Mixed Feelings

There is a sense of grandeur associated with someone who is of mixed race. It is a common assumption that people of mixed race tend to be physically attractive, and well... hot. As for me, I believe it is like any other thing, either a "hit" or "miss". There are those strickingly beautiful people that make your jaw drop and your expression say "Wow." A hit, definitely. On the other hand there are the "misses". The ones who you find yourself questioning whether or not they really ARE a mix. The kind that makes you wonder what went wrong? Or the kind that gives you the realization that two certain races are like oil and water, or in this case, ugly and ugly. It's quite amusing when describing someone as a mix. Immediately there is a sense of excitement and curiosity that sparks a person's interest. However, it is not nearly as amusing as the expression of disappointment on a person's face when they had just encountered what would be known as a "miss." Let's explore this fascination further shall we?

I find that those who did not get the better end of the deal know this fact of elated admiration for the mixed, and use it to their advantage. I had once met a girl who was Filipino and White, what is known as "Mestiza." I wouldn't exactly call her a miss, she wasn't very exotic looking, but rather mundane. The only thing she really had going for her was that she fell under the category of "Mestiza." And the worse part? She knew it. That girl had milked that term "Mestiza" more than any other person I had met of that kind. She was like a walking billboard for Mestizas. In her mind, she was Mestiza, so she was hot stuff. Epiphanies can be disheartening to the naive mind. Yet no one had the heart to tell her. Her screen name? Lil mistiza. Good God. She was totally superficial, yet had no reason to be. She shoved her mestiza-ness down everyone’s throat which I’m sure they spewed right back up at the sight of her. Just kidding. However I do relish at the thought of her describing herself to others. Creating this beautiful image to these desperate young men. Nothing warmed my heart more than the mental picture of their disappointed faces when their highly anticipated mixed beauty turned out to be nothing more than a hum drum female. Suckas. False advertising at its finest.

In the Philippines, being mixed, or Mestiza/ Mestizo, gives you a break in life. Many of the actors, models, and other various celebrities are of mixed races and are quite appealing and attractive. A common combination is the White/Filipino mix. Filipino women love their White guys. And White men love their tiny little Asian women. It has gotten to the point where it is common to see late middle-aged White men with their arms around a twenty something year old. Those couples are known as "Pen Pals." They generally tend to meet online, converse via video chat, fall in "love" or "lust" whatever you want to call it. The man flies to the Philippines to meet his bride. And there... a statutory relationship is formed. I never quite understood this common arrangement, seeing the decrepit elderly White men accompanied by these young sometimes beautiful, agile women at their peak, until a conversation I had with my aunt one day.

Out of the blue, during a car ride, she had told me to marry a White man. Out of confusion and disbelief I had asked her for her reasoning on the matter. She said "Marry a white man and improve our race." She then continued on about how attractive mixes are and how everything is better White. WOW. Really? So according to her I must marry a White man to help make the Filipinos better looking. What a mission, It was MY job to help make our race more attractive. Help thy fellowmen! By making them pretty and handsome! But not just me! It was OUR DUTY as a Filipino." As far fetched as it may sound this is a common belief that many people hold. It does not necessarily have to be for the betterment of a race but to generalize this idea-> Marry an attractive person, have a perfect looking family. Strive to have good looking kids, create future Beauty Queens and Handsome Hunks so to speak. Everyone wants good looking children. But to choose your spouse based on that standard? Seriously? This goes along with the new craze of parents genetically planning their childrens' features from eye color to height. That's really too much. If you want kids by all means have them. But be prepared to love them no matter how they look. If they turn out not quite like you expected, to say the least, remember... you're partially at fault.

So, going back to the original argument mentioned:
Person wants good looking children
Person marries someone of a different race
Ergo, their children would be attractive.

Well, for arguments sake, let's just say I was obsessed with creating perfect looking kids. Wonderful! What a pleasant thought. But I AM already mixed. Damn. What the hell do I do now? Do I pick one of my races and marry someone of that same race in order to enhance it? Or should I marry another mixed person and have one of those 1/8'ers who is 1/8th of so many different backgrounds that they can not associate with a particular race or culture, and are just attributed to every culture, with none of their own. Great, more "Americans." Fantastic. OR, do I pick my spouse according to their background, depending on what I want my kid to be? How about a cute little boy with an Australian or British accent? DONE!...I suppose. Or, I can be like most people, have kids because I WANT to have my own family, take the chance of the "hit" or "miss," find their inner beauty and grow to love them no matter what they end up looking like.
There, that is the answer.

Of course, I do not know of anyone out there who is looking to have ugly kids. Unfortunately, however, for some people it is inevitable. Ha. Luckily, a parent's "love" or what I would rather call "bias" can mask that child's face, keeping society's and other people’s standards incognito, for the most part, and get them through those rough years.

And in times of desperation? .....There is always plastic surgery.