I found this quite apt to talk about because first and foremost, I am Eurasian/Serani/Rojak (heh … get it?). 

Don’t get me wrong, I love being multiracial and all the experiences that come with being multiracial, but along the way I realised that I get questioned about my race every time I meet a new person.

There are so many biracial and multiracial people in Malaysia that can relate to all these questions that are frequently asked. I understand that people are curious but some of the questions they ask could be downright rude and a little racist.

So, here are 10 things you shouldn’t say to a multiracial person:

 

1. 'So what exactly are you?' 

Uh, a human being? Yeah, definitely a human being. A girl to be more precise. I tell you if I had a ringgit for every time someone asks me this, I may be able to pay my tuition fees. We are people. We just happen to be made up of two or more different races.

 

2. 'No, but tell me precisely, how many races do you have and what are they?'

It will take me about 30 minutes to an hour to TRY to explain my ancestry to you. Believe me, you will get confused and so will I. Some people like me may have many ‘bloods’ in us and sometimes it is confusing because we don’t exactly know to explain the percentage of those races to other people.

 

3. 'You’re mixed which means your [1/4, 1/8, 3/4] side doesn’t count'

Excuse me, who are you to say anything about the race I identify more with, regardless of the percentage. Rude. It is basically saying you’re not good enough for that certain race and it could hurt the person you’re saying this to. It definitely used to hurt me but now I take it with a pinch of salt. 

 

4. 'Oh, so THAT’S why you look like that. You look so exotic'

Thank you. Might as well put me in a cage at the zoo so that everyone can marvel at how “interesting” I look. 

 

5. 'Are you sure you’re [insert race] because you don’t look like one to me?'

You do realise that I am mixed, right? Of course, I wouldn’t strongly look like a certain type of race (although you can tell for certain people). Who appointed you as National Mixed Race Identifier?

 

6. 'Do you get “half-offended” by racial jokes?'

What does half-offended even mean? It’s either you’re offended or not offended, there’s no in-between. Being multiracial or biracial can be difficult sometimes especially when there are racial slurs being hurled at that certain type of race that is part of you. You have the power to take notice and be hurt or don’t even bother and continue being the awesome mixed person that you are.
 

7. 'Where in the world did your parents even meet?'

Klang. Seriously. Malaysia is a country filled with people of different cultures, races and ethnicities, so there is no surprise that two people from different parts of a state bumped heads.  

8. 'Which box do you check off for official/government documents?'

While this is a valid question, don’t ask. My whole life I’ve been ‘lain-lain’/ others. I don’t even have a proper ‘race box’. Personally, I feel that it’s so wrong to reduce a person to a racial box that they check. We are all Malaysian so what is the need of segregation in this day and age. Also, just for the fun of it, you could tick all boxes that relate to you and confuse the government official.  

9. 'I bet all the guys want to be with you, they totally love mixed girls'

Being mixed has nothing to do with whether a guy likes you or not. But I’ve had my fair share of compliments so thank you. Different guys and girls have different preferences on what they look for in a person. It is superficial to just look at race or looks and not personality. No doubt some mixed race people are really good looking but come on lah, go for the personality and not just the looks.  

10. 'If you have European blood, why are you so tan?'

How would I know? The sun in Malaysia is very hot, hence kena barbequed. But seriously, it’s genetics. It is pure science that explains why I am tanned, we have to look back at our ancestry to figure out why we look the way we look. Even if you had European ancestors with fair skin, you would always have to look at your Asian side to see if any of the ancestors there were dark skinned.