Scottish/Jamaican | Cypriot/Danish
My Mum is Cypriot & Danish and Dad is Jamaican and has a Scottish Grandad. They met at school; they were friends first. Initially, they said they both liked the same music. I know my Dad was a DJ at the time. They were also both pretty creative. My Mum was always into art and studied textiles, my Dad was always into music although he studied maths and IT at university. They are also both big food lovers.
They had a lot against them in the beginning. My Mum's Dad (Cypriot) was extremely strict and quite old fashioned. He didn't approve of my Mum and Dad's relationship so they had to have it in secret. When they finally made it public, he told my Mum he would take her out the will if she continued to see him. It was essentially a 'my Dad or him' situation. She chose my Dad. As a result, her Father didn't speak to her for ten years. Zero contact. It's insane to think about now because he is such a huge part of our lives. As the story goes, he showed up on Christmas when I was about two and acted like nothing had happened. Ever since then he has been amazing and I think he hugely regrets what he did, but the past is the past and it was a very different time then. If I loved someone I would be with them no matter what race or religion.
I think, unfortunately, the majority of racism is structural and severely ingrained within society. It's low-level things, too. Things you wouldn't think about or even notice. I think a lot of it is learned behaviours and stereotypes which I do feel like we are finally starting to change. This year has been huge in terms of moving forward and I think we all feel positive about the future.
I wouldn't say I have ever hidden my background, but I have been in situations before where I knew the person or people I was with didn't know I was mixed-race. I feel so privileged to have grown up in an era where interracial couples are considered to be completely normal and are accepted, especially when I think about how much my Mum and Dad had to go through to be together. Though I have dated other races, my boyfriends have been White and I am very lucky that we have never had to face any discrimination.
There is an overlap here for sure, because I would say a lot of these things used to be challenges to me, but now I see them as positive things. Being unique and not looking like everyone else is something I used to hate, but now I love. I have been very lucky in that I have never experienced any overt racism, but there have been a few comments in the past which have upset me.
I went to Jamaica when I was really young, which is slightly annoying because I can't remember it. I have been to Cyprus loads of times and I love it there. I have lots of family out there.
When I was in school I was ridiculously insecure. I didn't ever experience any racism or bullying or anything like that, but I was acutely aware that I looked very different from the majority of the people at my school. The girls that were considered pretty were petite, Blonde and didn't look anything like me. At the time, I remembered thinking I was so unattractive and that no boys would ever fancy me. It sounds ridiculous now, but for a really long time, I had no self-esteem. When I went to uni things changed and I was a lot more confident, but I would say it's only really now that I've fully come to accept the way I look and love myself. The things that make me unique, things that I used to hate, are now my favourite parts of myself. It has been a long journey.
I have always worked in the magazine industry and the majority of my colleagues have been White. It has gotten slightly better in the last few years, but when I first started out I don't remember meeting anyone who was mixed-race or Black. I don't know whether or not this is to do with racism or money. When I say money, I mean the fact that breaking into the world of magazines is extremely tough. You have to intern and work for free, sometimes for years. Although, this is less a racial thing and more a privilege thing, I guess this deters people from going into these jobs because they can't afford to. Depressingly, the way that society is run does often mean that ethnic minorities are less likely to live in overly wealthy areas etc, so perhaps this is the reason why, rather than because of their race. I was very lucky in that I only had to work for free for a month at the start of my career. If it had been any longer, I wouldn't have been able to continue. Saying that, I was paid terribly for about four years.
If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would want to return the same. If you had asked me this question in school my answer would probably have been very different, but now I wouldn't change a thing. I feel very lucky to have been born in a time where being mixed-race is completely accepted. I know that just a few years before my time it wouldn't have been that way. That being said, I think the most change has been in the last couple of years and it is definitely only going to get better. I have high hopes for the future!