In retrospect…

Less than an hour ago, Prof. Parham spoke about ventriloquism and the social power that speaks through innocence or curiosity. Before this she spoke about how if she attempted to speak from a white (as in Caucasian) perspective, we would be hard-pressed to believe her. In retrospect, my agreement is not wholly based on the fact of her red-bone race, but because she started the course in September by saying that she identifies as a black woman – everything else that follows and that will follow, I will base on that premise.

Similarly, if someone told me that he identifies as a black person and that due to miscegenation is as “white as chalk,” I would see the guy as a white person who is culturally black (unless he is lying to me, which I can only check with my stereotypical perception of what black people are like and whether he checks out). I depend heavily on people’s chosen identities that are bolstered by their cultural and social experiences – the power does not only belong to society’s stereotypical labeling.

How do I reconcile this with ventriloquism?