The Hybrid Generation: Too Asian To Be White, Too White To Be Asian

(Insert your own ethnicity into the title.)

Belonging is not a feeling I crave, but the truth is, I don't know where I belong and I'm sure I'm not the only one. We are a hybrid generation. A side effect of the commonwealth immigration, people from commonwealth countries came to Britain to restore what it had lost during the second world war and decades after, some settled here. This has lead to Britain's multiculturalism, in cities like London, Birmingham and Manchester you can find at least five cultures living side by side. The diversity is amazing, it shows how people from different parts of the world come together and create a whole new society. However, it has a major downside, where does that leave people of different ethnic backgrounds who were born in Britain?

I'm Indian, in the literal sense anyways, but I was born in England, like my mum, and have lived here all my life. I feel as though I'm stuck between two cultures, as I'm guessing a lot of people from different ethnic backgrounds are. On the one hand the clothes I wear, the language I speak, the music I listen to are English, but is it enough to call me "White" or "English" when I'm living by Indian values?

We all know the infamous racist line "go back to your own country", if I was born here, am I not in my own country? I haven't been on a holiday to India for about ten years, and yes I said holiday, because if I was forced to live there it wouldn't feel like home, I'm not fluent in the language and the only time I wear Asian clothes is to weddings. If you were forced to live in the country your grandparents or parents were born in, would you feel like you were home?

This article sounds a little one sided right now so let me balance it out. I'm not "White" or "English" either and this article is not to justify why I am. I live in a very multicultural city, so I'm comfortable in my own bubble, but take me out of that bubble, put me in a majority white community and I'd fell as alien as I would living in India. I'm too Asian to be White, my way of life is different to a White person's. Asian culture is weaved into my life, although I'm not fluent I can understand the language, I love wearing Indian clothes to weddings, I love Indian food and a few Indian movies, but is that enough to call me Indian?

Being called White or a coconut is an insult for Asians, there is a stigma behind being 'too White', we've all been to family gatherings where an Asian aunty is slagging a family member off for dressing 'too White' or acting 'too White'. But there's also a stigma behind being 'too Asian', we've all been in a group of friends cussing someone out for being a 'freshie'.

Which all begs the question, where do we belong? Do we belong to the country of our ancestors or the country we were born? Or both? I feel as though I have presented a problem without giving a solution, truth is, there is no solution. We are a hybrid of cultures, maybe it's created a new culture, one that is more accepting of different cultures.

But I also think in most cases cultures don't matter. I have friends who are Pakistani, Somali, Arab, Indian, White and more, but when I talk to them I'm not talking to their culture I'm talking to them as a human, even though the topic of culture pops up occasionally in conversations it's not a huge factor. In most cases it doesn't even cross our minds (unless you're a racist of course.) However, there are instances when our culture does affect our lives, getting a job for instance, but that topic alone requires a blog of it's own.

Although multiculturalism has opened up this huge question, I wouldn't change it for anything. Living in a society where people from all around the world are together, neighbours, friends, family, class mates, work colleagues ect. is an exciting development I hope furthers for the next generations. They have stories and experiences that differ from yours and yet they are so similar in personality and nature. It opens up opportunities not thought of 100 years ago.

What do you think? Are we working towards a new culture which uses our background cultures as a foundation? Or is culture and background not important to you? Maybe you think you're more one culture than the other? Let us know your thoughts.