A Lot of People Wanted to Label Me: Biracial and Bisexual Identities w/ Lauren

On this episode, Kenna and Brianna are joined by Lauren who shares her experience growing up biracial and bisexual, providing insight on beauty standards for Black women, the importance of disrupting heteronormativity in sex education, and her growth in her comfort with her identities. Basically, they have Lauren’s Peer Ed interview on the podcast.  

Below you can find a glossary of jargon-y terms we might’ve said on the show: 

• Biracial: A person who identifies as coming from two races, or a person whose biological parents are of two different races or are mixed race themselves. 
• Bisexual: A sexual orientation that describes a person who is emotionally and sexually attracted to people of their own gender and people of other genders. 
• Colorism: Prejudice towards individuals with darker skin or preferential treatment towards those with lighter skin.  
• Eurocentric: Reflecting a tendency to interpret the world in terms of European/Anglo-American values. Specifically can apply to beauty standards in preferring ‘European’ facial features in small noses, straight hair, light skin, etc.   
• Fetishization: The practice of placing an unreasonable amount of importance onto something. In the context of racial fetishization, it places undue emphasis on racial stereotypes as sexually desirable which can reinforce racist ideas and dilute an individual to their race alone. 
• Heteronormativity: Relating to a world-view that promotes heterosexuality as the assumed, normal or the preferred sexual orientation. 
• Heterosexuality: A sexual orientation describing women who are attracted to men and men who are attracted to women, also referred to as straight. 
• Hyperpigmentation: Small patches of darker skin caused by excess melanin production. These can be caused by acne scars, sun damage, or hormone fluctuations. They can happen to people of any race and can be cause of insecurity or discomfort for some.  
• Light-skinned: A term used by people of color, and specifically Black people, to describe people with a lighter skin tone.  
• Microaggression: Subtle, ambiguous, and often unintended slights that undermine someone of a stereotyped group. For example, making assumptions about someone based on their group or making ambiguous comments that may reflect bias. Common microaggressions may be asking people “where they really are from” which assumes they are outsiders, saying to someone that they are “so articulate” which assumes that people of a certain racial group are unintelligent or don’t speak well. (For more information: https://sph.umn.edu/site/docs/hewg/microaggressions.pdf)  

 
Special thanks to:  

• Planned Parenthood Staff: Paola Ferst, Kelsey Hunt-Dolan, and Nan Morgan 
• Audio Editor: Martin Pelaez 

Disclaimer:
The experiences and opinions expressed in this podcast reflect the views of the individual speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida does not guarantee the completeness, nor the accuracy of the content of this podcast and accepts no liability for any direct or indirect damage of any kind arising from, or in any way related to, the podcast’s content. The information provided in this podcast does not constitute medical, mental health, legal, or other professional advice or services.

Thank you’s and credits to the following amazing people:

• Hosts: Brianna Nelson and Kenna Bartlett
• Planned Parenthood Staff: Kathy Dobson, Kelsey Hunt-Dolan, and Nan Morgan
• Audio Editor: Brianna Nelson
• Intro and Outro Music: “Mellow” by Ethan Korvne (Check out his LP “Something Else to Do” on Spotify and Apple Music!)
• Cover Art: Brianna Nelson