Emilia Clarke covers the December-January issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The cover and photos are… okay. I think Emilia is very pretty, but I’ve yet to see a magazine editorial with her where I think “they really nailed the styling here, she looks amazing.” She seems to have gotten the cover mostly for her promotional work as one of the faces of Dolce & Gabbana, which… okay, I guess I just have to get used to the fact that they give magazine covers to women to promote their endorsements now. Anyway, Emilia chats about love, how much she loves Italians, and how she’s apparently part Indian? I’m not so sure about that, Em. You can read the full Bazaar piece here. Some highlights:
She’s one-eighth Indian: “It’s this epic story: My grandmother was colonial Indian, and it was a big old family secret because her mum had an affair with someone in India. She would wear makeup to make her skin look white.” Granny passed away when Clarke was 16, and the teenager took off for India with her boyfriend to scatter the ashes. “She loved India more than she loved England. F–k, yeah. I love that part of me—I’m like one-eighth Indian.”
She loves Italians too. “People in Italy let you know how they feel. I like that I don’t need to guess. There’s something so addictive about their personalities.”
She stopped believing in Prince Charming. “You’d love to, though, right? You’d love to believe there is just one. There is ‘the one’ for particular parts of your life—you change as you get older. So when I was in my teens, there was ‘the one’ for my teens, for sure, and then, you know, there’s ‘the one’ for the next time of your life. There’s this Buddhist philosophy that says you can only really understand yourself through your interactions with other people.”
On worrying about how others perceived her at the start of her career: “I think in the early days I second-guessed everyone. I mean, I do that in life anyway, but especially with fame and become successful, and strangers knowing you more than your circle of friends, I would worry about what people thought of me. Then you get to a point where you’re like, ‘You know what? I’m okay.”
I’m half-Indian. I carry that with me, visually, genetically, spiritually, whatever. How do I feel about Emilia claiming that she’s one-eighth Indian? I don’t know. It came as a surprise, and I guess it’s better this way, where she just drops that claim in a magazine interview years after she became famous. She’s not claiming to have lived the experience of an Indian woman or a woman of color. She’s not out here, starting sentences with “as a proud brown sister…” It’s not like she’s twirling in a L’Oreal ad, bragging about being “part Cherokee” all of a sudden.
Photos courtesy of Mariano Vivanco for Harper’s Bazaar.
The shade of that last line lol
Yea she didn’t use it as a gimmick she actually seems to know the history behind it which is cool. Not like she went to ancestry and was like “im 3% Black!”
lol those genealogy tests crack me up! they literally circled the entire western hemisphere on mine and said i was 72% native lol
what is an acceptable percentage of your heritage before you can be proud of it? seriously asking. I’m half Cherokee (my grand parents were tribe members and grew up on a reservation), and some people still think I’m silly for being proud of my heritage.
obviously Emilia hasn’t experience life as an Indian person, but it’s still a part of her family history?
Generally speaking it’s not acceptable to claim to be a ‘percentage of color’ if you are white-passing, and don’t suffer the same social consequences of the marginalized group you’re ‘related’ to.
That’s complete nonsense. You can have one fully black parent and still come out looking/passing for white. Doesn’t mean you’re not still mixed race.
Indian isn’t a “color”, it’s a nationality. Of course she can claim it.
Yeah, I don’t buy that argument. I am white-passing but have a Filipina mother and grew up in a house that celebrated Filipino culture and food. Can I not claim to be half Asian?
It is always ok to talk about your heritage. I’m a Heinz 57, including Native American, and I’ve discussed it with my friends. Your heritage is your heritage and owning it isn’t the same thing as cultural appropriation.
Respectfully, I take issue with this statement. I don’t think it’s up to anyone else to determine how much of a percentage of an ethnic background qualifies a person to “claim” their heritage. From the one drop rule to Elizabeth Warren/Blake Lively percentages, it’s says more about how we see other cultures and races if we’re not “black enough” or “Indian enough”. I am half black and Asian, but I have had to deal with more than my fair share of people heaping what they feel they think I am, or not enough of. I am not limited by whatever their definition of a race or culture is, they are. We have to make room in this world for the different versions, mixes, and appearances that any given culture or race can be.
Complete nonsense is talking over people that are affected by racism when you yourself are not.
How is recognizing one’s ethnic heritage the same as “talking over people of color”? SMDH. I have relatives who are white-passing and have parents of color. To shut them out and tell them that they can’t lay any claim to any part of their parent’s heritage seems unnecessarily mean.
Putting related in ‘ ‘ is kind-of strange to me.. obviously if someone is claiming Native ancestry because their great-great-great-great-great grandma MIGHT have been quarter-Native is a side-eye worthy, but when its such a close degree relative as a parent/grandparents it ridiculous to suggest no relation, and declaring that one is not the ethnicity they obviously are..
Why would you even ask if it’s acceptable. Are you enrolled Cherokee (which by the way is pretty easy to do if your grandparents were enrolled and “lived” on the reservation. Which reservation? Where?)? If a federally recognized tribe claims you by allowing you to become enrolled, then it it the sovereign nation who decides if it’s acceptable, blood quantum-wise, not anyone else.
I will say, when I read the headline I thought, oh f*ck, another wannabee claiming ndn blood. I had to read the article to understand it was actually “Indian” heritage. I get so sick of those claiming ndn blood but then saying their family had to keep it a “secret” because of the time period. I call bulls*t on that. My grandparents were both full bloods and they never were never allowed to “keep it secret” because of how they looked and where they lived (straight up reservations). But I understand your first reaction Kaiser, believe me, I do.
I have a friend whose grandmother only recently told the family that she is Native and grew up on a reservation. There was (and still is) a negative stereotype associated with being Native in Canada and she didnt want her kids to face that. It came as a huge shock to the family bc she never even hinted at it.
Full disclosure, I am 100 percent Caucasian from a pretty wide cultural and religious European background so I not be able to fully relate to anyone with mixed heritage. But I’ve been in minority many times due to nationality, language, race or perceived social status, give or take. Were it only for my race, I cannot hide from who I am or what other people *think* I am. Only based on how I look. I cannot say I am lucky because I have not chosen my background as per race or language or nationality but all those traits are something that other people choose to judge me in a way or another. Why can we not be seen as humans?
I don’t know the answer to your question, but those people who think you are being silly for being proud of your background are jerks
Agree.
I understand the argument, but I still don’t understand the outrage if people are claiming true heritage. My poor mother turned out to be one of those southerners who were raised on the “100% Cherokee great-grandmother” myth. We recently did 23 and me, and it turned out she had zero native blood. She was just devastated. She never claimed she lived the NA experience, but she was proud of that heritage. Even now she insists, “I remember my great-grandmother, I know she was Indian”. Since I trust my mother, and her family was never the type who even investigated any right they were entitled to if they were NA (and they were dirt poor and could have used any help they could get), I’m leaning toward the grandmother “passing” as NA, and more likely being biracial. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.
And by the way, after never knowing my heritage because I’m adopted, I finally found out that I’m 98% NW European, and about half of that English/Irish. After being told I have the “map of Ireland” on my face most of my life, it was very exciting to realize I can actually claim that now.
A quick word on DNA testing: it only detects the genes you personally inherited and express. It doesn’t necessarily rule out ancestry
For example, my fraternal twin nieces got very different results, when they have the exact same family line. I didn’t get half as much Italian as my mom did, I got more like 1/3. Does that make sense?
So while it is very unlikely that her grandma was 100% Cherokee, it is possible that she was indeed a descendant of the tribe in some way that just didn’t make it to your mom.
A DNA test will never tell you if you are Italian as the Italian race doesn’t exist…
A black Italian is like a white Italian….
Italy until 1861 was made of many states (and before the lex Julia of 1st century BC, Italic tribes were not Roman citizens and were of many races too).
If you got a test telling you that you are ‘Italian’, it was probably a fraud.
The story of the great grandmother being Cherokee or some other well-known Native American tribes is such a common family myth among white Americans, everyone in the native community has had someone say that to them at one point or many points. I know one poster replied saying that the tests might not be pick something up because it wasn’t inherited by the person tested, which is possible, but it’s funny how many times I’ve seen people use that explanation to explain away why they can’t substantiate their family myth of being Native. I just think it’s a common American myth. However, if you wanted to try again (and assuming that the % might be too low to pass on) you should look into maternal haplogroups for testing, I know 23andme offers it. Unlike DNA % it never changes (except in freak mutations), it is passed from mother to all her offspring and then only her female children pass it to their children & the process repeats. Look up mtDNA and test someone who descended from great grandma’s daughter or that daughter’s daughter. If great grandma was native she passed on her native maternal haplogroup through her female descendants, her daughters passed it and their daughters passed it. Just follow the female line and choose someone to test. Hope that helps.
SILVERUNICORN- yes I know Italian isn’t a race, but you are incorrect- they can use DNA to find out where you are from, and have been able to for years. They use the info in your DNA to find the areas of the world where your family came from based on genetic communities. For example, my grandmas family is from Lake Como which we knew already because her parent came to the US from there. The test showed her “genetic community” as right in Lake Como and north Italy/Switzerland. It doesn’t tell you your “race”. I used Ancestry.com which is one of the 2 major ones. It’s actually really fun and highly suggest it!
“They can use DNA to find out where you are from, and have been able to for years.”
Yes, ok. Sorry maybe I was not very clear, English is not my first language. Even if they say your grandma’s family was from Lake Como (which you knew already), Italian would only cover until… the 19th century??
And it would be bizarre for me to give away my privacy (because I don’t trust these sites to keep their info locked) only to find out that I am Italian (from Tuscany) on both sides until the 19th century…. I know it already…
Sorry I thought that the issue was about ancestors that go way in the past and not the recent ones….
SILVERUNICORN- well im not sure what to tell you about the semantics. It’s just trying to tell you what geographical part of the world your family came from, and right now that area is called “Italy” They sometimes give you specifics where they can, sometimes it’s a more generalized area. It’s really not that complicated
I don’t know either. I’m pretty proud of my ancestors and the hardships they endured, but they’re all European and various other white people. I’m not claiming to have endured with them, or to be currently experiencing the problems they dealt with, or that they had it worse than so many others. Just as a source of personal pride and strength. If they lived through what they did, then I can handle what comes my way too, because I am their descendant.
I am mixed race and so is my cousin. I look ethnic, she looks white.
Is she not allowed to be proud of her heritage because she doesn’t look like it? Am I allowed just because of the way my bones and skin grew?
I must say I find Americans to be bizarrely fixated on this % ancestry issue. As a non-American indigenous person, what matters to my people is whether people understand and feel a connection to their ancestry. We are basically all mixed because there was a lot of intermarriage with white settlers. It’s not really relevant to us what shade of brown you are.
me too. what a weird culture, not “allowing” people to feel whatever about their OWN offing ancestry.
It seems like this debate is happening because there is confusion between racial identity, ethnic identity and cultural identity. Often they get lumped together in terms like white, black, asian, Hispanic and etc, but these identities are not the same.
Race is what other people see you as, ethnicity is your DNA, and culture is the community you grew up in.
The debate here mainly deals with race and not ethnicity and culture. A lot of POC identities in the United States are tied to a history of racism. This racism is typically directed at people who look a certain way (aka: aren’t white passing), because people’s first impression of your race is how you look.
Now, during this politically charged time, there’s the debate about whether people who are white-passing or who are white but raised in POC culture can claim a POC racial identity. Because white-passing or white people raised in POC cultures would be claiming an identity without experiencing the hardships that come with that identity. And there’s the fear that they are only here when it benefits them to be seen as diverse but they can leave when their people are systematically targeted for their skin color.
There is the sense that even though white-passing people and POC may share the same ethnicity and culture, they don’t share the same race.
As for ethnicity and culture: white-passing people of course have a different ethnicity despite how they look, and white passing people or white people raised in a POC culture are of course part of that culture.
*I’m only referring to racial politics in countries where white people are the majority and POC are minorities. Racial politics are different elsewhere.
I don’t think anyone has a right to determine how someone else feels about their ancestry. Unless you are trying to claim a tiny part of yourself to grab some benefits meant for people who are oppressed and it is five generations away, then that is different.
I feel as though First Nation/Native American is different though. For some people, it is just an insteresting family story about someone from 1759, but in your case, it is very close.
Finding Your Roots, the show on PBS is fascinating and a person can feel connected to someone in their family tree. It tells us many things about ourselves. They are our ancestors, and in my view, we carry them ALL in our blood.
Be proud as you want to be. Your ancestor was a real person with a life and a story.
We found a few rogues in our family tree so whenever we do something “wrong” or clumsy we blame that rogue relative. Just as a joke.
Hi all,
I recently learned that Natives prefer to be referred to as Native and not “Native
American”. Happy Holidays to everyone in this big beautiful world…I’ve enjoyed all commenters in this challengingly awful 2017.
Blood quantum is bs. If you’re native, then you’re native. And non-natives don’t get to decide nativeness.
As a woc the day I found out I was more Russian than Native American was a strange, sad one – it is strange to shift your entire perception about yourself as an adult. Identity is complicated. Having said that, Emilia seems to be romanticizing things a bit.
I don’t understand why people are criticized for telling their ethnicity. I still don’t understand the outrage about Blake. It’s not as if they are saying what it’s like being Indian or Native American. Maybe they just think having ancestors of an unexpected ethnicity is interesting.
And maybe it thrills them to be diverse. It is something interesting to research and simply to think on, the many faceted implications of one’s historical background sad or pleasant.
I knew to some degree that I was already multi-ethnic and then we took part in the National Geographic’s Genographic survey and had our minds blown a little about the connections lost to time.
Because everyone, when they want to claim Indigenous heritage, says their great-great grandmother was a Cherokee princess.
The outrage is that in America today, you have police, private security firms, the government itself, turning hoses and guns on Indigenous Peoples. You have a country that’s not honoring the treaties, that’s moving a pipeline to run through Indigenous lands instead of white neighborhoods.
But sure, you’re great-great grandmother was Cherokee. We’re not here for that.
I go, once a month, to a local center for a potluck dinner and re-connect with my people because I’m far removed from the reservation I grew up on, and far removed (due to marriage) from my culture and extended family. Indigenous People are accepting of others. I’m not here for Blake’s Cherokee grandmother. I’m here for those I’ve met who were taken from their Indigenous families and just now finding their roots and history after fighting for their adoption records to be open.
If Blake wants to talk about her Cherokee roots, talk about where those roots came from and become a part of the resistance. Don’t use it to talk about diversity in an ad where you’re the only one benefitting.
Exactly!
Are you here for Cherokee leaders who formally refused to recognize African-American Native members?
I think then, there are two separate things going on?
One is a kind of universal desire to know where we came from because roots are important to everyone and it’s not only interesting but also personal and moving to find out. It’s why genealogy is so popular.
And the other one is political – particularly for Americans? – and tied up with historical and current injustice so people are – rightly – protective of particular identities.
Thank you for saying this.
All of this.
I don’t think she’s wrong for telling her ethnicity (or percentage of ethnicity?).
However, I’ll admit I’d like to know more when she says “I love that part of me.” I’m just more curious about that as I don’t really know what she means.. Is it the heritage she likes or the story behind how her ancestry came to be? When someone says they love “that part,” I usually take it to mean the culture. If you’re not actively in the culture or don’t do anything whatsoever related to it, like I assume someone half-white/half-Indian is more likely to, I guess I would just like to know more about what she loves about being one-eighth-Indian. If she did something even slightly culturally Indian, I would understand the statement of saying “I love that part of me,” but when you live a fully English/British life with not one iota of your life being even 1% Indian, I suppose my initial instinct to follow-up with another question (even if she doesn’t have to justify it). Or maybe she does some culturally Indian things and we don’t know about it? Or is it how that ethnic part of her make-up influences her looks? Who knows. What do I know? These are meandering questions — not set in stone statements. I’m sure someone else will offer another point-of-view that will let me see another side that I’m not likely to contradict since everybody’s experience of life is different.
I can’t speak for Emelia, but I was adopted and raised in a southern white family who were generically English, German, and what they thought was NA. There were no real traditions or any connection to ethnicity other than general southern culture. I compare that to my two BFFs that I grew up with in the Chicago suburbs. The Chicagoland area is steeped in the Polish culture, as well as Catholic religion. My friends made all of the traditional Polish foods for the holidays, sang happy birthday in Polish, were pressured to drink some Polish booze at a young age. They had their communion and went to catechism. They were Polish Catholics and they were proud of it. I always yearned to know what I was, and I finally know. But it’s difficult to celebrate English/Irish heritage without looking like a white supremacist. I’ve worked with a great deal of Indians, Hindu and Muslim, and I would be proud of that heritage.
@babykitten – I don’t think it is difficult to celebrate English/Irish heritage w/out looking like a white supremacist . That’s my heritage, mostly, and I vehemently disavow white supremacy (key word, supremacy, I don’t think Northern Europeans are better than any other people in the world). I honor my ancestors for the struggles they went through. They were immigrants looking for a better life, often poor working people, but I also recognize that because they were racially white they benefitted from a lot of things in this country that hurt people of color — they could own slaves, for example. They homesteaded on land that was taken from indigenous people. They were able to get mortgages in neighborhoods that were redlined meaning people of color couldn’t get those same economic advantages. The problem isn’t celebrating one’s heritage, the problem would be not seeing the ways in which that heritage has helped my family and acknowledging how I can change those structures by fighting racism and policies that continue to harm indigenous people, etc in the present.
A cousin doing the family tree chart gave a few of us different DNA kits, as a lark. We all did it and our Russian French heritage turns out to be Danish and Tibetan with an equal portion of a French and Italian pairing. it is all fascinating and unexpected, but I would be proud of and interested in any culture in my background, so perhaps her love of the country today made her especially interested in that segment. A friend in Rome says we are all like wine, a blending of the grape, the soil, the air, and thus, delicious. 🙂
I really want to do one of those kits. It should be my New Year resolution! My mother’s side of the family is mad keen on having Celtic heritage (they’re Welsh) but can you imagine if they all turned out to be Vikings?! They’d cry tears of blood.
On the Indian thing – my grandfather was half British, half Indian. His father was a lascar (colonial sailor) but died when my grandfather and his brother were very young. This bit of family history was always told to us as something cool and interesting, but it’s never really occurred to me to consider myself as anything other than white British-with-a-bit-of-Irish because it’s always been the family’s cultural environment.
Same here, Sixer. My great-grandmother (mum’s paternal grandma) was Jewish, but it’s never occurred to me to claim that as part of my identity because she passed while my mother was little and was never an influence in my life – I’d just feel silly, especially considering she converted out to marry anyway and I didn’t even know of her till I was a teenager (family conflicts etc etc,). It’s a nice anecdote among family now but not the kind of thing we tell outsiders.
And Emilia here isn’t actually claiming to identify with the experience of WOC or mixed-race people/holding herself up as some standard of diversity, there seems to be some actual family history involved so fair enough I suppose.
Sixer
That is so cool. You should take the DNA test. The results will have your jaw on the floor. I got one for my sister for Christmas and can’t wait to compare results.
Enough – exactly! The Welsh and Irish bits of my family are so big on Celtic heritage but imagine if they turned out to be Anglo Saxon or Viking. I think it would be really exciting. Right. That’s it. New Year resolution set.
Teacakes – also exactly. Of my 8 greatgrandparents, 2 were Irish, 2 were English, 3 were Welsh and 1 was Indian. But my generation and most of my parents’ generation were born and brought up in London. We all thought of ourselves as white Londoners, which we were – by appearance, experience and cultural influence.
Sixer
Love your two-pronged explanation above. If you’ve a mind to do let’s discuss your results when they come back! For years I always saw myself as an African-American with a splash of Native American and some confirmed Scots blood (James I and Robert the Bruce are paternal ancestors via John Witherspoon) but the Nigerian, Russian, Greek, Italian and percentage of NA and Scotch-Irish blood shocked me. The oddest surprise? Melanesia!
Do it. We had always wondered about our British roots because our British grandmother from Liverpool had very dark skin, dark hair, dark eyes and epicanthic folds (a gorgeous woman) but claimed to be English. My dad got his father’s looks but his mother’s coloring and his sisters look just like their mom. One of those sisters had two kids pale and very British looking like our grandfather and two very dark with features like our grandmother. They moved to Arizona and those two are constantly pulled over and asked for their immigration papers. My aunt is not a fan of Joe Arpaio. My own siblings and the cousins who live here are a real mix with one of my sisters and two of my cousins being constantly asked from childhood whether they were Asian or Native American and one of my brothers insisting he is a Viking. People would ask my mom if my sister was adopted. So, we did the test. Yes, we’re mostly English with some Irish mixed in but also about 10% Scandinavian (those Vikings!) and about 5% Sami. That’s a very small percentage but it is apparently a very strong bloodline to affect our appearance so much. We looked at pictures of the Sami people from the early 1900s and it is like looking at pictures of our grandmother. My sister and cousins aren’t proclaiming themselves Sami but it answers their questions and makes them feel more comfortable with themselves.
We also got some funny to us results from testing my mom. Her grandfather always denied the family was Irish (he was born in Ireland!) but was Greek instead – we think this had to do with discrimination against the Irish – and it was always considered a family joke. My mom is 90% Irish with about 2% Greek, so her grandfather was not lying.
So do the test.
You guys have definitely persuaded me. Am doing it!
@Sixer
Friend of mine in uk did it… he was annoyed he got 97% English lol
I am baffled as those test can claim ‘Italian’ DNA…. how does that even work????
Is not that evidence those tests are silly? Italy is a recent state (being unified since 1861), how can you claim Italian ancestry through DNA anyway as there’s never been an Italian race… and not even an Italic race as people from northern Italy could have Celtic ancestors as a French person, people of central Italy Lydian ancestry (modern Turkey) and people of southern Italy Greek ancestry….
Silver Unicorn
It’s not a fraud. No DNA test actually tells you you’re Italian, Swedish etc. it gives you a composite of geographical areas with the highest or most concentrated amount of your DNA based on mapping and sequencing that numbers into the billions.the more research they do and the larger the sample size the more precise the results will be in the future.
@SilverUnicorn, like your friend, my mom was annoyed hers came back as 90% Irish. She was hoping for some secret of some sort. When you get the results, they show a map with a circle over the areas tracing your DNA. My mom’s didn’t say “Greek” but the circle was over Greece, so they identify the region and I think people then use the modern label for the region.
@lightpurple @Enough Already
Then I don’t get it… so it just gives you an area where you are from? Until which generation does it go back to?
Because I know already that all the previous 6 generations before me come from the same area I was born (I’m the first who has migrated anywhere in two centuries!). And my hubby is English until the 16th century….
@lightpurple
“My mom’s didn’t say “Greek” but the circle was over Greece, so they identify the region and I think people then use the modern label for the region.”
Awwww so it’s not ethnically based. It’s geographically based. Considering the amount of tribes/ethnic groups that inhabited Italy my ancestors could be Alemanni or Huns LOL
I LOVE what your friend in Rome said.
I read this recently published article on BBC I think, warning about the dangers of those DNA kits. I can’t remember all the details, it said something like it can reveal that siblings are not siblings, indicators for serious diseases. Obviously it doesn’t mean that everything about those kits is a disaster.
These tests have some kind-of scary privacy issues. What 23andme is overall looking for is a massive amount of genetic data. You are giving a corporation not only your very specific dna but a huge chunk of what makes up your relatives as well. They can sell your data and , for instance, one fear people have is the implications for insurance or employment applications.
@laulau and @alarmjaguar: that’s indeed scary and dangerous. Ethical concerns are of utmost relevance. But I am sure there is some small print that people don’t read? I hear that companies offering these tests were quite aggressive lately in terms of service promotion and yes, people are curious. But anyway, I was reading also on the BBC? that a lab on a Mediterranean island was broken into and all the data was stolen. IICR that DNA data belonged to a certain population that was known for its longevity. It’s very scary. Research is neutral, the purpose for which it is used is not.
Love all your comments ladies.
Plus those tests… claim absurdities, as I said above… Italian DNA? I can go back 6 generations of Italians which brings me around mid19th century…. what’s before isn’t really relevant as the Italian state only exists from 1861….
Guys, you should be wary of those DNA tests. Often the fine print gives all the info from your genetic material to those companies, which is the reason they’re selling them in the first place. Plus, they aren’t really that accurate.
also, I read an article that stated that those companies can turn the DNA info over to law enforcement without a warrant. Generally, not a problem for most folks, but still a little scary
Are we not supposed to say if we’re not entirely white-white? I’m a quarter “other” (of the least cool “other” group here) and depending on how I style myself, I look like it or I don’t. I’m lucky enough that I can dress differently and wear a different hairdo and all of a sudden security guards stop following me around worrying I might steal something, but that doesn’t mean that hasn’t happened in my past. And yet I’m proud of the interesting tradition behind my grandma’s culture. Am I supposed to just forget about it, because I can mostly escape the stigma if I want to?
I hope you don’t let people control your sense of identity. Ultimately facts are facts and family histories are what they are and having some condescending hoops you must jump through in order to claim history/facts doesn’t make any sense.
There is a place for truth and a universal interest in personal history that may not involove a lived understanding of a particular group.
You decide for yourself and sometimes it does make people feel closer to an oppressed group. But if suddenly that 2 percent German makes you start running around in lederhosen because you know they are my people, it might be a wee bit of a problem.
People get ridiculous about this stuff. Not everything that we are is visible in our skin or looks but yet we would not exist without it. It doesn’t matter if you are 1% of 99%, it’s part of you and people are allowed to talk about it and be proud of it if they want to. Likewise they are entitled to ignore it if they want to.
So weird how we have people who are 50% black, 50% white saying they are ‘just black’ and you have people who have 2% ancestry raving about it…it’s all up to the individual.
I completely agree with you. You should be proud of what you’re made of however large or small the percent. It is your story, your family’s story. And those Ancestry tests only go back 5-8 generations for the most part. So, the lower percentage points just mean that it was a great grandparent (x2, 3,4 mostly). Why shouldn’t you be proud of them? I have spent years learning my European family tree because my ancestors are so recent to the U.S. My search led to me finding out about a strong amazing woman that was my 3x great grandmother who came from the famine in Ireland. I tracked down her brothers great granddaughter in Ireland and you know what, she had the same distinctive eyes and cheekbones that run through lots of members of my family. I’m only a tiny percentage of this woman but she was responsible for that part of my face. It’s all fascinating. If you are 10% black or 100% you should be proud.
Yes, very much this. I realize a lot of this is tied up in racism and systematic oppression and people trying to make themselves special by claiming to be this or that, and I really don’t have a good answer for that. But I see nothing wrong with being proud of what you are. Isn’t that they whole point of self actualization and individuality and diversity? I am much more than I appear on the outside, as is everyone else.
Right?! I think it would be cool to find out something different than the family history you know. I have a friend who is doing it because she knows nothing about her father’s side (except that he died young).
That last thumbnail picture in the beige print dress and those fantastic shoes is the best I’ve ever seen her look.
She’s referring to her grandmother, so it isn’t so far removed and she isn’t putting it out there that she is experiencing life as an Indian woman, just that there is something in her own family’s culture that she finds interesting.
The shoes ARE fantastic! It brings out the dress, the incomplete(?) painting…in fact the whole pic is beautiful. I also love the staircase one, very fairytale-like.
“It’s this epic story: My grandmother was colonial Indian, and it was a big old family secret because her mum had an affair with someone in India. She would wear makeup to make her skin look white.”
I don’t get it. So a “colonial Indian” is an Indian who lived in India during colonial times? The grandmother was the “result” of the said affair with I assume a white man? And what’s epic about the whole story?
No. Colonial Indian means a white British person who was born in India when India was under British control. Her grandmother was born in British India to British parents, but secretly had been fathered by a local.
Thanks @Rachel.
This is awful, outrageous, and disgusting. Colonizers calling themselves by the demonym of the people of the country they colonized. As if colonialism is not bad enough in itself.
Pumpkin, this happened everywhere. I have an ancestor who was born in present-day Argentina, when it was a Viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire, and he, because he was white, was called “criollo”. They had almost no rights beyond an education in Spain but this group, tired of their status, propelled forward our Revolution and Independence. He was one of the men who signed the declaration of independence in 1816. Colonizers demeaned their own descendants born in “the colonies”, irregardless of them being product of european unions and marriages.
(you can imagine what happened to those born out of a european-native union…)
@Cee: Gracias. I had no idea about this particular aspect of colonialism. That’s awful as well. I don’t know if you could recommend some reading on the topic?
Sadly, I have no literature to recommend. Except history textbooks I read at school. Criollos and colonialism are the basis for our May Revolution and Independence (and that of other countries, propelled by and aided by our Liberator, General José de San Martín <3, a fed up criollo)
@Cee, it’s ok, thank you. I will definitely look more into the topic, with a fresh eye.
So, this might come as a shock, it was a shock to me. I just remembered that a Spanish person told me, very directly, that Spain, if it wanted to, could land a claim over all the territory Spain colonized in Latin America. That happened quite recently. That person had academic education and was about 35yo. I was speechless, and that does not happen very often. If ever.
LOL I’d like to see them try! If we apply that “logic” then we should all go back to Europe and give our lands back to the different native tribes. Europe didn’t buy America, they conquered it. And then when we fought back, they lost.
@Cee, I was speechless but then I LOLed inside. I have no idea what they teach in history books in Spain and I am now very curious. But please, there are only so few European countries that colonized regions in **Latin** America – Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, and the British to some extent? We are over 30 countries over here in Europe. The irony is that criollos were the main factor that led to Independence. That says something.
They did lose, and apparently it hurts. And unnecessarily so. How pathetic is that, anyway?
Oh, c’mon! the people in my country who organized the independence were criollos, they weren’t recognized as Spaniards, not they were natives. I’d ask if the people who fought for independence from the British Empire weren’t American? Of course they were, they were born there. To say that is like saying that children of immigrants born in the US (documented or nit), are not American.
Like certain people claiming they are part-Cherokee? Naming no names.
That pic of her on the staircase is so silly, it’s all green leaves, pink fluff then her tiny head…lol.
lol, I actually love the picture.
For me, the saddest part is about women wearing make up or bleaching their skin to look whiter or white. Sometimes with home made stuff or poison sold by people without any ethic. A reminiscence of the horrors of colonialism. Still happens. Beyond sad.
I have German, Irish, English and Indian ancestors. There’s probably more if I ever splurge for gene testing but Imma mutt. I’m proud. It is what it is. I’m not capitalizing on it, using it or justifying anything socially or politically. I can talk about it. I can feel good about it. I can even romanticize if I’m in that kind of mood any particular day. And I imagine, if I so dare, I’m not alone lol. People can’t have racial and/or genetic monopolies without looking either completely Victorian or simply foolish and entirely out of touch. If we’re supposed to be so ‘woke,’ discussions about our collective muttified backgrounds should be an easy pill to swallow.
This one is tough for me. My grandmother was born in 1922 and was a “passable” woman of color born to an interracial couple. Her sister was much more dark-skinned and not “passable.” My mother was a Norwegian immigrant. I’m white AF. My family growing up was literally split 50/50 white and black. I obviously don’t identify as black, but I connect with what most would consider typical black culture because of my family and upbringing. I don’t see anything wrong with loving part of where you come from, especially if it affects your day-to-day life, but I can see where people would find it troublesome, too. Honestly, I’d love some input from others on the issue.
There’s a great book about how the option of passing could result in incredibly sad and difficult decisions for some people who chose to, but then basically had to disavow their family. Allyson Hobb’s A Chosen Exile. She has a short Ted Talk, too: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-american-indian/2017/12/20/american-indian-winter-solstice/#V2SrooIzoOE1VRZX.01
Oh, and Martha Sandwiess’ Passing Strange about Clarence King, a famous white guy (head of the US Geological Surveys and buddy of TR) who passed as black in order to marry a black woman. Really interesting and tragic stuff.
Your story is really interesting and it reminds me of the film The Human Stain with Anthony Hopkins and the gorgeous guy from Prison Break, Wentworth Miller.
My view on the issue of Black or African ancestry is in general, I have noticed, irrespective of country whether it is the US, UK or African countries, people tend to look at how black the person looks and it also depends how you were raised.
Logic the rapper identifies as black and says he grew up being raised black but as he got oider his European features made him feel biracial. He is very controversial in the hip hop community for this.
I think as long as the ancestry is part of you and it is visible, it is yours and your case sounds like you are from a mixed-race background but I would probably need more details.
I blame Ancestry.com. Seriously. My dad has done all of his genetic research and mouth swab tests through it and found out he is a small (I mean .000001%) percentage Native American and he ran with it. He changed his name on Facebook to “Runningman” or “Flyinghawk”. Something like that. All of his albums are filled with Native American art and dream catchers. It’s so fake I can’t deal with it. My dad is a culture vulture now because of ancestry.com. It drives me crazy.
Omg, lol. I’m sorry you’re going through that; I’m laughing with you not at you though. I know people who’ve done the same thing… it’s strange, but what can ya do? Maybe some are so bored with their own lives and/or want to be part of a larger conversation? Attention?
By all means, laugh away!
I dared to question him about it once and he whipped out a copy of his heritage breakdown report to show me the proof. He must keep it tucked in one of those secure travelers’ fanny packs or something because he immediately handed me a second copy that he had hilighted and cross referenced for me to read during my free time. I threw it out my car window as soon as I pulled out of his neighborhood. A random 5am jogger on the side of the road will show more interest in it than I will.
‘Flying Hawk’ lol!!
I don’t get this dna testing. like do some cultures have different dna, blood…thingy(looking for science word here)?
I used 23 and me because I don’t trust ancestry.com. They seemed to be highly used in the Mormon community, and much of that community has been practicing inter-marriage for generations. I just felt that they wouldn’t have the best diversity of sample, therefore a less than accurate result. That’s purely opinion, and I’m sure I can be proved wrong. But that’s why I made the decision I did.
I’m adopted so I took the test because I had no clue of my heritage.
I’ve actually seen this fairly frequently. I think it’s because when people grow up without strong ties to a particular culture, they can easily become enamored with another. A lot of white Americans are a mix of several ethnicities/nationalities/however you define it. Often that comes with not being raised with super strong traditions and things are just kind of…. boring. There’s nothing really tying you to “your people’ because you don’t really have a people. You might be German/French/Irish (or whatever), all cultures with rich history and tradition, but if you’re raised removed from that you don’t really get the full experience and can feel slightly adrift.
I think that’s why many Americans fall in love with Native American culture (actually there’s tons of different NA cultures and peoples, exactly like Europe) or a romanticized version of it. I’m sorry your dad is being highly insensitive and embarrassing about this. I wish there was an easy answer.
I agree about how European descent is (unfairly imo) coded as ‘boring’ and ‘bland’ in America. I kind of find myself laughing at those white folks who do ancestry tests in the hope of finding a ‘spicy’ or ‘spiritual’ culture among their ancestors to ‘connect to’ so they can brag to other white people about their ‘Cherokee’ or ‘Spanish’ or whatever ancestors at dinner parties. So declassee.
The funny thing is, most Americans are part Celtic in some way (descendants of Scots-Irish immigrants that is) and Celtic culture is very spiritual and actually has a lot in common with NDN clan/tribal cultural. Why not get in touch with that side?
Interesting that you mentioned the similarities in Celtic and Native American cultures, Bordermollie! Have you read any of Ed McGaa’s books? He discussed that very thing.
LOL Your dad seems fun.
Your dad reminds me of Darryl Whitefeather, a character in Crazy Ex-girlfriend LOL
OMG, totally! I snort-laughed. I love Crazy Ex-Girlfriend so much.
I guess I am alone in not caring at all what my ethnic makeup is. I care about the relatives I know and love, and what they have told me about their homelands, cultural practices, and parentage. Beyond that…?
This claiming an ancestral heritage is good and all but why is it an issue? I am a black Caribbean woman and I have Europe ancestry as well but I don’t claim it because I am an 100% Black and Caribbean.
However, it doesn’t matter about who is what heritage. It is about how you treat people with love and respect.
I did my ancestry in order to help my son with a school project. Both sides of my family immigrated to the US in the early 1900’s and once they arrived stayed ensconced in the little communities of thier origin and worked in factories. I was secretly hoping for a little more excitement & romance. My son was absolutely elated. “We never owned slaves! We come from poor people who couldn’t read or write. Thank God!” He told me about the guilt he feels when they learn about slavery in school. It was an enlightening conversation.
That’s hilarious. Although I’m adopted, it really pleased me to find out my parents’ ancestors came to America in the early 1900s. I was so glad to realize they didn’t participate in slavery. But they were so poor anyway, that had they come earlier, they would most likely be indentured servants.
Ha! That’s a bit like my family too. Far too poor and too recently immigrated to own slaves or even participate in the war over it. It’s certainly not exciting or romantic, but hey, it’s nice to believe you came from (mostly) good people.
Most white Americans never owned slaves though, only a small wealthy minority did however this benefited all white americans in the long run…. Also, most white Americans cannot trace their ancestry that far back since most came after the 1900s.
My other half is 25% African american, and is white with blue eyes. We only found out through a DNA analysis. My kids love that they have mixed ethnicity, but also don’t complain about oppression. If we all are proud of our heritage I’ve always believed that it will start to break down the barriers, and we’ll increasingly see that your dna is only responsible for the colour of your skin, your hair and your eyes. We’re not prejudicial against blue eyed or brown eyed people after all.
I remember growing up in Northern England where mixed race kids were marginalised by both sides of their family and found it hard to fit in anywhere. If everyone acknowledged that they are a blend of different races and ethnicities, the world would be a much better place.
The DNA tests are cool and everything and I plan to do one as a birthday gift next year to myself. However I’ve done research and for women it seems paternal DNA isn’t tested as those tests seem to test mitochondrial DNA which is passed down by the mom. I am half French through my dad (got citizenship and everything) so I seriously question whether French will even turn up. Someone more experienced with genes and DNA can probably explain this better than me. There will probably be Irish/English/Welsh/German and other surprises through my mom. But my father’s DNA not sure that will be represented. I don’t have a brother so I don’t know how my father’s contribution would show up in a boy. I guess I’d have to ask him take the test to see how strong of a percentage his French backgroud is. But yeah for people disappointed with ancestry results this may be why.
Amelie
Your research is no longer applicable/valid and your misconception is a common one. Historically, rudimentary testing could only identify Y strands (passed from father to son) and mRNA (mother to daughter) strands. Modern autosomal DNA testing, however, easily identifies both.
Hmm okay. When I do decide to do it, if the % of French is very low though I’m going to just assume that’s why it’s not accurate.
Amelie
The percentage of French won’t tell you much. You get half of your DNA from mom and half from dad but what you get is different and in different amounts for everyone on the face of the earth except identical twins. Say you turn up 20% French. That just means that’s all your dad’s genes decided to give you. You could have a brother who only got 8% and a sister who got 39%. This is why some siblings often look very different.
I’m proud of my celtic, spaniard, russian, ashkenazi jewish, german and italian heritage. But I’m 100% argentine. I’m sure if I sent a DNA sample to one of those DNA/Heritage companies, I’d discover an even more varied ancestry. Still 100% argentine.
I knew someone from Spain, the parents were born in one region, let’s call it A, moved to region B, and the person calls herself a B-an. FRR I remember the name of the provinces but don’t remember from which one the parents came from. I asked out of curiosity if she doesn’t feel like a A-an at all, not one bit, and she said no. The parents were ethnically A-ans. It’s still odd to me, but I am not judging.
Yes! I can relate to that. Especially in Spain, which is a “united” kingdom. My mother, for example, is half galician (and celtic, through them) and half basque. She looks nothing like a southern spaniard, or someone from Barcelona. Her parents’ traditions are very different, too. In her case, she says she’s argentine with a lot of galician in her (we call her gallega, as a nickname).
I think that even though our ethnicity gives us an insight into our history, our customs and traditions really do come from the place we were born and raised in.
I totally agree with you. And thank you, now I remember what the B was, is was the Basque country – no kidding! the B should have spurred my memory!!!!! The situation used to be super charged, politically and socially. So maybe that played a role in that person’s fierceness.
Europe has a fascinating history. I am utterly in love with people, how and why they move from one place to the other, how they interact. But we are taught so little, it’s more about politics and wars. That’s tragic. We should learn about the history of people/s. That’s real history.
Isn’t she referring to Indian as in Asian India not native?
Yes to India.
Just a observation: the “explorers” were looking for a shorter route to India and then they found land. Which was already there. And until they figured out it was not the India they were looking for, they called the inhabitants and owners of the land Indians. And yes the whole area is called after an intruder, Amerigo Vespucci.
Interesting that Emilia would get a Bazaar cover especially when GOT is off air and will be off air for a long time, irrespective of life after the show.
She’s not saying she is Indian so I am fine with it. Knowing your heritage and representing a culture are two different things.
I did a DNA test and it said I was from Oman. I’m white. I don’t know, maybe I just didn’t know how to read it.
I’ve recently realized I’m only 25% the ethnicity that I thought I were. That was pretty bizarre.
Then you are 75% richer. And it’s cool, not bizarre.
I feel what she’s saying. It is a cool story. My grandmother is Swedish & it’s the part of my heritage I connect with most through her; it was a significant part of my growing up even though I’m only 1/4. She’s got a family history she appreciates, I don’t think it has to be a contest. Unless it turns out that she’s lying about it.
It does not have to be a contest but by all means, ask your questions and then go to Sweden and see for yourself! I don’t know where you’re from or if you haven’t traveled to Sweden so far but if you haven’t I encourage you to visit! It’s fabulous!
I don’t even know what my breakdown is. Irish, German, French, English etc… I don’t feel a connection to one more than the other though.
My husband is Mexican.
We don’t plan to have kids, but if we did I hope no one would give them any crap about what they wanted to “claim” or not claim about their heritage.
I don’t plan to do a DNA test because I don’t know how accurate they are and for the privacy reasons expressed above. That freaks me out.
Don’t do it. Waste of money and big risk to privacy.
They are not really accurate either as they indicate even nationalities of modern states as ‘ancestry’…. which is not possible….
So much negativity and separatism going on in the world right now, why call anybody out for being proud and acknowledging who thier grandmother was and where she came from.
People are allowed to be proud of their roots, no matter what they look like .
My take was that her grandmother loved India, where she was raised and her real father was from, but had to hide the Indian part of her and Emilia found that sad so that is why she is saying she is proud to be part Indian. To be open where her grandmother could not. I found it sweet actually.
I find these discussions interesting and also troubling. I am the white mother of a half Indian child (India, not native America). He can “pass” for white (at least now, though he’s only a toddler) and looks sort of persian or Hispanic. He has full Indian cousins and full white cousins and he is neither but kind of both. I am thinking about how to help him with that growing up. But the idea of some stranger telling him what he can “claim” just makes my blood boil. I am also annoyed by the fetishizing of ethnic cultures by westerners and the denial of white privilege so I get the eye rolling at a Blake lively and her 2% or whatever.
But if my son is older and white looking and doesn’t acknowledge his Indian heritage, doesn’t that imply shame? Isn’t it a betrayal of his Indian father and grandparents? And vice versa, if he ends up looking more Indian than white? Must he choose whatever he ends up looking most like? Must he choose at all? Meghan markle, of all people, wrote a good essay on growing up biracial a few years back when she was involved in that website and it has stuck with me. It’s probably down now.
I love her as Dany but I watched a few more of her movies and I absolutely adore her now. Me Before You was so good. She’s cute as quirky. It’s an interesting change. But yeah I stan for Emilia now.
She did really well in series 7.
I definitely thought she was going to pull the great grandma-was-a-Cherokee-princess line, wish I had a dime for every time I’ve heard that! That shade thrown at Blake Lively. I wish makeup brands would employ actual Native celebrities instead of Blake Livelys to shill as “native beauty” or “diversity”, I suggest hiring Q’orianka Kilcher, Grace Dove, Irene Bedard, Ashley Callingbull or Devery Jacobs.
Well, genetics are a funny thing. My grandfather is half Indian (his dad married an Indian woman while living in India). So, that makes me an 8th, right? (Math is not my strong suit, so that could be wrong). I did 23 and me and Ancestry and my Indian DNA popped right up. However, I look Irish. I’m a very fair skinned, green eyed, redhead.
That said, the bulk of my ancestry is Irish, Polish, and German. I don’t run around talking about how I’m Indian (India, not Native American…I have zero Native American), but I’m still of Indian ancestry regardless and I find that interesting.
Nothing wrong with saying she’s got some Indian blood in her. I mean, if she all of a sudden gets cast in a movie playing an Indian girl, I might have an issue with that…but she seems genuine and I think it’s pretty cool she went to India with her grandma’s ashes. I brought my dad’s ashes to India too.
My parents are black from South America. On my father’s side we have African, Irish and English through his mother who was half white. On my mother’s side I have Indian, French, Chinese, Amerindian and African. I look completely black in my own eyes. Some of my friends who are African and Indian can see the other things in me. This sort of admixture is common in my part of the world. But my parents are black and they do not go around listing off every part of them. As my da simply put It, “They see you as black and they will make sure to treat you as such.”
I always side eye the complete listing off of one’s genetic makeup anyways. None of us are completely pure anything but I have observed in my own community that blacks will claim all their other parts because of anti blackness. The further you are away from the blackness the better. Whiteness is always better. The admixture of other races always explains why you look beautiful or attractive not just to blacks but to other races. For whites, they can hold onto their whiteness but to be not visibly mixed up with something else makes them unique, quirky in a sense.
It sort of reminds me of the fawning done over whites who are born in whichever non white country like China or some African country. I went to high school with a white girl born in Kenya and her parents named her Kenya. She was always presenting it as a novelty and the whites around her treated it as such. Similarly you don’t see fawning over POC born in predominately white countries nor are we ever given the same terminology. Whites in non white countries are expats and us non whites are immigrants.
Good point
This stuff is fascinating to me! I have a cousin who is mental about family tree stuff and she somehow managed to track down a photo of a great-great (not sure how many) grandmother from the 1860’s…its very damaged and in sepia but knock me down with a feather…this beautiful old lady had the same coloured hair as me! I have very unusually strawberry blonde hair paired with an olive skin (weird combo) and even though the photo was old I finally saw where I get this particular feature from (nobody else in the family has it).
Mind blown! So yeah…I understand why EC is so stoked about her Indian nana…it just puts the pieces of the puzzle into place.
Is it the case that you get ahead faster in your career if you find a person of colour in your family tree?
This girl is so consistently moronic.
Why do you say that? She’s literally stating a fact about her heritage and nothing more.
She’s not saying anything wrong, she’s just telling a story (her grandma’s) and that’s okay.
I’m full Indian (Guju, but born and raised in US) and I honestly don’t understand not only why you’re assuming she is lying about this? Where the hell does claiming to have lived the Indian experience even play into this? Are people not allowed to have an ancestry? Is someone’s ethnic background always in comparison with yours as to how much more Indian you are? It’s a ridiculously selfish way to think to constantly compare other peoples life experiences to your own and judge them for it.
I have to confess that, as someone from Europe, I find it a bit ridiculous when (white) Americans identify as “1/3 German and 1/4 Irish” and so on… it just seems so unnecessary considering that the majority of the people met who claimed that had no idea whatsoever about the nationality they claimed