The Oreo Effect | Teen Ink

The Oreo Effect MAG

June 21, 2015
By bwulv24 BRONZE, Lubbock, Texas
bwulv24 BRONZE, Lubbock, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

There seems to be a universal rule when it comes to the Oreo cookie. First: rip the chocolate pieces apart and lick the icing with glee. Second: mash the naked cookies together, dip in milk, and devour. Instead of savoring the treat as a whole, the pieces are torn apart and enjoyed separately. This is called the Oreo Effect. And this is the nature of being biracial.

In 2000, the Census Bureau allowed for the first time the option to self-identify as multiracial, which revealed that the number of people identifying as biracial or multiracial had skyrocketed within the decade by almost 50 percent. Almost 7 million Americans nationwide today state that they come from multiple racial backgrounds. Despite this, life as a “mixed” person is confusing, frustrating, and isolating.

I was first exposed to this so-called Oreo Effect in school. I remember being somewhat of an oddity, an exotic class pet. “He talks white, but his skin is brown. He’s like an Oreo!” my peers would say.

My pieces would be dissected according to who I was with at the time. My white friends would cherish my “white-sounding” voice and exclaim how, “He doesn’t even really count as black.” With my black friends, I was forced to shove my white half into the deepest, darkest closet – usually meaning I would speak in Ebonics – in order to fit in. People took the parts of me that they wanted.

Why would this happen if the biracial population is skyrocketing? Why would this happen if people like me are becoming the norm? The answer is that people aren’t willing to abandon the standard black/white view. They like viewing things in terms of black or white. It’s simpler. More compact. This is exactly what multiracial people are not.

My experiences are certainly not exclusive to me; the consequences of being mixed race often reach across all race and ethnicity combinations and account for one of the reasons why multiracial teens experience an astronomical incidence of identity crises. We feel the need to put ourselves in a box for the benefit of society, such as being simply “black” or “white.” Our mixed identity becomes smudged until we can appear as the world wants us to be, not as what we are. So we assist in the continuation of the Oreo Effect. We pull ourselves apart and show off what we think the world will accept.

Fortunately, mixed awareness is on the rise, though not to the point of preventing issues of identity in adolescents. The twenty-first century cannot be defined by singularity, simplicity, or a single check mark in a racial box. Growing up biracial can be lonely. Having to define oneself solely in the identity-stripping terms provided can be excruciating. Multiracial visibility is not just a courtesy; it’s a necessity. People may not want to recognize that we exist, but that doesn’t change the fact that we do.

I am not simply black. I am not simply white. I am both. I am biracial. And I am here to stay.


The author's comments:

Despite what one can gather from skin color, what's underneath the surface often has a different story to tell. I wanted to share my experience with my biracial identity being erased in hopes that it will inspire others to support multiracial visibility.


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This article has 4 comments.


C. said...
on Jun. 25 2015 at 1:25 pm
Yeet embrace the race im Asian but people say I talk black but it aint no mind to me it just makes all of us special

on Jun. 25 2015 at 11:38 am
Sunshine2420 SILVER, Unknown, Other
9 articles 0 photos 173 comments

Favorite Quote:
A smile hides everything.

Its wonderful! Your writing style...I love it! Congratulations for receiving editor's choice :)

bwulv24 BRONZE said...
on Jun. 24 2015 at 11:44 pm
bwulv24 BRONZE, Lubbock, Texas
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
Thank you so much for reading!

on Jun. 24 2015 at 10:07 pm
DawnBreaker BRONZE, Berthoud, Colorado
3 articles 0 photos 11 comments

Favorite Quote:
If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.<br /> -Napoleon Hill

It is a very powerful message, and excellently written. I wasn't sure at first with the whole Oreo metaphor, but the way you wrote about it really brings it to life. Great job @bwulv24 I can see why the editors made this one their choice.