Rachel Dolezal is back in the headlines, once again having finally admitted to being “biologically born white.”
Dolezal had previously resigned from her position as NAACP chapter president in Spokane, Washington after her parents exposed her lies about her ethnicity. From a young age she’s been masquerading as a black woman, when in actual fact she was born white.
It’s also been revealed that Dolezal has had to resort to braiding hair in order to make ends meet, after her dismissal from the NAACP.
In subsequent interviews, Dolezal has denied being white, and has insisted on stating that she “identifies as black.” However, on the show “The Real,” Dolezal finally came clean and admitted that she was “biologically born white.” Her confession was met with a huge round of applause from the audience, after her attempts to avoid and dodge the question over the past few months.
The question is, what to think about this whole issue? Is it okay for someone to claim to “identify as black?” Can you identify as a colour? Dolezal herself has maintained that she wouldn’t call herself African-American, but would say that she is black having “walked the walk” of a black woman.
Here’s the thing. We can accept that a man can feel uncomfortable in his skin and can identify as a woman, right? We can also accept that a woman can feel uncomfortable in her skin and can identify as a man, right? So why can’t we also accept that a human being can feel uncomfortable in their ethnicity and wish to identify as another? We have transgender people, so why can’t we have “transracial” people?
People should be allowed to do what they want. People should be allowed to identify with what they want, and be who they want to be. As long as it’s not harming anybody, then why not? We’ve just got to accept these things, move on, and let people do what they want to do. As this article by Amanda Oliver put it, “things are not always merely skin deep.”
