“What Are You?” Navigating Mixed-ish Challenges and Opportunities in Social Work

by Kelly F. Jackson, PhD, MSW

     A 12-year-old girl and her two younger siblings reluctantly enter the cafeteria of their new school for the first time. It is almost impossible not to notice the awkward stares and cupped whispers from other students in the room. Then, a brazen question from one of the perplexed pupils seemingly brings the activity in the cafeteria to a standstill. A boy, his faced wrinkled in confusion asks, “What are you weirdos mixed with?”

     This is actually a scene from the first episode of the ABC family comedy Mixed-ish, which premiered in September 2019 and follows the experiences of a mixed-race pre-teen named Bow and her interracial family during the 1980s. However uncomfortable the episode, it is not much of a departure from reality for many. The scene loosely reenacts true experiences for the increasing number of multiracial individuals and families with whom social workers interact every day. It is also another rueful reminder of why social workers and other helping professionals need to expand their understanding of diversity in ways that are inclusive of multiracial individuals and families.

     The soul-baring question, “What are you?” is frequently directed at multiracial people who are racially ambiguous or whose observable characteristics are difficult to assign, however biased or oversimplified, to a particular racial group. On the surface, asking this question of another person seems harmless, but in reality, such questions imply that the multiracial individual or family is not only racially different but also “not normal.”

     According to a Pew Research survey, 6.9% of Americans 18 or older have a multiracial background. Although members of this diverse population have always been present nationally and internationally, it is only recently that we have started seeing experiences of multiracial people represented in popular media.

     The initial episodes of Mixed-ish depict Bow and her White-and-Black family’s frequent encounters with racism and monoracism - a form of racism that is based on beliefs that individuals and families should only be one race. Studies find that multiracial persons who report experiencing monoracism have increased feelings of anxiety, depression, and lower self-esteem and motivation. This is not to say that these issues are inherent in multiracial individuals. Rather, they are symptomatic of societal assumptions that assign “healthy” racial identities to single-race individuals and families.

     Before her transition from relatively unknown TV actress to one of the most photographed women in the world, Meghan Markle stated in an article for Elle magazine that the “What are you?” question was one she had been asked almost every week of her life growing up as a biracial Black and White woman. The inquiries have not abated since the American-born Markle married into Britain’s blue-blooded royal family, and they may have even intensified since Markle gave birth to her son Archie - now seventh in the line of succession to the British throne after his father Prince Harry. In an interview for the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Duchess of Sussex reveals the emotional toll that racially charged encounters have taken on her well-being. When asked if she was struggling, Markle responded to the interviewer’s question with a weary “yes.” She is far from alone in this struggle.

Multiracial Cultural Attunement in Social Work

     With the express intent of addressing and repositioning the conversations social workers are having with and around multiracial individuals and families, a new model of multiracial cultural attunement has emerged that builds upon four core principles (Jackson & Samuels, 2019). First is critical multiraciality, or the challenging of ideas of race as a neutral or natural fact. Second is intersectionality, or understanding individuals as socially complex and embodying both privilege and disadvantage. Social constructivism investigates the value of the experiences of multiracial individuals and families as legitimate, and social justice tackles the idea of taking action to disrupt dominant narratives of race that disadvantage multiracial individuals and families. 

     The model challenges social work practitioners to expand their knowledge about multiracial individuals and families. It also challenges them to think critically and take action from that place.

     Research consistently reports that multiracial people exposed to and participating in more than one culture (i.e., traditions, values, and beliefs) are more likely to appreciate different viewpoints and accept differences among people. Studies also find that being proud of one’s multiple racial, ethnic, and/or cultural heritages is very normal for multiracial people. Mixed Haitian-Japanese tennis champion Naomi Osaka, as one example, denies feeling attached to just one aspect of her identity. In an interview with Time magazine, Osaka said, “I don’t really know what feeling Japanese or Haitian or American is supposed to feel like. I just feel like me.”

     Mariah Carey, at a series premiere event for Mixed-ish, for which she wrote and performed the theme song, “In the Mix,” told reporters she was thankful for the existence of the new show, its representation of multiracial people like herself, and the potential the series has to enlighten people.  

     Representation for the multiracial population is important not only on television but in our own professional knowledge base. The rapid growth in the number of individuals and families living or identifying as multiracial reiterates how important it is for social workers and other helping professionals to understand the challenges associated with being multiracial or growing up in an interracial family. Practitioners need resources to serve the varied experiences of multiracial individuals and families that are not just Black and White. The model of multiracial cultural attunement helps social workers take the next step in honoring this diversity and equipping themselves with specific knowledge and skills to best meet the needs of this growing population.

Reference

Jackson, K. F., & Samuels, G. M. (2019). Multiracial cultural attunement. NASW Press.

Special thanks to Suzanne Wilson for her support in the writing of this article. 

Dr. Kelly Faye Jackson is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University. She co-authored the book Multiracial Cultural Attunement, published by NASW Press, with Gina Miranda Samuels of the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration. Both continue to explore topics related to multiracial identity and belonging in their academic research.