I was sitting in a cafe with my daughter when two ladies started talking to me. They were very friendly and explained how they were nannies and how many children they both looked after. It was a pleasant chit chat until I realised that they thought I was a nanny too and asked if I only looked after one child. I was mortified.
My dad is from Ghana and my mum is English (white) – I am mixed race. My husband is white from Wales. We both have dark hair and a parent on each side with blonde hair and blue eyes (my mum and his dad). Our little girl has very blonde hair, very blue eyes and (some would say) white skin (I would say light skin).
I like to think I have a sense of humour, and I have giggled more than a few times about her blondness and bright blue eyes. Her colourings couldn’t be any more different from mine – aren’t genetics incredible? Of course, none of this matters to me. She is my gorgeous girl and I’m proud of my heritage.
However, when I’m mistaken for the nanny it deeply hurts. This is my little girl, no one else’s. I’ve brought her up and I’m so proud of her – I want people to know I’m responsible for this little cutie. Plus, I went through quite some pain to bring her into the world – so I want credit for it!
What’s even more astonishing to me is that people close to me say how my daughter looks exactly like me, just with fair features. So how someone else can’t see that we’re related still shocks me.
I’m not alone, since having my little one I’ve met so many mixed raced mums with white other halves whose babies are fair. It’s lovely to bump into these families and feel I’m not alone. I only hope that more people start to understand how it is possible for a black woman to have a baby with light skin – and vice versa.