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The Conversation

Factual: Life Stories

Two women from different parts of the world share the stories of their lives

Two women from different parts of the world, united by a common passion, experience or expertise, share the stories of their lives.

The Conversation: Being 'Mixed Race': Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade

Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade

11/05/2015

Being 'Mixed Race': Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Being 'Mixed Race': Kira Lea Dargin and Annina Chirade

An Australian-Aboriginal Russian woman and a Ghanaian-Austrian Londoner discuss identity

"When you're mixed-race people always want to know who you are."An Australian-Aboriginal Russian woman and a Ghanaian-Austrian discuss self-image, identity, and the way they look.

Kira Lea Dargin's parents met at church. Her mother is white from a Russian family who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s, and her father is Aboriginal Australian. Being "mixed" Kira says, means constantly having to explain how you came about or how your family manages to blend. Having come through some difficult times as a teenager Kira now happily identifies with both of her cultural backgrounds.  As the director of 'Aboriginal Model Management Australia', her mission is to help broaden how Australian beauty is defined. 

Annina Chirade describes herself as Ghanaian Austrian. She is the founder and editor of Rooted In magazine. When she was growing up, between London and Vienna, people would often question whether she was related to her fair, straight-haired mother. After many years obsessively straightening her own "kinky, curly, Afro-" hair as a teenager, she found her own style - inspired by the confident styles of black female singers like Erykah Badu. Annina says that when you are 'mixed-race' people make assumptions about your identity and consider it to be "up for debate", but she is clear that "whiteness is not something I'm a part of." 

Picture:
Kira Lea Dargin. Credit: Claire Mahjoub, SSH
Annina Chirade. Credit: Adu Lalouschek

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