Unlike neighbouring countries such as Morocco and Egypt, I can almost guarantee that the people I’m speaking to haven’t been on holiday to Algeria. I’m guessing they don’t happen to have an English Algerian friend either. Even I can only name one Algerian actor and people very rarely see the country in films or on TV shows. So, when you say I don’t look like I’m from there, what did you expect?  

“What did you expect?” is precisely what I’ve vowed to start responding with when I’m on the receiving end of “You don’t look like you’re from there” comments. The goal is to relieve myself of the duty of justifying 50% of my DNA to random people, and instead direct the question back at them. If we all paused to think about what we expected someone to look like, we might be gently nudged to consider what harmful assumptions we’re carrying around. Research shows that the human brain is constantly trying to categorise people to store information and better predict their actions. We’re biologically inclined to put people in boxes to make it easier to understand them. But we don’t all fit neatly in, especially mixed people. With a 61% increase in people identifying as ‘mixed/multiple ethnic groups’ between 2011 and 2021, this is the UK’s fastest-growing demographic. I’m hopeful our ability to navigate conversations around mixed ethnicity will grow with it.

At 32, I’m no longer justifying or making excuses for the way I look. I will no longer spend time asking others to believe me about my own identity when who I am is not up for debate, and it’s certainly more than skin deep. If I could send one message to people who are blessed with having mixed heritage, it would be to never apologise when you turn out to be more than someone expected because you are more than meets the eye.

“As a woman with mixed heritage, people constantly question the way I look – I’m so sick of it”