The Common Misconception

As a girl with curly hair and slightly tan skin, one of the most common questions I get, aside from "Are you Jewish?" is "Are you Spanish?" This question would be completely fine if I in fact was Spanish, but I'm not. I always answer this question by saying, "No I'm Dominican," and then they ask "What's the difference?" This is honestly very upsetting because non-hispanics really do believe that there is no difference between one being Spanish and one being hispanic. Hopefully, this post will enlighten the minds of some of those people who maybe have never been told this.

When one is Spanish, they are from Spain. Therefore, just because someone speaks the Spanish language, they are not automatically considered Spanish. Many people don't see how this could be offensive because they believe that all Spanish speaking people are the same. The reality is that we are all very different. Every one of our cultures have their own traditions. So, because of this, assuming that my culture is Spaniard is offensive to me because my Dominican culture is nothing like that of the Spaniards.

This does not mean that the Spaniard culture, or any other culture for that matter, is less than another. With culture comes pride, and this is something that is taken very seriously to a lot of people.

Hopefully, now knowing this, you will understand the severity in misnaming a hispanics ethnicity solely based on the language that they speak. Remember that assumptions and culture do not mix.