'Mixed other'.
That magically ambiguous box found on most demographic surveys. If you're very lucky you get an additional line of free-text to elaborate on your 'otherness'. I've yet to go completely rogue and tick the 'Rather not say' box although, the additional layer of mystery is quite appealing.
Labels are an interesting one, often used as a form of shorthand, with them can also come assumption, stereotyping and close-mindedness. This is something I explored in 'Labelled for your convenience' and in the growing list of three letter acronyms associated with ethnicity, you will find WOC.
Women of Colour.
WOC.
A single letter away from a racial slur.
What does it mean?
That white people are colourless?
Is there a spectrum of colour?
Are 'White-Passing Women' allowed to call themselves WOC?
Or are they WPW?
Not sure that one's on the list,
Someone should probably tell the person in charge of it...
I recently posted a video on Instagram reciting my poem 'The only brown girl in the room' and one of the 3 comments I received asked:
'R U white?'
Despite the deep irony tempting a sarcastic response, I chose not to engage. I'm opting to direct my energy elsewhere.
- To breaking the stereotypes of what leaders in the Wellbeing and Self-Development sectors look and act like.
- To stripping back the layers smugness and fake 'knowing' that can be associated with the Coaching industry and replacing them with authenticity and safe spaces for universal growth.
- To ensuring my brown/coloured/mixed-race/biracial face is helping to remove barriers to Wellbeing by consistently displaying compassion and openness.
I'm here to push people, including myself, out of their comfort zone. A zone where the display of my physicality is expected but not my cognitive ability. The same zone where it's easy to accept me as a performer but not so much as a leader.
And so, I'm committing:
- To the continual honing of my craft.
- To learning from a wide range of sources.
- To being authentic and the change I want to see.
A whole spectrum of faces representing the Wellbeing world.
Faces that hold a rich history of varied and powerful experiences to be shared with others, to further our growth...as humans, not tick-boxes.
See you at the intersection.
Wishing Only Love.
https://www.marissamccallam.com/work-with-me
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