Mixed race girls that are perceived as attractive would find it much easier to balance the focus on their looks by pursuing and developing other talents at a young age. Pursuing mastery in various areas of their life will allow them to build self esteem and confidence. All races have there share of attractive people. But as reported in Dr. Michael Lewis’ recent study, a majority of mixed race people are perceived as being more attractive I think that it could be distracting for a girl to have too much attention focused on her looks. I’m not a girl, so it would be interesting to know how girls that found themselves as being the center of attention from a very young age feel about this topic. Please feel free to share your comments below.
If too much focus is placed on a young girl and her exotic looks, she could become objectified and in turn rely too much on her features. Being exotic could be a double edged sword for a mixed race girl. If she is desired, she could feel that it’s for superficial reasons because of her exotic looks, and if she’s not desired she could feel that it’s because she looks different. Since mixed race girls are seen by a lot of men and labeled by society as exotic, this could prove to be distracting to her psychological and sociological growth and development. A girl’s looks could also prove to be a source of jealousy from other girls at a very young age.
Competition among girls could start at a very young age, as they are more concerned with looks and some tend to spend a lot of time gossiping about each other. Donna Jackson Nakazawa, Does Anybody Else Look Like Me?: A Parent’s Guide To Raising Multiracial Children This could very much impact a mixed race girl and self esteem and confidence would be an important part of her arsenal to deflect some of these social attitudes. I am not saying that girls should hide or be ashamed if they are attractive, but that they should be taught to not let themselves be objectified by men. This could be accomplished by encouraging them to focus on areas that they like that can build character and self esteem. Young girls that are well rounded will develop the ability to deflect overemphasis on her looks.
Mixed race boys on the other hand have a better opportunity at blending as competition among boys for the most part revolves around sports. If a boy is involved in sports he usually finds a level of camaraderie that transcends race and culture.