I’ve had some interesting epiphanies this week, as usually happens during this time of year. I am seeing myself in new ways. I forget that despite my strong identification with my roots and my brown-ness, my skin color allows me White passing privilege and most people don’t identify me as POC. Overt racism towards me usually occurs when I “out” myself. The micro-aggressions (and actual aggression) towards me may have more to do with the fact that I don’t wear clothing and accoutrements that are stereotypically consistent with my perceived gender (male) and that this also makes me “visibly” queer.

It’s funny that I have thought more about and agonized over my brown-ness and neglected to consider this other facet of my identity. Maybe it’s because I am more comfortable with my appearance and fashion choices. I need to think about my White-passing privilege more and how that intersects with my more “visible” differences. 

(p.s. masculinity/femininity are social constructs and I will make them into whatever I desire)