You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation

As a brown immigrant from Mexico, author Julissa Arce faced assimilation demands since arriving in San Antonio in 1994. She spent time eliminating her accent to be understood, and when a high school crush called her “a white girl,” she felt it was a compliment. Unaware of the racist implications, she assimilated, completing each stage but never fully fitting in.

Arce dismantles the myth of assimilation, exposing the four lies that promise acceptance: the Lie of Success, the Lie of Legality, the Lie of Whiteness, and the Lie of English. She argues that these demands trap immigrants and people of color in a purgatory, unable to secure whiteness’s power and belonging or find it in the communities it demands they leave behind. Turning away from the white gaze can make America beautiful, where differences are celebrated, heritage is shared, and belonging is inclusive.

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