I want to kind of connect my passion post this week with what I’ve been focusing my Civic Issues blogs on: Issues of race and diversity.
As you all probably know, Baby Kimyesus is upon us. The baby that will try and probably fail to top adorable Blue Ivy. This child will probably be born with a leather diaper, 5 gold chains and stilettos no matter what the gender is. At least we still have a few months to prepare before the arrival of Kim Kardashian’s child (Am I the only one still amazed that she is actually having a child??). As we all know the father of Kim’s baby is none other than rap superstar Kanye West. Kim was asked during an interview if she would be prepared to raise a bi-racial baby seeing as she is Armenian and white and Kanye is Black. Kim’s response was, “the way I want to raise my children is to not see color”.
I can see where Kim’s good intentions lie. It’s difficult to be bi-racial in this world, especially in a country where everyone obsesses over what race they are and how they’re 177th % this or that. It will be hard for Kim and Kanye to teach their child that discrimination exists for people of mixed races and that there will be inevitable struggles down the road for their child. However, the solution to these problems is not to just pretend that race or racism does not exist. For one it is impossible. If their child won’t learn it at home they will soon be made aware of their race by the outside world. Also the implications of teaching your child to ignore color can be detrimental.
For one, if Kim does not show her child what race is she will be denying the cultures that herself and Kanye both come from. Cultures that have gone through tremendous hardship but also are beautiful and rich in culture. Raising someone to be “color blind” makes them just that, blind to influence of race on a person. Your heritage, culture, and language shapes their past, present, and future and this is a lesson that no one should be denied of.
I consider myself proud to know my heritage and how my race overcame and went through struggles and still is beautiful. Even though I did struggle with identity when it comes to my culture at times I can say that I’m glad that someone took the time to sit me down and tell me of where I came from and the experiences of others like me. I hope that Kim and Kanye come to the realization that denying race does no good, even with the best of intentions.
Comment below with your thoughts!
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Natalia,
Just wanted to pop in and say I continue to love your ability to take a seemingly trivial celebrity story and connect it to a really serious, thoughtful issue. You have a knack for seeing what’s important behind our interest in celebrities. You should write a more public blog!
Natalia, I think this blog is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. A lot of people often preach we should be colorblind. I know for a fact I have heard this so many times. Even as a little girl I thought it was the socially acceptable thing to do. However, my original thought was to ask people where they come from, and how that makes them who they are today. I know a lot of people feel extremely sensitive when bringing up race, but I always let people know that my intentions are simply curiosity and a desire to understand a person’s background, rather than discrimination. I really like your perspective on this, and I can really appreciate it since I have never experienced (I don’t think) struggle as a result of my race. Thanks for such a good blog!
Natalia! Your post is very interesting- I love your introduction! As you’ve said, I think that Kim has good intentions but she might be forgetting the importance of her and Kanye’s cultures. The kid will undeniably grow up with these cultural influences, but I think there has to be some sort of emphasis on those specifics. From a personal angle, I am multiracial… to some extent. I am Asian and White, but at times I disregard my Chinese heritage because I didn’t learn too much about it growing up. I wish my parents put a greater emphasis on my Asian past, and Kimye should consider to do the same.
I am so glad that you are proud of your heritage and I hope that you do the same for your children!
As soon as you said this, I obviously had to read it! One of my best friends is a huge celebrity follower, and she keeps me updated almost every day. This sounds so lame, but I actually cannot wait until Baby Kimye arrives. I definitely agree, though, that no baby can ever top Blue Ivy. That is just the baby of all babies. And of course it will be born in Stilettos. Kim would expect nothing less. I think that it is really mature of Kim to speak out and say that the race of her child is not a factor in how their family will be the same as every other family. It’s great that they will expose the child to two completely different cultures!