It's pretty easy to become fascinated by a culture different than your own. The food, the traditions, and the lifestyle can be enough to make you wish you were born in a different body, in a totally different part of the world.
But have you ever felt that you actually belonged to a race different than your own?
Remember Rachel Dolezal?
After facing a lot of backlash from people feeling like she was taking on the culture and appearance of a race without having to experience any of the discrimination that goes with it, Dolezal tried to clarify her choice to live as a black woman.
#RachelDolezal. Receipts. http://t.co/b2OR0J5RDs— deray (@deray)1434074573.0
"I don't identify as African-American, I identify as black," she said in a segment on TODAY.
"I definitely feel like, in America, even though race is a social construct … there’s still a line drawn in the sand, there still are sides, politically there’s a black side and a white side, and I stand unapologetically on the black side." While Dolezal has pretty much flown under the radar since the controversy (she's currently selling homemade lollipops online), another man is now bringing attention to the concept of being "transracial."Ja Du, a Florida man who was born white, with the name Adam, says he identifies as Filipino.
The connection Du feels to Filipinos began at a young age.
Du even drives a tuk-tuk, a popular mode of transportation in the Philippines, around his neighborhood in Tampa.
"The more knowledge you have of yourself, the happier you can be."
Many people find the concept of being born into the wrong race a tough pill to swallow.
@usatodayvideo Listen, i love thai culture and i go to Thailand every year. I appreciate the culture,i love the peo… https://t.co/sSi8KESf71— Nakia Shuri Okoye (@Nakia Shuri Okoye)1510612863.0