By Shantisha Schaufler
This piece first appeared as a featured article in volume 95, issue six of Pelican. You can view our print archive here.
The question itself is not inherently challenging, but it seems some answers or some people’s answers are more acceptable than others. The question is not automatically problematic, but it becomes a microaggression based on how a response is accepted.
As a third culture and mixed kid, I never struggled with this question in Singapore. Singapore is a melting pot of different cultures and ethnicities, expressed through its cuisine, architecture, multilingual community, and open-minded attitude to new cultures. With Australia praised as a ‘multicultural’ country, I felt comforted by the idea that I would not have to undergo a cultural shift when moving here in 2018. I soon became disappointed. It is important to note that my definition of multicultural is not synonymous with diversity, but rather to welcome and embrace the diversity.
Yes, Australia has an increasingly diverse population, but the image of ‘the average Australian’ has not changed. Anyone can adopt or shift to the ‘model Australian’, a laid-back, rooting for the underdog and hardworking Ozzy, but not everyone can be White. This racial association with the Australian identity has persisted. If you google ‘Australian,’ it is predominantly White people on beaches. If you ask for an AI-generated image of an ‘Australian’, you get a white person. And if you tell someone you are Australian but don’t look ‘Australian’ you get follow-up questions. These questions typically include: ‘where are you really from?’ Where are you originally from?’ ‘What are you?’ Or the patronising statement ‘I think you are confused by what I am asking’ and ‘are you sure?’ All these questions are not at the intent to get to know someone better, but to satisfy their curiosity on how this person could possibly be Australian. So, what the recipient of this question begins to hear is ‘you don’t belong here.’ These people, including myself, will struggle to feel a sense of belonging if our answers are rejected while the idea of the white Australian pushes forward. Many of us have adopted monologues that outline our heritage from our great-great-great grandparents to justify our appearances, the confused reaction to ‘I am from here’ and satisfy the real question many people want to ask, ‘what ethnicity are you?’
So, if a simple answer to a ‘simple’ question cannot even be accepted, how can we address Australia as a multicultural state.
This does not mean we should never ask the question or at least variants of it. For example, ‘did you grow up here?’ and ‘are you from Perth?’ These questions do not evoke the same unsettling feeling for people of colour in Australia, and if we accept their answers the small talk can continue in a space of comfort. So, all we have to do is approach these questions with the gentility of trying to get to know someone, rather than asking for their 23andMe results like we are passport control.
I would like to emphasise that I am not alone in this experience and simultaneously also have lots to learn on how to be a more open-minded person. Here are some articles, podcasts and book recommendations that helped me articulate this piece and have assisted me in becoming a more informed person:
- When someone asks me where I’m really from, I answer with this question: an article by Sabreena Dean
- Where are you from? A podcast available on Spotify by two third-generational women who struggle to answer this very question.
- If I Survive You: a booker-price short-list novel by Jonathan Escoffery.
- Where are you really from? A documentary series by Michael Hing available on Apple TV and free on SBS.
- Where are you from? A comedic Youtube video by Ken Tanka