I was listening to a radio program the other day about how younger people today view race as a much more fluid thing than in the past. They usually identify by country instead of category (Colombian as opposed to Latino), and they sometimes change categories depending on the situation. Small things like style of dress, slang used, hairstyles, etc. help them change from one category to another depending on where and when they are and what feels most comfortable.

And this reminded me of an interesting situation I ran into at school. I was subbing in the lunchroom and scanning each child's card for hot lunch. A kindergarten girl stopped, looked at me and declared, "You're Chinese!" Interested, and not willing to argue with a 5 year old, I replied, "I am? What makes you say so?" She looked at me like I had three heads and said, "Your EYES. Your skin," and then she waved her hands in an all-encompassing manner, "Your FACE." She was not trying to be offensive; I think she genuinely thought I was Asian, and coming from such a small community had no idea what else to call me except "Chinese." I laughed and told her to have a good afternoon. The little girl behind her, in a much more timid manner declared, "She's right!" and scooted through the line.

Now, I am not Asian that I know of (my father was adopted, but was also blond and blue-eyed, not that looks are necessarily indicative of ancestry). However, when I came home and told DH about this, he told me that he thought I had Asian ancestry when we first met. Several good friends of mine said the same. And the online facial recognition sites that are supposed to tell you which celebrity or famous person you resemble consistently tell me I look like Asian actresses (though one particularly flattering site compared me to Mao).

Anyway, do you view your own ancestry as fixed or fluid? Do you know fully where you come from? Do you notice the perceptions of other people or society in general changing, attitudes changing? Does how you identify change or remain fixed?