In the second episode of this season on the On Being Biracial podcast, hosts Daralyse Lyons and Malcolm Burnley dissect the psychological, social, and physiological impact of multiracial people's repeated exposure to the “What Are You?” question. It's one of the most common experiences amongst multiracial people, and also one of the more divisive.

In this episode, you will learn:

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  How questioning someone's racial identity can lead to negative health outcomes, both mental and physical, for those being questioned.

  
  


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  Why the U.S. census was originally set up to reinforce racial binaries and how recent changes have worked to undo that, expanding the possibilities for multiracial identification.

  
  


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  Experiences of what it's like to have others question, scrutinize, or undermine your racial identity based on their own assumptions.

  
  


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  How the “What Are You?” question can have a lifelong impact on belonging, self-advocacy, and mental health.

  
  

This season's interviewees are: Ashanti Martin, Azaria Keys, Bárbara Idalissee Abadía-Rexach, Carter O'Brien Ford, Cat Dyson, Chantelle Fitzgerald, Charlotte Gill, David Ryan Barcega Castro-Harris, Drew Allmond, Evan Fong Jaroff, Hannah Wallace, Ian Burnley, Jewel Love, John Blake, Jourdin Davis, Kimberly Ortiz-Hartman, Lise Funderburg, Mat Johnson, Nora Elmarzouky, Rachael Go, Rachel Lauren, Samonte Cruz, Sandra Clark, Sarabella Rocha, Sarah Gaither, Sienna McWhirter, Tyla Taylor, Tyler Sloane, W Kamau Bell, Zein Hassanein, and Mark Hugo Lopez.

Click here for a transcript of the episode: “What Are You?” - Transcript

Check out our website: onbeingbiracial.com

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Our partners include:

WURD Radio - wurdradio.com

Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative - resolvephilly.org

Kouvenda Media - kouvendamedia.com

For more content referenced in this episode from our hosts and guests on these topics, please check out the following links:

Daralyse's TEDx talk: Black or White? Refusing to Choose & Embracing Biracial Identity

Malcolm's Philly Mag essay

W. Kamau Bell's 1000% Me

Charlotte Gill's Almost Brown

John Blake's More Than I Imagined

Lise Funderburg's Black, White, Other

Barbara Idalissee Abadia-Rexach's research: SFSU