It was a fellow parent at the playground who went there with the most intrusive question so far. He and I were watching our children play, my little guy with sidewalk chalk voraciously making N’s and his son a few years older riding a bouncy seahorse.
(1 of 6)
#Adoption #InternationalAdoption #TransracialAdoption #MultiracialFamilies #Racism #IntrusiveQuestions
I’ve been out this week w/both boys, older son Caucasian and younger son Black, and I’m surprised how many strangers have nodded toward my younger son and asked, “Is he yours?”
Multiracial families, when you are out do you get this question?
We’re abroad now and I wonder if this is cultural here (a country where race is scrutinized) or if I look particularly welcoming for such an intrusive question. It’s come from people of all colors and seems to be of genuine curiosity.
The little guy had never seen a pool before, so he clung fast and did not want me to go near it even as his older brother splashed happily with some new friends.
It was the oldest of these children who was the first to ask me the question.
—Is he your son, too?
—Yes.
—Why did he come out another color?
It was so innocent and sincere and could not have been more perfect for the first of many times I will get asked about our family members’ skin colors.
Phillygirl