Are Mixed People Better?

Me: Sis, what do you think life would have been like if we were half English?

Sister: *Doesn't even hesitate* - dunno, we would probably just have been even more confused.

Would we have been?

Everyone knows that being mixed is combining two separate races - genetically you would be stronger than both your parents, with stronger in this context meaning healthier and more able to survive as an offspring. You are genetically from two separate geographical locations, and most of the time, you are more attractive than both of those races and well equipped to deal with both the climates of your parents.

But what is it really like to live not belonging to either race? Or what is it like to belong to two races and look like neither?

I am fully North Sudanese which to most people is considered an oxymoron. Being 'Fully North Sudanese' is like saying I'm 'Fully Arab and African mixed' but because the mixture occurred such a long time ago and there are so many of us it's just silly to say we are mixed. However that's not to say that Sudanese from all over Sudan are not aware of this mixture.

Being raised in the UK played a huge role in my personality formation no doubt, I feel it everyday when I am in Sudan, I know that I am different and so does everyone else but that's more the effects of 'mixed culture' than 'mixed race' and I will post about that at some point - but for now let's keep it about race.

In Sudan people are aware that they are Arab and African - however many shy away from identifying themselves as African. Our names are Arabic and our culture has morphed to suit Arab values and beliefs and embedded within Arab beliefs is 'misogyny' - therefore you find that those with Male Arab ancestors identify themselves more Arab than they do African whereas those whose mother is Arab identify themselves as African.

It's interesting to say the least and at first sight seems harmless, but as I searched deeper I realized that there was much more to this self attributed separatism than just differences in geographical regions. With any mixed child we realize the difference between one race and the other - although your parents might not come from this school of thought, a large portion of the world still attributes one race to be in some way superior to the other. In Sudan Arabs are considered superior to Africans - a prime example of how this is portrayed in the culture is demonstrated by the beauty standards and marriage norms.

A beautiful women is 'White, and has long straight soft hair'. By 'White' they mean of light skinned olive complexion (ranges from Rihanna's to Kim Kardashian's tone) - this standard is more suitable when describing an Arab woman from the UAE or Kuwait - not a Sudanese women who is born with brown short hair of curly/rough texture and a chocolate complexion.

Also,  when an 'Arab' Sudanese wishes to marry, they are faced with great family/societal difficulties if their chosen spouse is more African than Arab - Now, this is where the confusion kicks in.

Aren't we a mixture of Arab and African? So why is it a problem in society for us to re-mix? What on earth has made these people not able to see their African heritage when they look in the mirror? And why do they shy away from it?

What I find interesting is that Sudanese people who were raised in Western society tend to feel more comfortable identifying themselves as black more-so than Arab - whereas the ones raised in Sudan or the Middle East tend to identify themselves as Arabs. It's very interesting to me why the need to choose sides is prevalent.

Perhaps it's time for a dual identity? I am very comfortable being both - and on top of that, I enjoy that I have a mixed personality and some conflicting beliefs. I think that being from both races, and both schools of thought (western and eastern) I am able to identify complexes within both cultures/races without needing to prove one wrong or pick a side because I truly am both.

As dark as my complexion is, I am still Arab.

As light as my complexion is, I am still African.