Home Scandal and Gossip Ja Du Transracial Florida man born white: Why I feel Filipino

Ja Du Transracial Florida man born white: Why I feel Filipino

Christopher Koulouris: About author bio at bottom of article.
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Ja Du Transracial Florida man
Pictured, Ja Du Transracial Florida man who feels Filipino. Screen grab.

Ja Du Transracial Florida man born white feels Filipino: Can one appropriate a race or an ethnicity other than the one they were born with? 

Ja Du, a Tampa, Florida individual born as a white male and formerly going by the name of Adam has told of identifying as ‘transracial’ and saying they feel comfortable identifying as a Filipino.

For those of you amiss as to the definition of transracial, the term describes someone who was born one race or ethnicity but identifies as another. Sound familiar? 

In an interview with WTSP, Ja Du claims to have come to the realization of their new adopted ethnic Asian derivative race after learning about Filipino life for years. From a young age, Ja Du said he was drawn to the country’s food and traditions.

Explains Ja Du, ‘Whenever I’m around the music, around the food, I feel like I’m in my own skin,’

Adding, ‘I’d watch the History Channel, sometimes for hours, you know, whenever it came to that, and you know, nothing else intrigued me more but things about Filipino culture.’

Besides the name change, Ja Du said he embraces the new identity by driving a purple Tuk Tuk.

The revision concedes Ja Du has him worrying how others will react to him living as a Filipino man, while insisting he wants people to understand he’s sincere.

Reiterated the transracial, ‘If that’s who they are and they want to celebrate it and enjoy it, then you have to think what harm is it doing? All they want to do is throw themselves into that culture and celebrate it.’

‘I think before we get offended, we need to take a step back and think about what is the harm.’

Ja Du Transracial Filipino: Is identity simply tantamount to cultural affinity? 

Ja Du’s transracial identity is not the first case to garner media attention.

Former NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal made headlines in 2015 when she was outed as a white woman who for years passed herself off as black.

‘If I would have had time to really, you know, discuss my identity,’ Dolezal told the BBC at the time. ‘I haven’t identified as African-American. I’ve identified as black. And black is a culture, a philosophy, a political and social view.’

Despite individuals such as Dolezal and Ja Du saying they feel more inclusive to an ethnic race than they were actually born into, many who might give a pass to transgender folk identifying as the gender other they were born with, continue to challenge the ability of one’s ability to usurp their identity simply on ethnicity.

Which is to wonder can one’s ethnic make up be more than the one’s biological make up and the thing they feel and culturally draw an affinity towards ….? Even if it means now driving a purple vehicle….while not necessarily having to live through the racism, discrimination, a typical Filipino individual or any other minority has had to weather all their life.

Never mind the fact that adopting a particular ethnic disposition may suddenly make one more marketable and in some cases eligible for certain benefits, jobs and scholarships, where they may have not previously been before.

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