First, racially profile. Then, stop and search.

a pink dress with little flowers on it doesn’t exactly scream “terrorist”, but apparently brown skin does. Trigger warning: racism, police violence. I hate “playing the race card”. Most of the time, I will come up with some kind of excuse for someone else’s racist behaviour, so that I don’t seem like I’m playing the victim. But sometimes, it’s painfully obvious. I was walking through … Continue reading First, racially profile. Then, stop and search.

It’s not “racism in football”, it’s just racism

It sucks that the England team lost, but England as a country? We never deserved to win. TRIGGER WARNING: Racism, racial slurs, violence, domestic violence (these are all mentioned very briefly but I have intentionally not included any offensive slurs or language within this post). I took a bit of time to breathe before I wrote this post. The past 48 hours or so have … Continue reading It’s not “racism in football”, it’s just racism

“I’m not even going to attempt to pronounce that”

“If you can say Phoebe, Niamh, and Choledocholithiasis, I promise you can say my name without having a stroke” I’ve been trying to find the words to talk about pronunciation of names for a while. With my Zoom graduation having just happened, it was the perfect moment to reflect on the topic. Our university sent out optional forms to fill out months before the event, … Continue reading “I’m not even going to attempt to pronounce that”

“He’s really racist… he would hate you”: internalised racism and its effect on relationships

How many relationships am I going to have to remove myself from because of the colour of my skin? Hello, I hope you’re well. It’s been a while! 2020 has been quite the write-off, and unfortunately the lack of social interaction meant a lack of inspiration, hence my disappearance. If you’re reading this, thank you, and if you’ve messaged me or spoken to me about … Continue reading “He’s really racist… he would hate you”: internalised racism and its effect on relationships

You don’t think I’m pretty, you think I’m pretty for a brown girl

Beautiful doesn’t have to mean white, skinny, wide-eyed or straight-haired Earlier this week I was discussing the concept of race and beauty standards with two of my Tamil friends, Kamsi and Saran. Saran said “I don’t mean to offend you in saying this, but someone who is White and considered a 10, will be held to a different standard to a person of colour who … Continue reading You don’t think I’m pretty, you think I’m pretty for a brown girl

An honest chat about everyday racism

My self-esteem was so heavily affected by the prospect of discrimination that I had no choice but to find other ways to boost it. I grew up in a primarily White town, where people of my ethnicity are very few and far between. Despite speaking Tamil as my first language, I quickly grew into only communicating in English, even with my parents. As I grew … Continue reading An honest chat about everyday racism