Adriane Fraser - photo by Kristen Griffith

Adriane Fraser – photo by Kristen Griffith

By Adriane Fraser (Whetstone Staff Writer)

I am always getting told that I “talk white.”  I never knew there was such a phrase before I came to college.

I looked it up. It means something like “speaking properly,” which is associated in some parts of black culture as “white.”

Some say the way I speak betrays the black race and culture and that I am “selling out.”

But I keep asking myself: Am I really “talking white” or am I just speaking properly?

Some of my friends tell me that I do not sound how I look.

I am one of those types of people who dress comfortably.  Usually I wear sweats, a T-shirt, and a hoodie.  Most people say I look mean or a little thuggish until I open my mouth.  They are usually surprised by how I sound.

It irritates me when a phrase like “talking white” is used frequently. I think it’s ignorant.

I am black.  The way I talk is neither black nor white.

Not all white people talk the same.

I never realized that talking the way I speak is frowned upon by some of the black community.  I shouldn’t have to think twice about how I sound before I speak.

I speak properly because in English classes it’s what I learned to do, and the concepts have stuck with me.

I am an educated young black woman. Why speak like I am not?

Stereotypes are a big part of how some people categorize others who do not look, sound, or act like them.

As a young black woman, I feel that many look down on me because of my race and gender.  I do not need another stereotype to hold me back in my life.

Blacks are putting down their own race when they accuse other blacks of “talking white.”  It is just reinforcing what other races say about black people.

When others say I talk white, they’re stating that they themselves don’t have the ability to talk proper.

I am angry because I don’t want people to look down on me or look at me differently because of the way I talk.

I hear this frequently, and all they are doing is defining me by their own stereotypes, and trying to make me feel bad because I’m not living up to what they think “black” is.

I do not care what other people say about how I talk.

Deal with it.