It used to miff Sherrae when someone asked what her heritage was so they could figure out why she is the color she is and has the features she has. “We’re American” was never sufficient. Sometimes she’d say she was adopted and ask them to guess.  “Look at my eyes, ” she’d say, “and the shape of my nose, my cheekbones.  Look at my hair, my body.   What does the cover tell you about the book?”

My experience is that we’re all a mix.  I may not be able to tell by their features if a friend is Polynesian or Peruvian or African or English or Scottish.  I might guess if someone doesn’t “look like me” then perhaps they have a different cultural background and learning about different cultures is fascinating for me.  What they are really curious about is “why do you look so different than I do?”

What Happened When A Biracial Woman Was Photoshopped In 18 Different Countries