Top 10 Biggest Challenges that Come with Being a Part of an Ethnic or Racial Minority

While I live in a diverse place, being Chinese in white-dominated America can be challenging and different. To be specific, about 4.8% of Americans identify as Asian/Pacific Islander, while over 70% identify as Caucasian.

This is not to diminish the significance of Caucasians in America. There are just certain challenges they will never have to face.

I don't represent the feelings of every person who is part of an ethnic minority. I'm simply shedding light on my personal experience.
The Top Ten
People may make fun of you or paint you with stereotypes

Dealing with classic jokes was hard as a kid, but it's even worse being stereotyped or put into a box based on something beyond your control.

Someone recently asked me, "You sound posh, are you sure you're black?" My skin color is black. It does not determine my accent, clothing, or location.

Perhaps the worst part is that there are many idiots who find it amusing to persecute minorities.

As a child, you feel out of place, but for reasons you can't put your finger on

You're blind to race as a kid, but you know you don't belong, and you don't know why. It leads to a lot of confusion and different coping mechanisms.

I'm a straight, white male in a free country. I guess I'm pretty privileged.

Straddling two cultures, you're never fully accepted into either

I wasn't "white enough" for my friends or "Chinese enough" for my relatives. Whatever the heck that means.

You may resent your heritage because of the complications it causes

This happens to me. There is a term for people like me: ABCD, meaning I was born in America but have South Asian heritage, typically Indian. America and India are polar opposites. India is rooted in tradition, whereas the USA is trend-focused. This duality creates chaos for ABCDs as we struggle to choose between tradition and trends. I chose the latter, but whether it was the right choice remains to be seen. One thing I can say: I'm proud to be Indian-American.

There's seemingly no one you can truly relate to

I am half Kenyan and half Swedish, and most of the people in my friend group, class, and sports team are white Scandinavians. They often don't understand my struggles or insecurities related to my ethnicity and can be somewhat ignorant.

No one looks like you in books, TV shows, movies, or magazines

As a Caucasian female, I don't experience this, but I can see how it could be annoying. Although I've known I'm bisexual since I was 3, I don't see much representation. It's either gay or straight in the media.

Don't take it for granted. I never looked like the people in movies. My family never acted like the families on television. I assumed we were just odd.

Nobody looks like people in magazines in real life, but when it comes to another ethnicity, it's blown beyond even that proportion.

You may try to mask your ethnicity or mimic natives to feel included

My sisters and I have all felt this. Not knowing what set us apart, it was natural for us to try to change ourselves to fit the surrounding mold.

You wonder why your parents are so different from your friends' parents

Why did my parents never use the oven or dishwasher, buy everything in bulk, or let us turn on the air conditioning? Why did I grow up eating rice balls, moon cakes, and red bean paste instead of grandma's cookies and mac and cheese? Despite it all, it was my upbringing, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Love and accept your parents for who they are, no matter what!

You don't wear or own the things your friends do, which makes you feel outcast

Sometimes it's good to be the outcast!

If there is a language barrier, you may never be able to build strong relationships with your relatives

Not applicable to every race, but personally, the drastic differences between Mandarin and English make fluency extremely hard. I can get by on my limited vocabulary, but it's not enough for thought-provoking, intimate conversations with relatives I wish I could be closer to.

The Contenders
Instead of saying your name, people refer to you by race or skin color

That's a bit racist, but it also depends on how people define you.

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