In questo studio l’autrice indica con i termini monoracism, “monorazzismo”, chi si identifica come appartenente a una sola etnia e multi-heritage, “multietnico”, chi ha più di un’identità etnica. Per nominare se stessa dice di utilizzare una varietà di espressioni: a volte “multietnica”, altre volte “bietnica” o BIPOC (black, indigenous and people of colour) oppure brown, “marrone”, sperimentando una “fluidità etnica” osteggiata dalle ideologie razziste.
Partendo dalla propria esperienza personale traccia una storia del “monorazzismo”, invitando i counselor a interrogarsi sulle proprie competenze e capacità di evitare involontarie microaggressioni “monorazziste” nei confronti dei propri clienti multietnici.
Abstract (generated by IA)
This paper explores the concept of monoracism—a system of psychological and social inequality that marginalizes multi-heritage individuals through the privileging of singular racial categories. Drawing on historical, sociopolitical, and clinical perspectives, the study examines how colonial constructions of race, anti-miscegenation laws, and eugenic ideologies established enduring hierarchies that continue to shape contemporary multi-heritage experiences. Using both critical theory and reflective clinical insight, the author situates monoracism within broader frameworks of white supremacy, horizontal hostility, and mental colonization. The paper identifies the specific microaggressions and structural exclusions faced by multi-heritage clients in therapeutic contexts—ranging from racial misidentification to the invalidation of fluid identity. Through historical case studies and psychotherapeutic reflection, the work calls for racial literacy, reflexivity, and ethical accountability in counseling practice. The study concludes that therapists must recognize the historical trauma, intersectional identities, and systemic dynamics that shape multi-heritage clients’ experiences, moving toward anti-monoracist, identity-affirming therapeutic approaches that validate racial fluidity and resist colonial legacies of categorization.
Autrice: Mary-Claire Wilson
Titolo dello studio: I cannot behave like oil or water when I am neither. I am both
Pubblicazione: Regno Unito, Settembre 2025
