Voices Chapter-by-Chapter Outline Experts Interviewed Voices from What Are You? "People often ask me the question 'So what are you anyway?' I say, 'I'm a human being. Why? What are you?'" Derek, 15, Auburn, Washington Mother: European-American, Father: African-American "When I first meet someone, we'll be talking and they'll be staring at my face and not really listening to what I'm saying. And then, finally, 'So, what are you?' That question always pops up.... It's frustrating to think of so many people looking at you, and that's all you are to them --just something to look at....I'm just an object, basically. That's how many people make me feel." Jennifer, 20, Queens, New York Mother: Jewish European-American, Father: Chinese-American "Being biracial, you get the best of both worlds, but you also get the worst. You get racial comments about being black, about being white, about being mixed. I get the prejudice of both sides. You get to see how negative the world is and how ununified it is. But you still get hope from the people who aren't that way." Amanda, 16, Cleveland, Ohio Mother: African-American, Father: European-American "I think a person who is mixed always has to work harder to come to terms with who he or she is than somebody who is Indian or somebody who is white. I think that what I had to go through was bad, but it really helped me understand who I am." Tyonek, 24, Taholah, Washington Mother: European-American and Mexican, Father: Native American "My body and mentality are not split down the middle where half is black and the other half is Japanese. I have taken aspects of both worlds to create my own worldview and identity. I am Blackanese." Mitzi, 23, Houston, Texas Mother: Japanese-American, Father: African-American "Being biracial isn't hard because we're confused about our racial identity. It's hard because everyone else is confused. The problem isn't us -- it's everyone else." Chela, 14, Oakland, California Mother: European-American, Father: African-American Chapter-by-Chapter Outline Introduction Maria P. P. Root's Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People Are You This? Are You That? Racially mixed young people discuss their physical appearance and how other people react to it. Check One Box Interviewees talk about race, racial categories, and the social pressure to deny their multiple heritage. Who's That White Lady? Young people describe their families and how they deal with racial issues. Sticks and Stones How do mixed-race young people experience and cope with prejudice and discrimination? My So-called Identity Interviewees share their insights about the forces that shaped their racial identities. Are You Dating Me or My Hair? "Dating is a place where all of these issues come to the forefront." Double-Breed Young people celebrate the positives of being racially mixed. Resources Affinity and advocacy groups, magazines and e-zines, books, movies and videos, interracial family organizations, and resources for college students   Experts Interviewed In addition to the young people interviewed, a dozen researchers and professionals contributed their wisdom and insights to this book. Many of them are racially mixed. They include: Maria P. P. Root--psychologist, author of articles and books about the mixed-race experience, including the ground-breaking Racially Mixed People in America (Sage Publications, 1992) and Love's Revolution: Racial Intermarriage (Temple University Press, 1999) Ramona Douglass--president of the Association of MultiEthnic Americans (AMEA) G. Reginald Daniel--a sociologist at the University of California at Santa Barbara, who has written and taught classes about multiracial identity Teresa Kay Williams--a sociologist and professor in Asian-American Studies at California State University, Northridge; co-author with Cindy Nakashima of Reconfiguring Race, Re-articulating Ethnicity: Multiracial Identity and Asian America (Temple University Press, 1999) George Kich--a psychologist in Berkeley, California, who did some of the pioneering research on identity formation in racially mixed people Christine Iijima Hall--a psychologist who also studied identity formation, particularly in mixed-race people of Japanese-American and African-American descent If you would like to comment on this book, please email us at comments@whatareyou.com If you have a problem or question about this Web site email the webmaster@whatareyou.com