Aloha, Hip Hapa Homeez! Maybe it’s because the Sun is in the sign Gemini this month, but we have two profiles for you. Gemini’s symbols are the Twins, and coincidentally we’re featuring two Hip Hapa Homeez. Both are Ph.D. candidates and both are looking for mixed folks like you to get mixed up in their dissertations. Be sure to click the links below each interview to get in the mix!
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| Zankhana with her fiancee |
First
up, Zankhana Sheth, a fourth-year doctoral student in clinical psychology at
Wright Institute in Berkeley.
Q:
Zankhana, what’s your ethnicity?
A: I was
born in India and am Indian American.
Q: How
were you brought up?
A: I was
not raised in a mixed environment.
Q: What
made you interested in Black/Asian relationships?
A: I’m
part of a Black-Indian couple and we’re getting married. I'm in psychology so I
did some checking to see if there were any particular experiences shared by
many people in similar relationships; and, there were no research studies about
the experiences of people of color who interracially marry each other. I hope
to learn more through my dissertation and help others to be aware of our
experiences as well.
Q: What's
the purpose of your study?
 |
| Zankhana engaged |
A: I hope
through my study that awareness and understanding about interracial couples of
color will be increased in general, but I also believe that when couples like
ours look for support, couples therapy should be a viable option. However, many
therapists know little about our experiences and can find it challenging to
work with interracial couples. So, if some people are willing to share some of
their experiences, it could really help therapists work with couples better.
Q: How
can we help?
A: If
you're interested in participating in my study, and live in California, please
contact me for further information. To be eligible for this study, you and your
spouse must both identify as Asian/Asian American, Black/African American,
Latino/Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Multiracial, and/or Native American and have
been married at least a year. The study consists of a 1-2 hour in-person
interview as well as some background paperwork. All interviewed participants
will receive a $20 gift card to Amazon.com for their time and contributions.
Contact me at zankhanas.psych@gmail.com
for more information and to see if you qualify.
All
right! Next up, is Lisa Giamo, a Ph.D. student in Social Psychology at Simon Fraser
University.
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| Lisa with parents |
Q: Lisa,
what’s your ethnicity?
A: My mother is Korean, and my father is
Sicilian-American.
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| Nana, Lisa and Mom |
A: I was
raised in a mixed environment, being exposed to American, Sicilian and Korean
cultural values. My Nana (on my father's side) helped raise me, so I was exposed
to some traditions from that side. However, since my mother is from Korea, I am
more in tune with the language, food and other cultural practices of that side
of my family.
Q: What
made you interested in White/Asian relationships?
 |
| Lisa and brother |
A: I thought
it was completely normal to have one Asian and one White parent, until I
started kindergarten and realized that people treated me differently because of
the way I looked. Growing up, my younger brother and I were pretty much the
only two people of our background in school. As I got older and started meeting
other multiracial people, I became interested in how our experiences shape who
we are and how we see the world, particularly for those that have multiple
racial backgrounds.
Q: What's
the purpose of your study?
A: My current research is focused on understanding the
experiences of multiracial people and how it influences their identification
choices. As scholars, we know very little about the psychological processes of
multiracial people and are just starting to build theories and empirical work
in that area, since there are some inherent complexities with interracial
relationships on the rise and multiracials the fastest growing
minority group in North America. Projections indicate that by the year 2050, 1
out of every 5 people in America will claim a multiracial background. Thus, it
becomes increasingly important to gain a better understanding of the ways in
which we conceptualize race and ethnicity, and how multiracials 'fit' into the
current conversations, as well as future implications.
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| Lisa with Greenlining Institute colleagues |
Q: How
can we help?
A: I’m currently collecting data for my
dissertation study examining multiracial identity. If you’re interested in being a part of this research, please use the
following link to our survey:
It would also be appreciated if you could forward this information on to anyone you know that has one White parent and one Asian parent who might be interested in participating. Thanks for your time and consideration.
All right,
Hip Hapa Homeez, get your mixed selves mixed up in these awesome causes.
And, don’t
forget to join us at Hip Hapa Homeez on Facebook where we enjoy ongoing
discussions about being mixed-race, interracially involved, transracially
adopted or crossing cultures. Please also like our Watermelon Sushi and Hapa Teez t-shirt fan pages, too.
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| BlacKorean Rob Lee in Hapa*Teez |
Check out Rob Lee in his BlacKorean tee above, and remember
buying a Hapa-Teez helps fund our Watermelon Sushi film.
Wishing you
double summer fun, I am
Your Hip
Hapa,
Yayoi
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