[OPINION] Rachel Dolezal and Caitlyn Jenner: Transracial vs. Transgender

The controversy surrounding Dolezal doesn’t stem from her identification with black culture, her desire to “culturallyâ€ define herself as African American, or her devotion to issues facing black America–everybody’s welcome at that table. The problem concerns the fact that she was the former head of an NAACP chapter and misrepresented herself as a person who was born black and who is, thereby, subject to the racism that results from such.

It’s important to remember; especially when considering differences between race and cultural identity, that racism isn’t about culture. Racism is discrimination, inequality, and social stigma, directed towards a group of people based solely on the fact that they were born of a certain race and have, often times, its physical traits, ect. Being on the receiving end of racism, as we have seen, brings with it a host of experiences unique to those who are members of that race or another oppressed racial group. The implications of Dolezal’s actions are connected to a long history involving the topic of race and culture in this country, just as the comparison to Caitlyn Jenner relates to mountains of research, scholarly and otherwise, concerning gender and sexuality.

If anything, this controversy provides an opportunity for deeper discussions about what it means to be black, and how we define the relationship between race and culture in America.

Â This article was written by Rebecca Nichloson.