By: Laney Crawley (’26), Staff Writer
You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation by Julissa Arce initially caught my eye because its title is a phrase I’ve heard too many times in my life. In her book, Arce accurately captures what it is like to be a person of color.
As a Mexican immigrant, Arce has had many experiences with racism that she discusses in her novel. She talks about her experience growing up, the struggles her family went through, learning English, and entering the workplace.
When I was younger, people used to tell my mom, with just enough surprise in their voices to be insulting, that they were impressed by how “properly” I spoke.
I was raised right, taught to have manners, ask for permission, call adults Mr. and Ms. and never use slang. These rules were common sense in my household, and common courtesy. What I didn’t fully understand why it was okay for my white friends to be imperfect while it was a crime for me to make a mistake.
You Sound Like a White Girl is exactly what Arce writes it to be, a phrase meant to tame Black and Brown bodies in America. People say people of color sound white when they speak eloquently. This idea tells me one thing; white people see intelligence as a white trait. “Sounding white” is an idea used to belittle others. Clearly, non-white people will never be white. The problem is that through this phrase, people of color are supposed to be sad about that. The message it sends is that they will never be seen as perfect in America, no matter how hard they try, because they lack whiteness. People of color can only wear a mask forged with the right clothes and right words. The “white girl voice” is only accepted because it’s just that, a white girl voice. Anything that’s good, accepted, wanted, or valued in America? It’s not them, or a reflection of their character and hard work. It’s them “acting white.”
Why are people of color constantly told we must assimilate to be accepted, but then simultaneously told to act authentic? It creates confusion and doesn’t allow them to explore their identities and be their true selves. How are Black people, specifically in America, supposed to know who they are, when everyone is constantly telling them who they should and should not be? Why do white people pick and choose the Black slang, trends, and culture they want to popularize, and discard the rest? The word of the year, slay, is credited to white girls on tiktok, but its origins stem from Black and Latine members of the LGBTQ community.
Arce is also correct when she states that it’s a lie that youth will lead us to a better world. With each generation things improve, but things also stay very much the same. I have seen in my own family how my grandmother dealt with racism when she originally came to this country, the way my mother does in the workplace, the way I did all throughout my primary education, and the way my kids will.
The only way to break this cycle is to reject whiteness all together. Being American does not and should not equal being white. Children should not have to crave whiteness because they fear it’s the only thing that will allow them to be accepted. Adults shouldn’t be told that they must code switch in the workplace, because it perpetuates the idea that white voices are the only ones that should be heard and respected.
We as a society have to ask ourselves why we feel the need to label personality traits and characteristics as Black or white. We could simply let people live. White people could stop trying to minimize Black and brown success by crediting it to their adopted “whiteness.” The Black community itself, can stop allowing these notions to pollute their environment and make them believe that there even is such a thing as “acting white.” We have to separate ourselves from the notion entirely. Toni Morrison coined the term “the white gaze,” by explaining that “Black lives have no meaning and depth without the white gaze.” She wasn’t just talking about her stories, she was talking about real life.
It’s very easy for these racist ideas to plague an inherently racist society. No matter how many steps we take for equality legally, these social issues are deeply rooted. Everyone knows the history of the Civil Rights movement, and the strides we have taken for equality through legislation. What many people don’t seem willing to do however, is the work that is needed to fix the social aspect of racism that is still ever prevalent in this country. Arce’s story proves how connected people of color really are.
As I was reading her book, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I related to a Mexican author I’d never met. Her words spoke to me and let me know that there are people who see the problem and want to fight it. “Belonging is about acceptance, and, for us, that means accepting our power,” she wrote. I think part of that means that all of us have to look at ourselves outside of whiteness in order to see how much we are really worth.
