A few years ago, Rachel Dolezal, former president of the NAACP, was exposed as a white woman after years of posing as an African-American woman. Nevertheless, it was revealed by her parents that she was really just a white woman that used blackface and changed her hair to appear African-American. This controversy sparked the debate of “transracialism” and if it was possible to identify as a race other than the one given at birth.

On Monday, I sat down with GRF Sam to talk about the idea of transracialism and how it compares to transgenderism. Many people at the table talk agreed that while many people may feel as if they resonate heavily with a particular culture, it is unnecessary to change appearance to mimic their cultural appearance. From what I understand, transgender individuals do not live comfortably in their born gender, so a change is necessary to enjoy life. Nobody naturally feels uncomfortable in his or her own race, even if a person may consider themselves to fit in with another culture.

Additionally, there have been many celebrities and individuals that I know that have come out as transgender and altered their lives accordingly. I have never heard of another individual besides Rachel Dolezal to consider him or herself transracial. I hear that there is a documentary about her family and life coming to Netflix, and I will enjoy watching it, even though I do not think her story makes any sense.