"Intrinsically interesting": The racialized experiences of multiracial women students at a predominantly White institution

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to explore the racialized experiences of 10 multiracial women undergraduate students at a predominantly White institution (PWI) located in the midwestern United States. This study focused on how multiracial women experienced and responded to their encounters with race on campus. Additionally, the intersections of race and gender in the lives of multiracial women students were examined. The study also explored the ways in which the institutional context impacted multiracial women students' experiences with race.

Critical race theory (CRT) and critical race feminism (CRF) were used as the analytical tools in this research and allowed for a focus on the intersections of race and gender in the lives of 10 multiracial women undergraduate students. These theoretical frameworks guided the decision to use critical qualitative inquiry and narrative inquiry to investigate the racialized experiences of the multiracial women student participants. Three qualitative interviews were conducted with each of the 10 women and made up the crux of the data collection process. The first and third interviews were more "traditional" and took place sitting down in an office on the Midwestern University (MU) campus. The walking method was utilized for the second interview. The walking interview provided in-situ information concerning the 10 multiracial women's lives and experiences with race on campus.

Four themes emerged from a thematic analysis of the data and were analyzed using a CRT and CRF framework. These four themes included (a) "Should I order fried chicken?": multiracial women and racial stereotypes, (b) "I am biracial so it may not hit me the same way": multiracial microaggressions, (c) "Terrible for your self-esteem": manifestations of Whiteness, and (d) "Just get yourself involved, girl": coping with racialized experiences. Findings suggest that the 10 multiracial women experienced race and racism in college. Participants' narratives challenge dominant ideology and expose how America is not in a post-racial era and that multiraciality does not transcend racism. Findings from this study guide future research and practice that concerns higher education and multiraciality.