re-telling stories and showing photos on both sides. Then there are the more obvious things like wearing Indian jewellery and throwing a choli on jeans. On my Indian Parsi side food is a really big part of the family, from dhansaks to Falooda. We also celebrate Nowruz. Though I'm not Zoroastrian my Grannie's 'good words, good thoughts, good deeds' hopefully has rubbed off on us! Certain Gujarati phrases are used in the house. On my French side we have a nice (but not roast) meal on Christmas Eve as that's when the French celebrate and grew up with galete de roi and French speaking.
In Journalism there's increasing emphasis on bringing in minority communities, but often it's fairly tokenistic and performative. So if you're not dark enough you're less useful for their image.