A DNA Test Told Me I’m White — Here’s Why It’s Wrong
What my saliva doesn’t say about me
I have never identified as white. In my family, being called white is the ultimate insult. I’ve heard the phrases “you’re acting white” and “that’s some white people shit” many times, and the reason it’s difficult to hear is because it denies my Latinidad, it denies my Blackness, my Indigenousness, and it denies who I feel that I truly am. The idea behind it is that if you speak like a white person or do things that white people do, then you are shirking all of your other identities and turning your back on your culture. This piece isn’t about why this particular issue is a problem in communities of color, but it does play a significant role in how I feel about my DNA test results.
The DNA test
Flashback to June 2018, when at-home DNA tests were all the rage: You would see commercials all the time, celebrities were coming out talking about their 2% African heritage, etc. So my family decided it would be super interesting to see our heritage and learn more about our background…
