White privilege while travelling: my experience as a Latino woman

world globe map

As most of you know, I am Mexican. I’ve never denied it. My parents are Mexicans and so are my grandparents. I do have some Spanish blood running in the family, and rumour has it that it’s mixed with some sort of Arab heritage and even some Jew ancestry. Anyways, although I have an interesting mixture of races and nationalities in my DNA, the point is that I am Mexican and I identify myself as Latina, both at home and abroad.

It should be clear enough. I’m Dann, I’m a blogger and I was born in Guadalajara. Pretty easy, right? However, for some reason, people always seem to have an opinion regarding my nationality. Yeah, it’s as crazy as it sounds. Throughout my travels, I’ve found many individuals who think they have a say on which country I belong to. On one side, there are the people who think I couldn’t be more Mexican even if I came with a moustache and a giant sombrero.

white privilege while travelling
How about now, huh???

Apparently, being Mexican is only a matter of looks for some blokes out there. “You’ve got dark hair and dark eyes, of course you’re Mexican”, a friend told me once. Yeah, because that’s all it takes:

white privilege while travelling
No, I’m not comparing myself to any of these gorgeous ladies, I’m just saying that you can be a brunette and not being Mexican. Go figure.

However, it also works the other way around. On the other side, a lot of foreign people have also thought that, apparently, I’m not Mexican enough.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve introduced my self as a Mexican woman and I’ve gotten a “Surely you’re not” as a reply. One time, I had to spend several minutes convincing Conor’s uncle that I really came from a Latin American country. “But I’ve worked with Mexicans”, he insisted, “They’re not that tall”. Also, how can I forget the time a Portuguese roommate discovered my nationality and she said “But aren’t Mexicans supposed to be like… Really tanned?”

white privilege while travelling
I’ve had many of these Mean Girls moments.

To be honest, I sort of get it. There are certain preconceptions of how people should look according to the country of birth, but people may or may not comply with them. Sure, when it’s sunny and I’m feeling brunette, I can look like this:

white privilege while travelling
I hope my friend Anna is OK with her appearance, but I imagined I’d look more tanned next to her blondness.

But if it’s been a long winter and my colourist did a great job I can also look like this:

The DreamPacker in San Francisco
Do I look Mexican enough to you?

To that you can add my crazy weird accent that communicates everything but my Mexicanity (watch my intro video if you don’t believe me) and the result is a bunch of very confused foreigners.

What does this have to do with white privilege while travelling, you might wonder. Well, after this small intro, the point is that my sort of nationality limbo has allowed me to experience both sides of the coin. And let me tell you, neither of them is pretty.

White Privilege While Travelling: The White Side

As I said before, I’ve never considered myself as Caucasian, but people make their own conclusions pretty easily. People have spoken to me in Italian in many occasions; also, just recently someone asked me if I was from Estonia, while other person assumed I was Australian. I am pretty sure that I don’t have any Italian, Estonian or Australian blood and I don’t really believe you can assume someone’s nationality just by looking at them, but I’m just sharing what I’ve lived and what has allowed me to experience white privilege while travelling. At least a fake one.

White privilege while travelling
Where in the world is the least racist?

I didn’t actually realise I had this fake white privilege until I was talking with a Brazilian friend. She is a gorgeous girl: petite, tanned dark skin and long, straight black hair. Although her physique is common on my side of the world, I guess that in the north of Europe, those features are not so easy to find. Therefore, she was telling me how she had felt observed and discriminated so many times while socialising with other Europeans, even before actually speaking to them. And, since we were both Latinas, she asked me if I had ever felt the same way. The answer was no.

Even though I have felt discriminated in the past because of my nationality (more of that later), I had never felt a “rejection at first sight” during my travels. I’m talking about instantaneous discrimination, coming from people who don’t even know you and yet they decide to stereotype you and your race with just one look.

My friend told me that sometimes people would start speaking really slowly and using short words when she was around, despite the fact she speaks perfect English. Also, sometimes guys would hit on her just because she looked “exotic” or “foreign”. But that’s not it. I, personally, have seen how bouncers at European clubs denied entrance to some of my brown friends for no apparent reason and I even witnessed when a douche-bag actually cleaned his hand after exchanging a handshake with a non-white person (I wanted to vomit). Additionally, a Mexican friend told me that a complete stranger called her “savage” in a pub in the UK while she was minding her own business and enjoying a pint.

For one reason or another, I have never been a victim of any of these examples, but, to be honest, no body should. Maybe some aspects of my physical appearance have sheltered me from experiencing this sort of treatment, but the situation is clear: discrimination still exists and it’s more active than ever.

White Privilege While Travelling: The dark side (pun intended)

As I mentioned, I have never experienced discrimination at first sight abroad. Yes, being 5’9 and having a blond mother shielded me from some of the most basic forms of racism, but, unfortunately, that protection only lasts until I show my passport.

white privilege while travelling
To be honest, this little guy has let me in many countries without a visa. But it’s a bit problematic.

I’ve seen the white privilege working against me in many occasions, but the most popular one is at the airports. If you have never felt that knot on the bottom of your stomach every time you queue on an immigration helpdesk or experienced your hand shaking while showing your visa to a border agent, you are clearly on the other side of the white privilege.

The white privilege while travelling begins to manifest itself the moment you hop off the plane and you get separated: white people on one side, the rest on the other. I have forgotten how many times I have been there, on the second line, surrounded by Asians, Middle Easterners and other Latinos, mentally repeating all the reasons why I am not illegal, why I really don’t want to stay on your country against the law, why I just want to enjoy a holiday, or a gap year or a family visit. But thinking it is not enough, you actually have to convince the border agent, you have to make him believe everything you say is true, you even have to show proofs and a complete itinerary showing that you are nothing but a mere tourist. In those scenarios, your skin speaks louder than your words.

http://www.thedreampacker.com/what-to-do-when-you-get-detained-at-the-border/
The truth is travelling becomes harder when you are not on the right side of the world.

I have written in the past about the shock I had while I was detained at the British border a couple of years ago. Of how I was locked inside a room against my will, surrounded by other non-white people and how I was searched, interrogated and deprived of my freedom for almost five hours. I still remember how I lost my connecting flight, my hotel booking and around 200 pounds just because of my passport and I still think it is not fair. And I was lucky! Some of the other travellers that shared the room with me ended up being deported.

And it has not been the first time. I have been questioned about my motives to visit the United States in more than one occasion. While I was only 16 years old, an agent even decided to search through my luggage and check my Harry Potter DVD collection trying to find some incriminating piece that could potentially refuse my entrance to the country. Also, last time I went to Ireland to visit my ex boyfriend, the officer made me explain exactly how was I planning to maintain a long-distance relationship with my migratory conditions… All fun and games, you know.

I have been told that I am unlucky because I was born Mexican, I have been denied jobs because of my place of birth and a guy even refused to date me after he found out where I was from. There might be small issues, but together they form a bigger problem. One that many people refuse to see.

White privilege while travelling is real, so now what?

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe we all are different, but I prefer to base those differences in merits, not in chance. My friend Kelly described the white privilege pretty accurately and called it a “postcode lottery” and she is right. Just because someone was born in the “wrong” side of a border, now they have to enjoy fewer opportunities. And no, I am not using this space to rant about my nationality, I actually realise that I have been more fortunate than many other people in my own country. I come from a middle class family, I have a Bachelor’s Degree, I speak two languages, I had the chance to study in a first world country, I have travelled around the world… I am very lucky and I try to never forget that, but I think others should see how privilege escalates, it is real and it is not fair.

Female Solo Traveler
These lines mean more than you imagine.

Some people will never know how it is to have to justify your transit at every security point, how it is to be afraid to speak your own language in public, how is it to be separated from your children and your family. And I honestly think that nobody should experience any of those scenarios ever, regardless of their passport or their heritage.

I don’t regret being Mexican at all, but I do think the balance is slightly shifted to the other side. My father has been living in the United States for half of his life and I’ve seen from the front row how he has fought against a system that does not want him there, despite the fact that he pays his taxes, follows the law and respects other people. On the other hand, I’ve also seen my mother, with her American citizenship and her white skin, experiencing all the benefits that come with that amazing combo. And neither of those extremes should exist. I dream about the day when we can all travel freely, without boundaries or prejudices or walls and where passports are just booklets to collect stamps and memories.

world globe map
If only it were as easy as to just pick a country on a globe…

I don’t want to go all Martin Luther King on you, but with everything that is happening in the world at the moment, I felt I had to say something. I cannot speak for other people, but I can do it from my own experience and I can honestly say that white privilege while travelling is a thing and people are suffering its effects right now. A blog post won’t do much to change that, but, in the meantime, I’ll keep moving and travelling and writing about it so more people can know about it.

If you or anyone you know has experienced white privilege while travelling (the white or the not-so-white side), please share it on the comments! Remember that sharing is caring, so the more people aware of this situation, the better.

For now, I bid goodbye. I guess I’ll see you on the road.

Love,

The Dreampacker signature

16 comments on “White privilege while travelling: my experience as a Latino woman

  1. Hearing this has happened to you in the UK makes me rage. It’s really downplayed over here how invasive our border system can be for tourists, We seem to be ok to judge Americans but not admit our own practices. I hate that hypocrisy.

    This piece is so fair and eloquent; I too hope for fairer systems ahead.
    Kelly Keegan recently posted…Fox Glacier: New ZealandMy Profile

    1. Thanks for reading, Kelly! I didn’t have the best experience at Heathrow that time, but, to be honest, beyond the airport lines, British people have been nothing but kind to me. I’ve spent many many months in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland (I still need to visit Wales) and I’ve had some of the most wonderful experiences there. I know that the immigration laws have nothing to do with the people who actually live in a country, so hopefully we can build more bridges and less walls in the future. =)
      Dann Castillo recently posted…White privilege while travelling: my experience as a Latino womanMy Profile

  2. This was a very interesting piece Dann. Although I’m black I haven’t experienced any trouble during my travels. I guess this is my American passport privilege and sometimes I travel with my boyfriend who is American like me but has Colombian and German ancestry (with a German last name). He at times looks racially ambiguous. But he’s experienced things while we’ve traveled. When he grows out his beard he looks Moroccan or Middle Eastern. He loves to wear a hoodie and without fail every time he wears he’s hoodie and sweatpants at the airport he gets pull over for another security check! One time in Amsterdam it was literally right after we went through the security they stopped him and asked him where he’s going…
    Like you I hope that one day things won’t be this way.

  3. This is such a thoughtful post. I can tell this is something you’ve been thinking about for a while. I’m not sure if I’ve experienced this or not. I’ve only ever been a white American but I always assumed the travel privilege was having a US passport; though I don’t know if I would call it a privilege.

  4. What an insightful post, and one I am glad to have read, although it saddens me at the same time. Some times I think humanity has not advanced at all in 100 years, despite all the world events in that time. Sure we can create new technologies and ways of living, but fundamentally, we still have not learnt to accept people’s different ethnicities or race or country of origin. One of my NZ-born friends who has a Filipino mother once told me “I’m a foreigner in every country I go to”. I’ve never forgotten that. Keep fighting the good fight. I know this doesn’t compare at all, but as a journalist, I am always questioned at every border! There are some countries that really really despise journalists…

  5. I really enjoyed reading this piece Dann, and I love your honesty. As someone of mixed heritage, I get this a LOT while travelling. I live between London and Italy, and while I speak perfect English, I always get asked ‘where I’m from’, and I have the ‘exotic’ token constantly thrown at me. I have many Caucasian friends, and I love them, but some call me the ‘exotic’ one in the group! When in Italy, I get mistaken a lot for Latina, especially Mexican (!), which isn’t sometimes so good, as some south Americans have a reputation – I won’t go any further! I think you’re lucky to be Mexican; it’s a beautiful country, culture and people. I loved my time when I was there; and even felt like it was a second home 🙂 x

  6. I loved each and every word from your article and can relate on many things. Sometimes, I think passport of specific also matters a lot, in getting privileges. You are correct, that border lines on map matters a lot and I too have faced such incidents during my travel. I love Mexican food and its lively culture and one day I would visit this beautiful country.

  7. Let me tell you something – We in India face it in a very hard way. In India, there are more than 30 states with 30 different dialects and appearance. And whenever you are travelling to some other place you are identified as an outsider. You have faced the problem in a different country on a different continent but just imagine how does it feel when you get a similar treatment in your own country.

  8. So unfortunate that people form opinions based on color of skin. So hard to believe you get separated after you hop off the plane: white people on one side, the rest on the other. Never been there yet. This has disturbed me a bit because my skin is brown.

  9. I am so glad that you wrote this. It is time people wake up to the discrimination they mete out owing to skin color. I have seen even Asians do this – they tend to favor the fair-skinned even over their own community. It honestly, irks me sometimes. but the rest of the time, I just let it go. I am just glad that I am what I am – just as you are 😀

  10. It breaks my heart to read posts like this. Its angering because I feel like this could happen to any one in any country. Here in the Philippines, foreigners are generally considered Americans as soon as they see you are white. And they receive so much more privileges than local travelers and its annoying to see that first hand.

  11. Babe, I love this blog and traveling can be an eye opening. When I lived abroad in the states, I was told that I am from the UK (because of my accent) but then I was like “I am South African” then I got then they would reply with “You don’t look South African” or “your skin tone is to light” Then I just realized there are so many ignorant people out there and they yet need to see that not everyone looks the same and if they look the same doesn’t mean they are from the same country/culture.

  12. This was a really well written and examined piece. As a white woman from the USA and living in the UK, I cannot fully understand and I hate the way the US treats those from Mexico as far as immigration practices go. I have noticed this in small ways with my partner, who has a New Zealand passport and is Kiwi, but was born in Saudi Arabia and his mother is Tongan (so his skin is darker and his passport says Saudi Arabia in the place of birth section). Every single time we enter the UK (where we live now) I get through just fine in the automated passport system at customs and he has to go into the other section to speak with someone. This has happened now 3+ times. It’s a very small thing and usually he just explains to them that he is a PhD student and it is fine, but the fact that I always get through just fine (even when my passport photo had blonde hair and I now have dark brown hair) and he has to take that extra step has always made me feel a bit icky.

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