-Tamara’Shanay-
Cousins!
In the newly released episode of Meghan Markle’s Spotfiy podcast ‘Archetypes‘ she sat down one on one with music icon Mariah Carey!
Amongst the different topics discussed the ladies spoke freely about growing up in society as bi-racial girls grown into women. Both Meghan and Mariah also reflected on some of the difficulties they faced with being forced to identify to one specific race while also trying to fit in as a kid, reports PEOPLE.
“I didn’t fit in. I didn’t fit in. You know, it would be more of the Black area of town or then you could be where my mom chose to live, were the more, the white neighborhoods. And I didn’t fit in anywhere at all,” said Mariah explaining how she moved around a lot as a kid.
“ Yeah, I understand that,” responded Meghan. “You were so formative for me. Representation matters so much,” Meghan explained as she let Mariah know that she was interested in having her appear on her podcast for more than just idolization of her music. “But when you are a woman and you don’t see a woman who looks like you somewhere in a position of power or influence, or even just on the screen — because we know how influential media is — you came onto the scene, I was like ‘Oh, my gosh. Someone kind of looks like me. ‘ “
Meghan continued, “I had read this article about Halle Berry, and they were asking her how she felt being treated as a mixed-race woman in the world. And her response was her saying, ‘Well, your experience through the world is how people view you.” So she said because she was darker in color, she was being treated as a Black woman, not as a mixed woman.”
“And I think for us, it’s very different because we’re light-skinned,” she said. “You’re not treated as a Black woman. You’re not treated as a white woman. You sort of fit in between.
“I mean, if there’s any time in my life that it’s been more focused on my race, it’s only once I started dating my husband. Then I started to understand what it was like to be treated like a Black woman,” Meghan stated. “Because up until then, I had been treated like a mixed woman. And things really shifted.”
Mariah reflected on society admittedly forcing people of mixed race to choose one. “As mixed woman, because I always thought it should be okay to say I’m mixed. Like it should be okay to say that. But people want you to choose,”stated Mariah.