I am African-Canadian

Nationality, and Age Group

(Canadian opera diva Measha Brueggergosmnan)

Identify ways in which you have been identified by others based on your race, gender or ethnicity, and is this different from how you see yourself? 

When telemarketers call my house they assume that I am a young girl and often ask "Hello, is your mom or dad home?"

One day my friend asked me to say hello to her cousin in Africa. After we finished speaking her cousin said to her "wow, was that one of your white friends?"

Through out middle school, and high school I was often referred to as the "Oreo" (black on the outside, white on the inside).

None of these situations describe how I perceive my self.  I cannot help the way I speak, or the high tone of my voice. Yet whenever people hear my voice over the phone they assume that they are either speaking to a white person, or a very young person. But when I speak, I hear the voice of a young African Canadian woman. I know I do not pronounce certain words the same way some Africans do, but it is unfortunate that having a more accurate grasp of the English language makes it so that I am subject to such mockery. I was not born in Canada, I immigrated here when I was five years old. As a result, I learned to speak English at a very early age. Being perceived as younger than my age does not bother me as much as it does to be considered to belong to a race that is not my own. The worst part about this is these types of statements are often made by black people. This type of stereotyping is a bit of a double edged sword. In one respect I have learned that I tend to get better service because I do not speak with an accent, on the other hand names such as "Oreo" often made me feel alienated from members of my race. Growing up, I tended to not hang out with many children of my race because I did not want to be called an "Oreo" or to be the butt of any one's crude joke. This is a label I have not been able to shed, but I do try to lower the intonation of my speech so that who ever it is on the other side of the phone will take me seriously as an adult.