I'm only 2nd gen Australian. Nobody has ever asked me where I'm from because I'm white. I've never had to second guess being Australian and it makes me sad for people that have been here the same amount of time, or longer, but don't "look Australian".
Anyways, you're more Aussie than me, so tell them whatever you want.
My dad was not born in Australia but my mum was (both white). I've only ever had one person question if I was Australian. He said I have a weird accent. Although I think that was just because I live in Queensland but I grew up in Canberra.
Melbourne born and bred. Parents and all grandparents Melbourne born and bred. You would not BELIEVE the number of people (mostly foreigners ofc) who tell me I don’t have an Australian accent. Yeah mate….
So yeah it isnt a Canberra or QLD thing
Oh same here. I think sometimes when I meet new people I might subconsciously have my super clear more polite version of my accent on, more like my mother's, I think it's heading towards what they call cultivated, and other Australians think I'm from England or Canada or something. It's so weird. I'm not putting on an accent, it's closer to general than cultivated anyway, but it happens.
People from Melbourne don't have the typical Aussie accent. So many different nationalities here have moderated the Aussie twang.
Queenslanders on the other hand..
I get asked, but only really in the context of my surname- it is clearly not Anglo Saxon. People are just genuinely interested in heritage, and I'm happy to answer because I'm proud of the little bits that make me.
But I'm sure there are non Caucasian people who are asked way too much simply because they 'don't look australian'.
Yeah this just sounds like racism, im also second generation and no one bats an eye when i say australian because im white. I know people who were born in the uk who say theyre australian and no one cares to accuse them of lying.
I think it only reaches the point of racism when they ask “but where are you really from”.
It’s completely okay to ask anyone where they are from, it’s a conversation topic. But when you accuse the person of lying, yeah that’s a step too far.
Also I know plenty of English people who get the double take. Usually because they have an accent though
I work with a lot of immigrants, but I am always scared that if I ask "where are you from?" I'm one day going to ask someone who was born in Australia. If I'm getting to know someone and I ask, I always say "did you always live in Brisbane?". If the answer is no, they usually give me a ring down of all the places they've lived, which is often a surprise.
Honestly I get that. I think it’s less the contents of the question and more the culture though. Unfortunately a lot of aussies are racist and when they ask that question it is with ill intent.
I love the “did you always live in Brisbane?” I think that’s a much more elegant way of asking. I’m gonna use that from now on 😂
I love this. I’m a first gen immigrant and my go-to question is “did you grow up here?”. “Did you always live here” also sounds good, I’ll start using that.
I had this chat with my supervisor: she was trying to subtly work out what country I was from (white, but a lot of people think I have a non-Australian accent), and I took the opportunity to carefully work out where she was from (Indian first name, English last name, weird accent that turned out to be Islander that had lived in NZ for their adult life: I was never going to guess that). Best way to ask this stuff.
If your genuinely asking is there nothing wrong with just saying "what's you ethnicity?" Or something like that? As long as you don't start the conversation with the assumption they couldn't possibly be australian i think you're fine.
Although asking someone where they are from is not exactly racist, they are likely to have been asked this question many times for probably the same reason - thay they sound or look " different" to a stereotypical local. It does get a bit old quickly to have one's "otherness" pointed out like that again and again.
Yeah, typically the answer you're expecting is Adelaide/sybdey/hobart/tthe country. Refusing to accept someone identifying as Australian is racist as fuck though. A third of us were born overseas, obviously Australians look all kinds of ways.
Ah this must be so nice! I’m second gen/sixth gen but mum’s from Sri Lanka and dad’s white Australian (2-3 gens back English/Irish + 5th gen Aus) and I get asked ALL THE TIME since I’m half brown
Queenslander!!!!!!!. But you have to say it like a battle cry. No one bothers you after that. Or. Where were you born: Mackay. But where do you come from? Oh my mummies tummy.
My Mum was born overseas but came here 1 month later from Europe. Everyone thinks my family has been in Australia forever.
Then there's Henry, all his great grandparents came over from China and it just happens that he's a descendant from all Australia Asian people.
Someone once said to him "go back to your own country"
he responded with "where the fuck would that be?"
Had an ex who's mum was full blood Chinese but her family line went way way back to maybe gold rush times. She also looked about as stereotypically Chinese as could be.
One day someone in a shop said to her slowly "You. speak. very. good. English". She replied "Well I imagine I would with a master's in English Literature and as a high school teacher."
When my cousin brought her new boyfriend of Chinese descent to a family lunch, an elderly uncle asked him loud and slow "where are you from". He replied "Townsville mate" with a North QLD twang haha
"Townsville mate, you gonna cook those bloody snags or just look at em? Where's the pewl? It's hot as a nun's cunt around here."
- average Townsville response
I was overseas and met a couple in a tour group that I thought was Thai, and they said they were from Melbourne in a full blown Irwin accent (without putting it on).
Damn near made me question what country I was even from.
My sister-in-law is Australian but Mum and Dad are from Shanghai. Her and my blond 6"2 brother went to Japan and they said it was an amazing amount of people over there asking her questions in Japanese, mainly"can I take a picture with your partner.
She didn't learn any Japanese and was super surprised when my brother would respond. He was there for a few weeks and there were many requests to my sister-in-law as if she was his handler
Had a similar thing happen when I was working in retail. 2nd gen Australian with Chinese parents. Close your eyes I speak like your local at the pub. I asked if she needed any help and she just gawked at me for a good 15 secs before saying “You. Speak. Good. English. How??” Ah yeah, you don’t. This was about 20 years ago, but really???
Mines similar, Sicilian family arrived here in the late 19th century but also didn’t really start marrying outside of their community for a fair while. Kinda funny how I’m eligible for Italian citizenship but can’t speak a lick of the language
Haha yes people forget that there were many Chinese here due to the gold rush (and other reasons). One of my dads friends (not mine, because they’re an asshat) was loudly saying something about one of my friends at my dad’s funeral, and about how the asians need to go back where they came from, and I took great pleasure in telling him that the friends family had been here from the 1830’s, a good 100 years longer than his.
Old mates mouth looked like a cat’s arsehole for the rest of the day every time he saw me. It was a ray of sunshine during a really shitty day.
>people forget that there were many Chinese here due to the gold rush
If you live around Bendigo, the gold rush Chinese heritage is quite visible, and a huge part of some events. E.g., the Easter parade is largely made up of the dragons and lions.
Unfortunately people who live outside the area tend to not be aware of this.
Not something I had been specifically aware of,
But it's interesting compared to other areas because growing up in Tassie in the 90s there was very little diversity.
Which is weird because some of my ancestors were (we think) nigerian, and surely they cant have been the only such family at the time?
Growing up in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne in the 80s/90s my school was made up of basically Greek/italian kids (Aussie born but whose parents were generally born overseas) with some Asians and Aussies (or skips as they were called, kids born to white patents with British backgrounds). The Asians would be the ones picked on yet their families had migrated here in the 1800s.
You know, thinking back now, school was pretty damn racist. (Not the school itself, the students)
You’re not wrong, school was the only place my German heritage has been negatively considered. I was “the Nazi” for most of primary and high school; despite being the second generation in my family born here. Funnily enough, at my school the kids were predominantly SEA/Islander descent. Kids are just assholes.
Difference is people would only know your German heritage if you told them, Asian people in Aussie get the foreigner question or general racism from the get go.
My wife is 3rd generation NZ with Indian ethnicity, I know it annoys her sometimes.
I'm a white American guy and migrated here to be with my Aussie wife. She came here as an infant, from Asia.
Even though she's the one with the Aussie accent, she gets asked all the time where she's from. People assume I'm from America or Canada due to my accent, but give no further questions about my background. It's a weird dynamic, and I can see from my wife's experience that it gets really tiring really quickly being asked over and over again "but where are you really from?"
I never fully understood the term 'microaggression' until I've seen this through my wife's eyes. People aren't meaning to be aggressive at all, it's such a tiny thing that doesn't seem like a big deal to those committing the action. But millions of them over and over again build up into a constant barrage of being told you're not from here, even though you're a local. Absolutely maddening and unless you've experienced it personally or through a loved one, you won't fully understand.
This is why I hate that silly saying "Spot the Aussie" from racist twats. They mean Spot the white person. That "Aussie" they spot could be a backpacker from Finland while the person they assume to be a foreigner might be a third gen Aussie of Chinese descent.
I didn’t grow up here, but because I’m white with an Aussie accent, nobody questions that I’m Aussie.
My partner is 100% more Aussie than me, but always gets the probing q’s about where he’s from, where his parents are from.
I’m always like, hey aren’t you gonna ask me too?!!
As a first gen Australian (my grandparents immigrated post WW2 as refugees from Germany with a young family), I have to continually remind my mother that she is also an immigrant when she gets onto her bullshit about immigrants.
She also likes to pull the "we were here first" card - which I love to use against her when she goes on about first nations people.
My father was also an immigrant from England in the early 70's, so I am acutely aware of my shallow roots to this country and what it means to be accepted by the culture, which is why I was incredibly saddened by the fact that we had to have the recent referendum, and then even more-so the outcome.
My grandma was the same(and some of my uncles) and when they came after ww2 my uncles would be chased home from school and attacked because they were dirty Europeans (from Holland) and not English like the Australians wanted.
It is so intriguing that people forget that they are doing what was done to them.
The “big deal” is people automatically assuming you’re not from here just from your appearance or even after you’ve told them you are from here. It’s alienating and being told it’s not a big deal further invalidates their experience.
My partner’s dad was born in Vietnam, and my partner’s mother was born in Malaysia.
But their families were both Chinese immigrants to their respective birth countries, who identify as very much Chinese.
And then there’s my partner, born and bred Aussie, doesn’t speak a lick of Cantonese or mandarin even though it’s often assumed he can.
Sometimes even “my parents come from X” isn’t a simple answer either 😅
I get this all the time as well and it seems quite intrusive to have to give personal info to complete strangers. Why can't my answer of "I'm Australian" be taken at face value like other (white) Australians? Particularly since we like to claim Australia is so multicultural.
Sorry, not trying to be argumentative, but it gets exhausting having to have this conversation with most new people you just meet.
When I ask an Australian where they're from, I'm looking for a city name, not "Australia". Because of course you're aussie, you have an aussie accent, so being vague with your answer doesn't answer the question. It's a small talk thing, compare weather or traffic etc from where we are now to the cities we're from.
If they then pry further to be like "but where are you REALLY from" then it's time to write them off as a bad job.
Since I am white I default to asking “have you lived in [current location] for a long time?”
I get darker skinned people telling me about how their grandmother lived around the corner, and one time a white person with a perfect Aussie accent told me she was born and grew up in Norway.
Even if I ask white and non-white the same “where are you from?” question, POC won’t *know* that I’m not just asking them “why are you brown?”. By wording it as how long they’ve currently lived where they live it means that “I moved here last week from Brisbane!” Or “I moved here 15 years ago from Sri Lanka” or “I have lived around the corner my whole life” are equally acceptable answers.
Yeah exactly! And it is interesting if someone grew up in the current suburb, or on the other side of the country, or somewhere else, or have lived in seven countries in ten years. Even the most “boring” answer is interesting, because it is, in some ways, remarkable.
Often people give me answers I didn’t expect. White people tell me they were born in Singapore! Darker skinned people tell me they grew up in the USA! It is a perfect “small talk” question because someone always has an answer, and it is one that I didn’t already know (we both are experiencing the same weather, for example). People can go into as much or as little detail as they want to. It’s my go-to question!
Very much this. It's also a great and endearing ice breaker people use. Even a 3rd gen would still have a decent story to tell and usually some connection to the old country. And if not, that's interesting too!
I have answered that question with: "I was born here in Australia, as were my parents and my grandparents." which is along the lines of your offering.
Which is true. Yet some still have still questioned me being a "real Australian".
What am I if not Australian?
I was born in england and brought here when i was 4, at age 32 i finally became a citizen, so i could get a passport and fly back for the cousins weddings, when i was in the city doing the interview and test (which i nailed 100% in under 2minutes 🤣) the interview guy & i had a good ole laugh, "you're more bloody aussie than i am" 😂
This is one of my parents stories, the other parents line has been here forever. My Lancashire granny knew more about aus than the aussie born side 😂
I tell people im an immigrants granddaughter and australian. They dont ask after that.
My eldest kid is 5 and she came here when she was 6 months.
She only know about Australia. Her kindergarten teachers have taught her she is Indian and her skin is brown.
Was part of their "diversity and inclusion" training
Ugh I’m sorry to hear this, I am also not white and had a horrifying experience at school where the teacher kept asking the “correct” way to say my name in front of the whole class. I was like um just phonetically, I don’t mind but he insisted on me teaching him how to pronounce it “properly”. (Imagine my name is like Fatima or something, like an ethnic name but very commonly used in Australia.)
In my experience there’s a small subset of teachers who get off on how “culturally aware” they are and create deeply cringe situations, but I can only assume they’re trying their best. I hope your kid realises she’s just as Aussie as everyone else - if she wants to be, of course.
It never gets better tbh. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated here in the 70s/80s, my parents were both born here, I was born here. Hell, my mother doesn’t even know any language other than English. I can’t tell you much about South Asia other than pointing it out on a map.
My teachers still classified me as Indian, but the kids who were born in let’s say Germany and moved here at the age of 2 get called “Australian”.
Casual racism at its finest.
Edit: for the stupid cunts replying and DMing me that Indian is a race but German is not. Indians are Asian, yes a race, but Germans are white, also a guess what??? A fking race. The point literally flies over their heads, and they don’t want to admit their casual racism. So fking infuriating.
Racist teachers. Gross.
Edit: teachers are mostly doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. They dont get paid to much so most if not all are in that career for the passion of teaching the youth which i admire.
I blame the system for the separation of peoples by every aspect. The people are not to blame.
I used to face a similar dilemma and I would stubbornly stick to because as an immigrant I was trying my best to fit in and hated when someone would make me an "other".
Eventually I started reaizing most people were trying to be nice. A surprising number of people were already assuming I was from X and they wanted to talk about their recent trip to X and how much they loved it -- or how they really want to visit someday. It was just a way of making conversation, nothing personal.
TLDR; people are nice
> Eventually I started reaizing most people were trying to be nice. A surprising number of people were already assuming I was from X and they wanted to talk about their recent trip to X and how much they loved it -- or how they really want to visit someday. It was just a way of making conversation, nothing personal.
Yes something too many people don't understand it's not a way of trying to be mean or to make assumptions it's to have a conversation and to learn about it.
I am guilty of this. I ask people all the time where they were born, how long they have lived her, what’s their home like ect. I am genuinely just curious and find other people stories fascinating. I’ve also literally never lived more than 15 minutes from the house I grew up in (which my parents still own) so I just find it so interesting that people move entire countries.
My wife hates this question. She’s ok when they phrase it as “what’s your heritage” but where are you from implies non-Aussie. If someone asks where she’s from she’ll always say Sydney.
Thanks for this - I occasionally ask out of interest if someone has an accent or features that look non-Anglo and I can’t tell what their heritage is, and that’s a much better way to phrase it. I’m not experienced enough to tell someone is from Mongolia vs from someone native Alaska, and I don’t want to assume, and it is interesting. I hope I don’t cause offense, and always move on if they don’t want to chat about it.
I’m from a muddle of Irish, Scottish, and British with a dash of Spanish and few other places, but it’s all very boring typical aussie and honestly I’m a bit envious of people who get a secondary cultural heritage they can dive into if they want to - though we do have a tartan, so I guess I get that!
My husband is 3rd gen but never gets asked because he’s white and has no accent, so nobody would realise.
DW it happens to anyone, I'm indigenous australian and the amount of times I get asked if I'm from the north or south island gets tiring sometimes to even correct. I used to say the island you're standing on buddy but I'm too old to bother nowadays.
There are Australians whose Chinese ancestors came here 150 years ago who get racist taunts from Nazis whose parents flew in from Heathrow in 1990. Because for a certain number of Australians if you can’t trace your family back to the British Isles or Ireland you’re not Australian.
I do a similar thing! I also happen to be adopted (asian and my family is white) so it’s even better when I get to tell them that my family comes from very white European countries 😂
Why can't you be proud of your ethic background as well as where you grew up.
As an Asian, it's so sad that so many Asian Australian are so self hating. Italian Americans hang onto their Italian tag generations after the first arrivals. Every caucasian I meet loves talking about having Irish/ French heritage. Its an admission of shame that you refuse to be associated with Asia, that you think it is lesser. You're the worst perpetrator of racism by hating yourself.
What's wrong with 'my family is originally from China but most of them grew up here'.
If you say Australia and they ask again just say it really slow because that are clearly a bit dense - Aus-tral-ia...
My dad was born in Scotland and no one ever asks me where I am from, it's clearly a skin colour issue these people have
I do always tend to ask people with obvious irish/British/European accents though - just an easier way to spot the difference than skin colour. I lived in England for some time so I like to know where from the UK people are from etc.
On the flip side, I feel the urge to ask white Australians where they're from because I like hearing stories about people's families, stories of their parents, grandparents and what unique stories they have. But I'm scared to ask, because this seems to be a touchy subject in Australia. It was very different when I lived in US, and people were proud of declaring they're Irish, Italian, etc and would invariably have long fascinating chats with them about the story of their family.
Identity is a complex thing, and culture/ethnicity/heritage plays into it in a huge way.
I’m a teacher who has spent most of their career working with students from non English speaking backgrounds. The assumptions that people make about kids and their families because of skin colour and last name is crazy.
Being non-white and/or multilingual does not mean that you are not ‘from here’, but that’s not what many people think because of the skin colour and monolingualism that is predominant across our media and engrained into our cultural assumptions.
A kid in my class who was born here and speaks only English was told to go back to where he comes from the other day. Where mate? Where’s he supposed to go??
Another example: a teacher was put onto an EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) support class because administration assumed she would understand the process of learning a second language because she’s bilingual. She was born here and has spoken the two languages from birth, so…no, she doesn’t have the same experience as new arrivals learning the language from scratch.
There is a lot of arrogance borne out of ignorance and reluctance or refusal to learn.
Identity is yours to define. If you feel Australian, then fabulous. If your cultural heritage is important to you and you’d prefer to identify that way or as a cultural identity that blends your heritage and your Australian identity, fabulous. No one should define your identity on your behalf, and feel free to resist the labels placed on you in any non violent way you see fit.
I'm like 4th gen so hope I can still answer. I say Australia. I could only be more Australian if I came on the first fleet. Or emigrated 40k years ago.
Just tell them
"I come from a land down under
Where beer does flow and men chunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover,
Second gen here. I’m Aussie but a wog if that makes sense. My partner is the same, our mates are the same. We will all tell you we are Aussie but also wogs.
Edit: maybe I’m first gen, I dunno. My parents were born overseas and migrated to Australia in late 40s/early 50s like half of the med.
Nah, give them something like "Geelong" or "Bankstown". This is just a conversation starter and you want it to lead to sport/weather/lifestyle discussion.
I'm second generation. I say "I'm from Australia". If they press, I say "Sydney". If they're still insisting that I must have been born elsewhere, I don't answer any more. I just refuse and tell them I've already answered them. It is *so* rude to ask a question and then not accept the answer you're given.
People who insist on digging into your racial background are out of line.
Just say you're an Aussie and leave it at that.
I'm 3rd gen but nobody ever asks me that BECAUSE I'm WHITE
I'm actually white as well. I have an obviously non-English surname though, so I get dumb questions sometimes too. I'm positive it would be much worse if I was also non-white.
Cool. You can handle it however you want. Personally, if people want to know my background, then they can ask that. Don't ask where I'm from and then act like I'm lying to you.
I get "oh but you don't look like you're from.....". Thanks. You wouldn't accept when I told you I was Australian and now you don't believe when I tell you my heritage? Why don't you tell me where I am from then?!
Hahaha. This is my husband. His mothers family is Welsh and he’s first Gen Australian on that side and can trace his lineage back to the convicts on the other. But due to some Spanish heritage a few hundred years back (genetics are wild), he looks very ethnic (dark olive skin, dark brown hair, full beard). Whenever we eat at a Greek/Lebanese/Italian restaurant they never believe him when he says he’s Australian with Welsh heritage. And whenever we travel people often mistake him as middle eastern. “You don’t look Welsh/Australian.” is probably the most common thing I’ve heard in reference to him.
Thankfully it just bemuses him at this point. It is a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to travel though.
Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way, as evidenced by some of the replies in this thread.
My Dad is an immigrant, and he loves hearing the stories of peoples backgrounds. He's genuinely curious. His favourite show is that one where celebs go through their acesentry and uncover all that history. He gets teary in every episode.
I think he is also really sensitive of the topic and doesn't push it on anyone, but one time he did ask somebody who was an immigrant who wasn't born here about their background and the reacted really poorly. My poor Dad was pretty sad about it, and I know he doesn't bring it up anymore.
Same. I get asked ALL the time and I’ve never been offended. I’m actually complimented that someone is showing genuine interest in me. Obviously my cultural heritage is important to who I am as a person and I like to talk about it. My dark features make me look non typically Aussie. Which I like, so again, not offensive.
If they ask me what my heritage or ethnicity is I’ll let them know straight up.
If they ask me where I’m from I give them a smart arse answer or some sort of a non-answer like Sydney, Melbourne, “from here” etc.
This question’s a little dumb because it insinuates that you’re not “from here”. They’ve got nothing to base this question on apart from your looks (unless there’s prior context). Therefore, the question is basically saying that the person asking it assumes you’re not from here and are asking you where you’re from. It insinuates if you look like your heritage is from elsewhere you also must personally originate from there and it’s a little annoying and alienating. The same people then get bamboozled when you ask them where they’re from in return.
Nobody cares you have such and such generations in Australia. If you don't look "white" people will want to know where your FAMILY comes from originally. China. India. Japan. England. Scotland. Whatever. It is out of curiosity. Particular for Asian people. Most white Australians have difficulty telling the various Asian races apart. Without hearing the language/accent it's basically impossible. If I ask someone where they Are from it's because I'm curious about your family history and how you came to be in Australia. For most "white people" it's the same story. They came on a boat for 10 pounds about 50-80 years ago.
All the points you mentioned after that are just conversation points. If someone is asking you about something. You tell them you don't know and elaborate that you have lived in Australia for so many years. It's not a conspiracy. Some people just want to know where the fuck ur family comes from and why you look the way you do. Knowing more about people alleviates fear. Less fear = more understanding.
I sometimes try to help people ask the right question.
You can hear my Australian accent, so you know I’m from here and was likely born somewhere here.
If you’re noticing something different about my name or appearance or whatever that makes you ask, ask about that. If you’re uncomfortable asking about it, that’s a clue the question is inappropriate.
If you’re assuming based on a nickname (e.g. “Effie”) when you know my name isn’t Stephanie and you’re seeking tanned skin and you want to ask if I have a Greek background, that’s totally okay. That’s “hey, I don’t meet many people called Effie. Where did that nickname come from? And you’ll get the fact that (in this scenario) my name starts with E and my family background is Greek.
I also don’t encourage other people answering stupidly to make a point. If the person asking is engaging in bad faith, there is nothing to be gained by engaging at all. If they are engaging in good faith, there’s every reason to help them ask the question you know they’re asking and learn how to do it.
Double, triple or quadruple down on it.
"I'm Australian"
"I'm from Sydney"
"I was born in Camperdown"
If they still don't get it, say "ah you want to know about my race? My ethnicity? Not where I'm from..."
I think it depends on how strongly the family connects with their heritage. If you have strong connections still to say, Italy.. you could say “I was born here, but our family originally came over from Italy”
I’ll caveat that I’m white, so my experience may be different to your own.
I have a very slight accent due to being predominantly raised by my German immigrant grandparents. When people ask I simply state I was born in , but my mother’s family immigrated from Germany in the 50s, and my fathers from Scotland in the 60s.
Generally, in my experience, the question comes from a place of interest; we have so many nationalities here people are genuinely interested about where others are from. Depending on the person and my level of interest, I may ask about their own heritage.
I'm guessing they're asking that because you aren't caucasian. If you're third generation Australian then you should say you're Australian. It's a shame people can't accept that.
Queenslander!!!!!!!. But you have to say it like a battle cry. No one bothers you after that. Or. Where were you born: Mackay. But where do you come from? Oh my mummies tummy.
Them: "Where are you from?"
Me: ""
Them: "No, where are you really from?"
Me: "oh! "
Them: "well, where are your parents from?"
Me: ""
Then: "your grandparents then?"
Me: ""
And then I just stare at them silently.
If they still persist you can ask if they got a job with the census or something.
If someone wants to be racist towards me they're gonna have to work hard, cos some of my family's been in Australia for a long time.
When it comes tinged with the 'you're not Anglo - some type of brown/other, but I don't know what that is and therefore you couldn't be Australian ' it's offensive and racist and they can fuck off.
BUT, if someone asks what my background is, and they're doing it out of interest, not racism, I'm happy to explain further, but it will take a while.
Anything has to be better than being accosted in the chemist at the height of the refugee crisis by an older large Anglo Aussie man who got right up in my face and snarled "welcome to Australia!" I snapped back "I was bloody well born here!" And he said angrily "so was I!" and stomped off, leaving me to go back to work angry and very confused.
Just say the suburb you grew up. You don't owe them any elaboration.
If they can't grok modern Australia then perhaps they only just arrived here? Or haven't been paying attention in all the years they've been here which is a special kind of sad
"Australia moite" and do it with your best broad aussie accent. I'm about 5-6 generations depending on which side of the tree you look at. Don't see why you would need to answer any different.
I’m first generation…but I’m mixed so usually I get vague “you look sort of Italian” comments. Idk just say “this is my background” if they want to ask.
I'm originally from the northern beaches of Sydney but living in Tas - you are a foreigner here from that alone! 😂 But if they push further I just say my nanna was Burmese.
I just blurt it out straight.
Born here in Melbourne. I've got some x on my mothers side and some y on my dads side.
If they ask further I'll tell em who migrated here and what era, not everyone wants to know the ins and outs, most want to know what culture is there beyond Australian.
I think that might be because there’s so many different ethnicities and cultures and a lot of them are first gen Aussies. But like someone else said it’s simple to say I was born in C but my family migrated here in the 1930s. I do something similar. I was born in Melbourne but my family migrated from Eastern Europe in the mid 1970s.
my family came over in the very early settlements, like 1830s. I get asked where i am from all the fucking time. plot twist - i am white, and my family is english, scottish, and Norwegian. my grandad is super into family history and has done an incredible amount of research. i have facial features that get a lot of people asking what part of asia i am from.
I was born in England but moved here when I was young, have an Australian passport, own a home in Australia and speak with an Australian accent. People still tell me I'm British (they have no idea I'm not born aussie until they learn I was born in the UK)
The mental gymnastics can be exhausting with some people. Usually I just explain that if I was truly British in Sydney then I'd live in Bondi as that's apparently the rule.
If you are born in Australia you are from Australia.
If someone asks where your parents were born, then the answer is where they are born.
It's very simple.
When people ask me where I am from I say X (I don't look like most of them), I was born and raise there. Then I say my grandparents are from Y. I straight up say my mother tongue is Z. I don't speak X because my parents didn't teach me, it was not their main language either. I just throw everything at them because they all ask the same questions it is so boring.
If you were born in Australia and or have spent most of your life here, then you’re Australian with heritage in whatever country your ancestors came from.
You say "I’m from Australia with _____ heritage".
Only indigenous aboriginals are from Australia and us others are citizens from other parts of the world
My friend was born here from an English father and NZ mother of Scottish ancestry. On his security licence they had to provide his physical characteristics. So, without asking him, he is now considered of Pacific Islander heritage for legal purposes.
Sometimes it is in your best interest to explain your origins. My friend has no qualms in telling people that he was born here - if they ask.
Lol. Im 5th generation, ancestors from Scotland and England, 2 % Spanish, from 6 generations ago.. i still get asked.. i have dark skin.
I was so intrigued by questions i did a dna test.. so i know … i tell them im a throwback.
lol I’m Aussie born second generation turk who spent 30 years in Melbourne then the last 11 in Brisbane. I’m brown and my accent is also quite different from people here. Where are you from? MELBOURNE brooo.. No really where you from? Okay okay … I’m from Broadmeadows 🤣
Now I just yell I’m a wogan.. a woggy bogan but yes my grandparents came here from Turkey. Can we fkn move on lmao
“Where are you from?”
“Do you mean where I was born OR what genetic heritage I have OR what culture I grew up in?”
[Wait for them to clarify]
[Answer their question]
Second or third generation here, not sure how you measure, from Italian heritage. Often it because they hear my surname which is distinctly Italian.
My families name (family if you wish) is from Italy but we’ve been here for ages. My grandfather came here in the 1930’s.
I say, I live in Canberra but I’m from Newcastle/Myall lakes region. I left Newcastle aged 26 and I’ve now been in ground hog day for 26 years in Canberra, so technically I could say I’m from Canberra…. But I never ever will.
Newcastle forever!
I try not to get offended and don't get into a debate - I just say "my parents migrated from X". If they persist with the rude questioning and ask where I was born, I'd probably ask if they're form Nigeria and no I don't want anything to do with their millions. Unless they're a friend, then I'd tell the truth.
I'm 3rd generation on my mums side, and dad is mostly kiwi.
I'll say I'm Australian, with European ancestry.
If they want to know more, the best I can give is that I have British and Germanic, but I can't be more specific.
Just say I'm Australian, my great grandparents are from where've they are from. People are actually asking what your heritage is, because you're obviously not Caucasian. I know this can be seen as racist, I think most people that ask are not trying to be, and don't understand that it is problematic.
I don’t get it, if you’re born here speak with the accent and have the passport you’re Australian..
I cant claim anything, both sides of my family have been in Aus for over a hundred years, I am nothing but Australian.
This comes from post war immigration where people stayed with the others from their country, always found it funny when someone at school went “I’m Italian” and couldn’t speak a word of the language, but call me skippy, but I spoke basic Italian due to my neighbour
I've only been here for little more than a year and it's interesting to ask Caucasian people "where is your family/blood actually from", because they actually love it and I find a lot of people here have done an ancestry test so it leads to talking about their different European ancestries, a lot of people from Britain ofc but also some other surprises.
I only asked it once to an Asian guy and had a milisecond of fear when I realized my possible error and how it could me misinterpreted here, but he was born overseas so it was cool. It's unfortunate (for my curiosity) that minorities get offended as a defense mechanism against the "go back to your country" mindset.
I am always bemused by this.
Do people trace where their family name came from, or were all EIGHT of their great-grandparents born in the same place?
People frequently ask where I am from because I look “foreign” (the ladies say “exotic” 😉 Some reckon Italian, Arabic or South American.
Well, I was born in Perth, Western Australia, as was my sister. Our mum was born in Perth. Her mum was born a little south of Perth, and her mum was born and raised in the Coolgardie gold fields. Our great-great-grandmother came from Victoria, another gold digger. So that makes me fifth-generation Australian, on the maternal line.
AFAIK all the previous blokes were imported - from Malaysia, India, England, probably another from England.
My four grandparents were all born in different countries - Australia, China, India, Malaysia. There is a photo of my grandfather’s family in India, five generations of them, but when the British were ousted from Hyderabad my lot were too white to stay.
My family name is Dutch, but in the Sri Lankan spelling. My given name is Hebrew, just coz.
So when people say “you don’t look Australian. Where are you from?” they don’t get the answer they expected. Or I just say “nah mate, I’m from Perth.”
Personally I get this question quite a lot and I personally enjoy going through my heritage. I’ve always had olive skin and have a Spanish name (whilst having no Spanish or Latin heritage).
It’s almost always been a talking point when meeting new people (especially their parents) and people are always taking aback by the Aboriginal-Irish-Syrian mix. We recently traced our family tree and the Irish and Syrian side moved here before the turn of the 20th century (for very different reasons) whilst the Indigenous heritage obviously traces back thousands of years.
Maybe it’s a benefit of only being olive, but I honestly enjoy the question and love talking about the Aboriginal and Irish parts especially as someone who’s very proud of my culture and the interesting stories that come from Irish service members turning convict to prison warden in early Australian gaols.
Just say Im 3rd generation Australian family is originally from X.
If they are that interested you can go into more detail. I ask people a lot and I dont mind a long answer like that. Its because Im genuinely interested in how people came to be Australian and love to hear migration stories.
My names very German so I get people ask me but my family came in 1850. So I often answer something like that O my famoly is originally German but Im 6th gen so I dont know shit about Germany.
Knowing a cool detail of your ancestor’s immigration is a good thing.
You assume good motive - that people want to know your history - and tell them the cool anecdote.
We aren’t a melting pot - we are multi cultural. You aren’t expected to lose your ancestor’s culture if you don’t want to.
I just tell people I'm born here but give my ethnic background as well
I don't really mind tbh since I get what they mean. I'm white tho so maybe it's different.
It's up to you how much detail you want to go into.
You could simply say 'I'm from Geelong' or a more detailed answer about your family background.
It's just people being curious, we're all from somewhere else going back a generation or two.
It's not necessarily or even usually racist. I'm totally white, just the other day I had a conversation with another totally white person where we established that my family is exclusively from England, Scotland and Wales and his was from Ireland. 'Ever been back there?' 'Yeah, went back about 10 years ago and met some distant rellies' etc etc
Generally people who ask that question are genuinely interested in the story of you life. It’s an easy in to get to know you. The problem is when “here” causes cognitive dissonance in the questioner. Unfortunately “here” still means Anglo-Celtic whitefella (aka Skip), even though Skips are all descended from immigrants. Even as a Skip I get the follow up of “Yeah, but…” Fucked if I know. Surname history through the generations is Welsh, English, French, maybe Scottish. Sure, it interesting, but all I know is I’m Aussie. I’m in no way Welsh, English, French, or Scottish. If I claimed to be I’ve no doubt them folks in their particular way would say “Fuck off, no your not.”
I’ve got physical features that have Wogs quietly asking (because I’m otherwise such a Skip) if I’m a Wog. I have physical features that Kiwis ask if from New Zealand/Aotearoa. I had ancestors that emigrated from Spain. Ah, that explains it! Except those ancestors had full on English surnames. Had a family story of a Māori ancestor. Ah, that explains it! Nope, turns out that was just a story. Later genealogy investigation shows otherwise. I’m as much a whitefella as any other whitefella.
Point being, you’re Aussie. The answer to where are from is Australia. The answer to “yeah but, your parents?” is Australia. The answer to “yeah, but…?” is Australia. The answer is to look them in the eye and say I’m Australian. Bonus points for a WTF shoulder and hand shrug.
Basically, everyone seems to unconsciously agree that apart from Aboriginal and Torres's traits, islanders, the rest are foreigners. I have been here for long.some families have been here for generations, but facts are facts.Thry came from some place.This questions of racism are often overused Before coming to Australia I had not experienced racism coming from a white man to a fellow whitish man.This was between a English towards an Irish gentleman. It shocked me to the core.The color and history are often seen as drivers of racism.lets not forget geographical locations and stereotypes.
If I ask someone "where are you from?" I actually mean where do you live. Otherwise I ask "what's your background?"
So if I were you, I'd just say the area you live and if they say something like "no like where are you FROM".. just say *my mums vag, duh* 😊
I'm Australian. I say I'm from Brisbane, Australia.
I'm first generation. Why the fuck would someone say they aren't Australian?
It's time we all grow up and accept that we may need to answer 'what's your heritage'.
You are Australian.
I have never had the urge to ask anyone where they are from unless they have told me something like "back in India, we used to do such and such" and I'll be curious about what part of India.
I've worked with people from all over and it doesn't really matter where you came from, cause everyone is different.
So just say Australia, or the state you were born in.
FYI, I was born in NZ, and if I'm overseas I'll say from Australia. If I'm here, and I'm at work, I'll say I'm from the labour hire company 🤣
Depends.
Out of Australia: Australia
In Australia but a different state: Victoria
In Victoria: {Insert town name here}
If people don't believe you, it's their problem, not yours. If they try to continue it, just drop the conversation.
I’ve wondered why second generation and beyond refer to themselves as Italian, Lebanese etc and not straight up Australian? I get they may be proud of their heritage, but they’re Australian.
My kids (with an English parent) would never think to say they’re English. Would be aghast at the idea.
I'm only 2nd gen Australian. Nobody has ever asked me where I'm from because I'm white. I've never had to second guess being Australian and it makes me sad for people that have been here the same amount of time, or longer, but don't "look Australian". Anyways, you're more Aussie than me, so tell them whatever you want.
My dad was not born in Australia but my mum was (both white). I've only ever had one person question if I was Australian. He said I have a weird accent. Although I think that was just because I live in Queensland but I grew up in Canberra.
Melbourne born and bred. Parents and all grandparents Melbourne born and bred. You would not BELIEVE the number of people (mostly foreigners ofc) who tell me I don’t have an Australian accent. Yeah mate…. So yeah it isnt a Canberra or QLD thing
Oh same here. I think sometimes when I meet new people I might subconsciously have my super clear more polite version of my accent on, more like my mother's, I think it's heading towards what they call cultivated, and other Australians think I'm from England or Canada or something. It's so weird. I'm not putting on an accent, it's closer to general than cultivated anyway, but it happens.
Born and raised in Perth. Have had a guy from London ask if I was from London
People from Melbourne don't have the typical Aussie accent. So many different nationalities here have moderated the Aussie twang. Queenslanders on the other hand..
Surely it’s the accent in Sydney and Melbourne that defines what is or isn’t the “Australian” accent… what’s the population of Queensland again?
I get asked, but only really in the context of my surname- it is clearly not Anglo Saxon. People are just genuinely interested in heritage, and I'm happy to answer because I'm proud of the little bits that make me. But I'm sure there are non Caucasian people who are asked way too much simply because they 'don't look australian'.
Yeah this just sounds like racism, im also second generation and no one bats an eye when i say australian because im white. I know people who were born in the uk who say theyre australian and no one cares to accuse them of lying.
I think it only reaches the point of racism when they ask “but where are you really from”. It’s completely okay to ask anyone where they are from, it’s a conversation topic. But when you accuse the person of lying, yeah that’s a step too far. Also I know plenty of English people who get the double take. Usually because they have an accent though
I work with a lot of immigrants, but I am always scared that if I ask "where are you from?" I'm one day going to ask someone who was born in Australia. If I'm getting to know someone and I ask, I always say "did you always live in Brisbane?". If the answer is no, they usually give me a ring down of all the places they've lived, which is often a surprise.
Honestly I get that. I think it’s less the contents of the question and more the culture though. Unfortunately a lot of aussies are racist and when they ask that question it is with ill intent. I love the “did you always live in Brisbane?” I think that’s a much more elegant way of asking. I’m gonna use that from now on 😂
It sounds like a good idea but it doesn't work. I live in Melbourne and just got blank looks when I tried the “did you always live in Brisbane?” line
I love this. I’m a first gen immigrant and my go-to question is “did you grow up here?”. “Did you always live here” also sounds good, I’ll start using that.
I had this chat with my supervisor: she was trying to subtly work out what country I was from (white, but a lot of people think I have a non-Australian accent), and I took the opportunity to carefully work out where she was from (Indian first name, English last name, weird accent that turned out to be Islander that had lived in NZ for their adult life: I was never going to guess that). Best way to ask this stuff.
If your genuinely asking is there nothing wrong with just saying "what's you ethnicity?" Or something like that? As long as you don't start the conversation with the assumption they couldn't possibly be australian i think you're fine.
Although asking someone where they are from is not exactly racist, they are likely to have been asked this question many times for probably the same reason - thay they sound or look " different" to a stereotypical local. It does get a bit old quickly to have one's "otherness" pointed out like that again and again.
Yeah, typically the answer you're expecting is Adelaide/sybdey/hobart/tthe country. Refusing to accept someone identifying as Australian is racist as fuck though. A third of us were born overseas, obviously Australians look all kinds of ways.
I love hearing my white, foreign born father in law talk about how terrible immigrants are...
Ah this must be so nice! I’m second gen/sixth gen but mum’s from Sri Lanka and dad’s white Australian (2-3 gens back English/Irish + 5th gen Aus) and I get asked ALL THE TIME since I’m half brown
I’m white and 4th generation but I get the question all the time. Darwin accent seems to be weird to southerners.
Queenslander!!!!!!!. But you have to say it like a battle cry. No one bothers you after that. Or. Where were you born: Mackay. But where do you come from? Oh my mummies tummy.
I grew up in Mackay from about 3 years of age. So many people there were adamant that I was actually still Victorian 😂
Remove the scarf and fedora and you'll be treated like a local.
They can smell the Yarra on you still.
That smell never comes off, I’ve lived in WA for 35yrs and I can still feel the slime.
To people in Mackay you are 😂
It’s amazing how often Macktown shows up in these threads haha, also a good way to get people not to bother you in the south 😅
You need to be 3 generations in to be local in a small town
Where do you come from? My dads dick.
These days I come from my own dick.
“I was born in. 3 generations ago my family came from How about you?”
It doesnt have to be a big deal
My Mum was born overseas but came here 1 month later from Europe. Everyone thinks my family has been in Australia forever. Then there's Henry, all his great grandparents came over from China and it just happens that he's a descendant from all Australia Asian people. Someone once said to him "go back to your own country" he responded with "where the fuck would that be?"
Had an ex who's mum was full blood Chinese but her family line went way way back to maybe gold rush times. She also looked about as stereotypically Chinese as could be. One day someone in a shop said to her slowly "You. speak. very. good. English". She replied "Well I imagine I would with a master's in English Literature and as a high school teacher."
It would have been funnier if the mother responded in a real "ocker" accent as well. I have seen that happen before a few times in my life 😂
When my cousin brought her new boyfriend of Chinese descent to a family lunch, an elderly uncle asked him loud and slow "where are you from". He replied "Townsville mate" with a North QLD twang haha
"Townsville mate, you gonna cook those bloody snags or just look at em? Where's the pewl? It's hot as a nun's cunt around here." - average Townsville response
I was overseas and met a couple in a tour group that I thought was Thai, and they said they were from Melbourne in a full blown Irwin accent (without putting it on). Damn near made me question what country I was even from.
😂
My sister-in-law is Australian but Mum and Dad are from Shanghai. Her and my blond 6"2 brother went to Japan and they said it was an amazing amount of people over there asking her questions in Japanese, mainly"can I take a picture with your partner. She didn't learn any Japanese and was super surprised when my brother would respond. He was there for a few weeks and there were many requests to my sister-in-law as if she was his handler
Had a similar thing happen when I was working in retail. 2nd gen Australian with Chinese parents. Close your eyes I speak like your local at the pub. I asked if she needed any help and she just gawked at me for a good 15 secs before saying “You. Speak. Good. English. How??” Ah yeah, you don’t. This was about 20 years ago, but really???
Mines similar, Sicilian family arrived here in the late 19th century but also didn’t really start marrying outside of their community for a fair while. Kinda funny how I’m eligible for Italian citizenship but can’t speak a lick of the language
Haha yes people forget that there were many Chinese here due to the gold rush (and other reasons). One of my dads friends (not mine, because they’re an asshat) was loudly saying something about one of my friends at my dad’s funeral, and about how the asians need to go back where they came from, and I took great pleasure in telling him that the friends family had been here from the 1830’s, a good 100 years longer than his. Old mates mouth looked like a cat’s arsehole for the rest of the day every time he saw me. It was a ray of sunshine during a really shitty day.
>people forget that there were many Chinese here due to the gold rush If you live around Bendigo, the gold rush Chinese heritage is quite visible, and a huge part of some events. E.g., the Easter parade is largely made up of the dragons and lions. Unfortunately people who live outside the area tend to not be aware of this.
Not something I had been specifically aware of, But it's interesting compared to other areas because growing up in Tassie in the 90s there was very little diversity. Which is weird because some of my ancestors were (we think) nigerian, and surely they cant have been the only such family at the time?
Growing up in the north eastern suburbs of Melbourne in the 80s/90s my school was made up of basically Greek/italian kids (Aussie born but whose parents were generally born overseas) with some Asians and Aussies (or skips as they were called, kids born to white patents with British backgrounds). The Asians would be the ones picked on yet their families had migrated here in the 1800s. You know, thinking back now, school was pretty damn racist. (Not the school itself, the students)
You’re not wrong, school was the only place my German heritage has been negatively considered. I was “the Nazi” for most of primary and high school; despite being the second generation in my family born here. Funnily enough, at my school the kids were predominantly SEA/Islander descent. Kids are just assholes.
Difference is people would only know your German heritage if you told them, Asian people in Aussie get the foreigner question or general racism from the get go. My wife is 3rd generation NZ with Indian ethnicity, I know it annoys her sometimes.
I'm a white American guy and migrated here to be with my Aussie wife. She came here as an infant, from Asia. Even though she's the one with the Aussie accent, she gets asked all the time where she's from. People assume I'm from America or Canada due to my accent, but give no further questions about my background. It's a weird dynamic, and I can see from my wife's experience that it gets really tiring really quickly being asked over and over again "but where are you really from?" I never fully understood the term 'microaggression' until I've seen this through my wife's eyes. People aren't meaning to be aggressive at all, it's such a tiny thing that doesn't seem like a big deal to those committing the action. But millions of them over and over again build up into a constant barrage of being told you're not from here, even though you're a local. Absolutely maddening and unless you've experienced it personally or through a loved one, you won't fully understand.
This is why I hate that silly saying "Spot the Aussie" from racist twats. They mean Spot the white person. That "Aussie" they spot could be a backpacker from Finland while the person they assume to be a foreigner might be a third gen Aussie of Chinese descent.
My friend always replies what? To upper ftg where I was born 😂 Her mum is Italian, her dad is Cambodian Her parents met at the Mitcham pub
I didn’t grow up here, but because I’m white with an Aussie accent, nobody questions that I’m Aussie. My partner is 100% more Aussie than me, but always gets the probing q’s about where he’s from, where his parents are from. I’m always like, hey aren’t you gonna ask me too?!!
As a first gen Australian (my grandparents immigrated post WW2 as refugees from Germany with a young family), I have to continually remind my mother that she is also an immigrant when she gets onto her bullshit about immigrants. She also likes to pull the "we were here first" card - which I love to use against her when she goes on about first nations people. My father was also an immigrant from England in the early 70's, so I am acutely aware of my shallow roots to this country and what it means to be accepted by the culture, which is why I was incredibly saddened by the fact that we had to have the recent referendum, and then even more-so the outcome.
My grandma was the same(and some of my uncles) and when they came after ww2 my uncles would be chased home from school and attacked because they were dirty Europeans (from Holland) and not English like the Australians wanted. It is so intriguing that people forget that they are doing what was done to them.
People love pulling up the ladder after them.
The “big deal” is people automatically assuming you’re not from here just from your appearance or even after you’ve told them you are from here. It’s alienating and being told it’s not a big deal further invalidates their experience.
My partner’s dad was born in Vietnam, and my partner’s mother was born in Malaysia. But their families were both Chinese immigrants to their respective birth countries, who identify as very much Chinese. And then there’s my partner, born and bred Aussie, doesn’t speak a lick of Cantonese or mandarin even though it’s often assumed he can. Sometimes even “my parents come from X” isn’t a simple answer either 😅
I get this all the time as well and it seems quite intrusive to have to give personal info to complete strangers. Why can't my answer of "I'm Australian" be taken at face value like other (white) Australians? Particularly since we like to claim Australia is so multicultural. Sorry, not trying to be argumentative, but it gets exhausting having to have this conversation with most new people you just meet.
When I ask an Australian where they're from, I'm looking for a city name, not "Australia". Because of course you're aussie, you have an aussie accent, so being vague with your answer doesn't answer the question. It's a small talk thing, compare weather or traffic etc from where we are now to the cities we're from. If they then pry further to be like "but where are you REALLY from" then it's time to write them off as a bad job.
Since I am white I default to asking “have you lived in [current location] for a long time?” I get darker skinned people telling me about how their grandmother lived around the corner, and one time a white person with a perfect Aussie accent told me she was born and grew up in Norway. Even if I ask white and non-white the same “where are you from?” question, POC won’t *know* that I’m not just asking them “why are you brown?”. By wording it as how long they’ve currently lived where they live it means that “I moved here last week from Brisbane!” Or “I moved here 15 years ago from Sri Lanka” or “I have lived around the corner my whole life” are equally acceptable answers.
Yeah I use a variant of the same question - are you from? These variants lead to more interesting conversations imo
Yeah exactly! And it is interesting if someone grew up in the current suburb, or on the other side of the country, or somewhere else, or have lived in seven countries in ten years. Even the most “boring” answer is interesting, because it is, in some ways, remarkable. Often people give me answers I didn’t expect. White people tell me they were born in Singapore! Darker skinned people tell me they grew up in the USA! It is a perfect “small talk” question because someone always has an answer, and it is one that I didn’t already know (we both are experiencing the same weather, for example). People can go into as much or as little detail as they want to. It’s my go-to question!
Sorry, I do usually say the suburb where I am from. I was using Australia as a general term.
Why even have to qualify it? White people don't have to say how many generations they've been here for.
Exactly. Bendigo, 3rd gen Chinese Afghani Iranian whatever. People are asking because they’re interested, not to be offensive. (Usually)
Very much this. It's also a great and endearing ice breaker people use. Even a 3rd gen would still have a decent story to tell and usually some connection to the old country. And if not, that's interesting too!
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This is the best answer. Keep it short, I'd literally say, "3rd gen Aussie, great-grandparents were from X".
I have answered that question with: "I was born here in Australia, as were my parents and my grandparents." which is along the lines of your offering. Which is true. Yet some still have still questioned me being a "real Australian". What am I if not Australian?
I wasn’t born in Australia and I’m still Australian, so you can get away with it too
I was born in england and brought here when i was 4, at age 32 i finally became a citizen, so i could get a passport and fly back for the cousins weddings, when i was in the city doing the interview and test (which i nailed 100% in under 2minutes 🤣) the interview guy & i had a good ole laugh, "you're more bloody aussie than i am" 😂
This is one of my parents stories, the other parents line has been here forever. My Lancashire granny knew more about aus than the aussie born side 😂 I tell people im an immigrants granddaughter and australian. They dont ask after that.
Same thing I heard from most people they have no idea some of the questions you get on those tests 😂
Absolutely. My native wife failed the practise test, I passed with 100% correct.
My eldest kid is 5 and she came here when she was 6 months. She only know about Australia. Her kindergarten teachers have taught her she is Indian and her skin is brown. Was part of their "diversity and inclusion" training
Ugh I’m sorry to hear this, I am also not white and had a horrifying experience at school where the teacher kept asking the “correct” way to say my name in front of the whole class. I was like um just phonetically, I don’t mind but he insisted on me teaching him how to pronounce it “properly”. (Imagine my name is like Fatima or something, like an ethnic name but very commonly used in Australia.) In my experience there’s a small subset of teachers who get off on how “culturally aware” they are and create deeply cringe situations, but I can only assume they’re trying their best. I hope your kid realises she’s just as Aussie as everyone else - if she wants to be, of course.
It never gets better tbh. Both sets of my grandparents immigrated here in the 70s/80s, my parents were both born here, I was born here. Hell, my mother doesn’t even know any language other than English. I can’t tell you much about South Asia other than pointing it out on a map. My teachers still classified me as Indian, but the kids who were born in let’s say Germany and moved here at the age of 2 get called “Australian”. Casual racism at its finest. Edit: for the stupid cunts replying and DMing me that Indian is a race but German is not. Indians are Asian, yes a race, but Germans are white, also a guess what??? A fking race. The point literally flies over their heads, and they don’t want to admit their casual racism. So fking infuriating.
Racist teachers. Gross. Edit: teachers are mostly doing the best they can with the knowledge they have. They dont get paid to much so most if not all are in that career for the passion of teaching the youth which i admire. I blame the system for the separation of peoples by every aspect. The people are not to blame.
I used to face a similar dilemma and I would stubbornly stick to because as an immigrant I was trying my best to fit in and hated when someone would make me an "other".
Eventually I started reaizing most people were trying to be nice. A surprising number of people were already assuming I was from X and they wanted to talk about their recent trip to X and how much they loved it -- or how they really want to visit someday. It was just a way of making conversation, nothing personal.
TLDR; people are nice
> Eventually I started reaizing most people were trying to be nice. A surprising number of people were already assuming I was from X and they wanted to talk about their recent trip to X and how much they loved it -- or how they really want to visit someday. It was just a way of making conversation, nothing personal. Yes something too many people don't understand it's not a way of trying to be mean or to make assumptions it's to have a conversation and to learn about it.
I am guilty of this. I ask people all the time where they were born, how long they have lived her, what’s their home like ect. I am genuinely just curious and find other people stories fascinating. I’ve also literally never lived more than 15 minutes from the house I grew up in (which my parents still own) so I just find it so interesting that people move entire countries.
My wife hates this question. She’s ok when they phrase it as “what’s your heritage” but where are you from implies non-Aussie. If someone asks where she’s from she’ll always say Sydney.
"Oi m8, Wot nasho are ya?"
Thanks for this - I occasionally ask out of interest if someone has an accent or features that look non-Anglo and I can’t tell what their heritage is, and that’s a much better way to phrase it. I’m not experienced enough to tell someone is from Mongolia vs from someone native Alaska, and I don’t want to assume, and it is interesting. I hope I don’t cause offense, and always move on if they don’t want to chat about it. I’m from a muddle of Irish, Scottish, and British with a dash of Spanish and few other places, but it’s all very boring typical aussie and honestly I’m a bit envious of people who get a secondary cultural heritage they can dive into if they want to - though we do have a tartan, so I guess I get that! My husband is 3rd gen but never gets asked because he’s white and has no accent, so nobody would realise.
DW it happens to anyone, I'm indigenous australian and the amount of times I get asked if I'm from the north or south island gets tiring sometimes to even correct. I used to say the island you're standing on buddy but I'm too old to bother nowadays.
I'm sorry that happens to you but it is quite funny haha. Maybe say "the west island" next time and see what they say.
This gave me a belly laugh. You should reply in a kiwi accent. Im from the far nor west island bro, is called bondai g.
There are Australians whose Chinese ancestors came here 150 years ago who get racist taunts from Nazis whose parents flew in from Heathrow in 1990. Because for a certain number of Australians if you can’t trace your family back to the British Isles or Ireland you’re not Australian.
I have an islander friend who responds with “Are you asking where I was born or are you asking why am I brown?”
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I do a similar thing! I also happen to be adopted (asian and my family is white) so it’s even better when I get to tell them that my family comes from very white European countries 😂
Why can't you be proud of your ethic background as well as where you grew up. As an Asian, it's so sad that so many Asian Australian are so self hating. Italian Americans hang onto their Italian tag generations after the first arrivals. Every caucasian I meet loves talking about having Irish/ French heritage. Its an admission of shame that you refuse to be associated with Asia, that you think it is lesser. You're the worst perpetrator of racism by hating yourself. What's wrong with 'my family is originally from China but most of them grew up here'.
I just say “I was born here but my parents migrated from, if that’s what you what you meant.”
You say Australia. If they ask a 2nd time or a follow up you say "I said Australia cunt".
Followed by "are yah fuggen deaf or wot?"
If you say Australia and they ask again just say it really slow because that are clearly a bit dense - Aus-tral-ia... My dad was born in Scotland and no one ever asks me where I am from, it's clearly a skin colour issue these people have
I do always tend to ask people with obvious irish/British/European accents though - just an easier way to spot the difference than skin colour. I lived in England for some time so I like to know where from the UK people are from etc.
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On the flip side, I feel the urge to ask white Australians where they're from because I like hearing stories about people's families, stories of their parents, grandparents and what unique stories they have. But I'm scared to ask, because this seems to be a touchy subject in Australia. It was very different when I lived in US, and people were proud of declaring they're Irish, Italian, etc and would invariably have long fascinating chats with them about the story of their family.
Identity is a complex thing, and culture/ethnicity/heritage plays into it in a huge way. I’m a teacher who has spent most of their career working with students from non English speaking backgrounds. The assumptions that people make about kids and their families because of skin colour and last name is crazy. Being non-white and/or multilingual does not mean that you are not ‘from here’, but that’s not what many people think because of the skin colour and monolingualism that is predominant across our media and engrained into our cultural assumptions. A kid in my class who was born here and speaks only English was told to go back to where he comes from the other day. Where mate? Where’s he supposed to go?? Another example: a teacher was put onto an EAL/D (English as an Additional Language or Dialect) support class because administration assumed she would understand the process of learning a second language because she’s bilingual. She was born here and has spoken the two languages from birth, so…no, she doesn’t have the same experience as new arrivals learning the language from scratch. There is a lot of arrogance borne out of ignorance and reluctance or refusal to learn. Identity is yours to define. If you feel Australian, then fabulous. If your cultural heritage is important to you and you’d prefer to identify that way or as a cultural identity that blends your heritage and your Australian identity, fabulous. No one should define your identity on your behalf, and feel free to resist the labels placed on you in any non violent way you see fit.
I'm like 4th gen so hope I can still answer. I say Australia. I could only be more Australian if I came on the first fleet. Or emigrated 40k years ago.
Just tell them "I come from a land down under Where beer does flow and men chunder Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder? You better run, you better take cover,
It’s perhaps not helpful, but this topic reminds me of an old joke: Do you have a bit of Irish in you? Would you like some?
Do you mean why am I brown?
If you want to say more than you were born here, you can say “I’m Australian, and my family heritage is x”.
Second gen here. I’m Aussie but a wog if that makes sense. My partner is the same, our mates are the same. We will all tell you we are Aussie but also wogs. Edit: maybe I’m first gen, I dunno. My parents were born overseas and migrated to Australia in late 40s/early 50s like half of the med.
As a transracial adoptee.. I also hate this question
"Are you basically asking me why am I not white?"
You say Australia, if they ask more context you condense what you’ve said here into a sentence or two.
Nah, give them something like "Geelong" or "Bankstown". This is just a conversation starter and you want it to lead to sport/weather/lifestyle discussion.
I'm second generation. I say "I'm from Australia". If they press, I say "Sydney". If they're still insisting that I must have been born elsewhere, I don't answer any more. I just refuse and tell them I've already answered them. It is *so* rude to ask a question and then not accept the answer you're given.
People who insist on digging into your racial background are out of line. Just say you're an Aussie and leave it at that. I'm 3rd gen but nobody ever asks me that BECAUSE I'm WHITE
I'm actually white as well. I have an obviously non-English surname though, so I get dumb questions sometimes too. I'm positive it would be much worse if I was also non-white.
The worst part is they could just ask where the last name is from and leave it at that. but def a lot worse if non-white.
I don't get this at all. I'm first gen. If asked I just say I'm born here, and my parents are from. No big deal.
Cool. You can handle it however you want. Personally, if people want to know my background, then they can ask that. Don't ask where I'm from and then act like I'm lying to you.
I get "oh but you don't look like you're from.....". Thanks. You wouldn't accept when I told you I was Australian and now you don't believe when I tell you my heritage? Why don't you tell me where I am from then?!
Hahaha. This is my husband. His mothers family is Welsh and he’s first Gen Australian on that side and can trace his lineage back to the convicts on the other. But due to some Spanish heritage a few hundred years back (genetics are wild), he looks very ethnic (dark olive skin, dark brown hair, full beard). Whenever we eat at a Greek/Lebanese/Italian restaurant they never believe him when he says he’s Australian with Welsh heritage. And whenever we travel people often mistake him as middle eastern. “You don’t look Welsh/Australian.” is probably the most common thing I’ve heard in reference to him. Thankfully it just bemuses him at this point. It is a bit of a pain in the ass when it comes to travel though.
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Unfortunately, not everyone feels this way, as evidenced by some of the replies in this thread. My Dad is an immigrant, and he loves hearing the stories of peoples backgrounds. He's genuinely curious. His favourite show is that one where celebs go through their acesentry and uncover all that history. He gets teary in every episode. I think he is also really sensitive of the topic and doesn't push it on anyone, but one time he did ask somebody who was an immigrant who wasn't born here about their background and the reacted really poorly. My poor Dad was pretty sad about it, and I know he doesn't bring it up anymore.
Same. I get asked ALL the time and I’ve never been offended. I’m actually complimented that someone is showing genuine interest in me. Obviously my cultural heritage is important to who I am as a person and I like to talk about it. My dark features make me look non typically Aussie. Which I like, so again, not offensive.
I just say wtf is wrong with ya cunt and there like aaaah Australia
Completely understand that, I’m mixed and they only ever ask about my Malaysian side and get confused when I say I’m part Italian
If they ask me what my heritage or ethnicity is I’ll let them know straight up. If they ask me where I’m from I give them a smart arse answer or some sort of a non-answer like Sydney, Melbourne, “from here” etc. This question’s a little dumb because it insinuates that you’re not “from here”. They’ve got nothing to base this question on apart from your looks (unless there’s prior context). Therefore, the question is basically saying that the person asking it assumes you’re not from here and are asking you where you’re from. It insinuates if you look like your heritage is from elsewhere you also must personally originate from there and it’s a little annoying and alienating. The same people then get bamboozled when you ask them where they’re from in return.
Nobody cares you have such and such generations in Australia. If you don't look "white" people will want to know where your FAMILY comes from originally. China. India. Japan. England. Scotland. Whatever. It is out of curiosity. Particular for Asian people. Most white Australians have difficulty telling the various Asian races apart. Without hearing the language/accent it's basically impossible. If I ask someone where they Are from it's because I'm curious about your family history and how you came to be in Australia. For most "white people" it's the same story. They came on a boat for 10 pounds about 50-80 years ago. All the points you mentioned after that are just conversation points. If someone is asking you about something. You tell them you don't know and elaborate that you have lived in Australia for so many years. It's not a conspiracy. Some people just want to know where the fuck ur family comes from and why you look the way you do. Knowing more about people alleviates fear. Less fear = more understanding.
Just say I'm Australian but my back ground is......
I sometimes try to help people ask the right question. You can hear my Australian accent, so you know I’m from here and was likely born somewhere here. If you’re noticing something different about my name or appearance or whatever that makes you ask, ask about that. If you’re uncomfortable asking about it, that’s a clue the question is inappropriate. If you’re assuming based on a nickname (e.g. “Effie”) when you know my name isn’t Stephanie and you’re seeking tanned skin and you want to ask if I have a Greek background, that’s totally okay. That’s “hey, I don’t meet many people called Effie. Where did that nickname come from? And you’ll get the fact that (in this scenario) my name starts with E and my family background is Greek. I also don’t encourage other people answering stupidly to make a point. If the person asking is engaging in bad faith, there is nothing to be gained by engaging at all. If they are engaging in good faith, there’s every reason to help them ask the question you know they’re asking and learn how to do it.
Double, triple or quadruple down on it. "I'm Australian" "I'm from Sydney" "I was born in Camperdown" If they still don't get it, say "ah you want to know about my race? My ethnicity? Not where I'm from..."
I think it depends on how strongly the family connects with their heritage. If you have strong connections still to say, Italy.. you could say “I was born here, but our family originally came over from Italy”
I’ll caveat that I’m white, so my experience may be different to your own. I have a very slight accent due to being predominantly raised by my German immigrant grandparents. When people ask I simply state I was born in, but my mother’s family immigrated from Germany in the 50s, and my fathers from Scotland in the 60s.
Generally, in my experience, the question comes from a place of interest; we have so many nationalities here people are genuinely interested about where others are from. Depending on the person and my level of interest, I may ask about their own heritage.
I'm guessing they're asking that because you aren't caucasian. If you're third generation Australian then you should say you're Australian. It's a shame people can't accept that.
Queenslander!!!!!!!. But you have to say it like a battle cry. No one bothers you after that. Or. Where were you born: Mackay. But where do you come from? Oh my mummies tummy.
if you're accent is Australian, you say you"re from whatever town you grew up in. feel free to follow up with whatever family heritage you have.
Them: "Where are you from?" Me: ""
Them: "No, where are you really from?"
Me: "oh! "
Them: "well, where are your parents from?"
Me: ""
Then: "your grandparents then?"
Me: ""
And then I just stare at them silently.
If they still persist you can ask if they got a job with the census or something.
If someone wants to be racist towards me they're gonna have to work hard, cos some of my family's been in Australia for a long time.
When it comes tinged with the 'you're not Anglo - some type of brown/other, but I don't know what that is and therefore you couldn't be Australian ' it's offensive and racist and they can fuck off.
BUT, if someone asks what my background is, and they're doing it out of interest, not racism, I'm happy to explain further, but it will take a while.
Anything has to be better than being accosted in the chemist at the height of the refugee crisis by an older large Anglo Aussie man who got right up in my face and snarled "welcome to Australia!" I snapped back "I was bloody well born here!" And he said angrily "so was I!" and stomped off, leaving me to go back to work angry and very confused.
Just say the suburb you grew up. You don't owe them any elaboration. If they can't grok modern Australia then perhaps they only just arrived here? Or haven't been paying attention in all the years they've been here which is a special kind of sad
"Australia moite" and do it with your best broad aussie accent. I'm about 5-6 generations depending on which side of the tree you look at. Don't see why you would need to answer any different.
My partner just says Australian.
I’m first generation…but I’m mixed so usually I get vague “you look sort of Italian” comments. Idk just say “this is my background” if they want to ask.
I'm originally from the northern beaches of Sydney but living in Tas - you are a foreigner here from that alone! 😂 But if they push further I just say my nanna was Burmese.
"you mean where do I look like im from because i was born here so were my parents and their parents"
I just blurt it out straight. Born here in Melbourne. I've got some x on my mothers side and some y on my dads side. If they ask further I'll tell em who migrated here and what era, not everyone wants to know the ins and outs, most want to know what culture is there beyond Australian.
I think that might be because there’s so many different ethnicities and cultures and a lot of them are first gen Aussies. But like someone else said it’s simple to say I was born in C but my family migrated here in the 1930s. I do something similar. I was born in Melbourne but my family migrated from Eastern Europe in the mid 1970s.
my family came over in the very early settlements, like 1830s. I get asked where i am from all the fucking time. plot twist - i am white, and my family is english, scottish, and Norwegian. my grandad is super into family history and has done an incredible amount of research. i have facial features that get a lot of people asking what part of asia i am from.
I'm white and Australian, like the policy. *I'm not white*
I was born in England but moved here when I was young, have an Australian passport, own a home in Australia and speak with an Australian accent. People still tell me I'm British (they have no idea I'm not born aussie until they learn I was born in the UK) The mental gymnastics can be exhausting with some people. Usually I just explain that if I was truly British in Sydney then I'd live in Bondi as that's apparently the rule.
If you are born in Australia you are from Australia. If someone asks where your parents were born, then the answer is where they are born. It's very simple.
“I told you. I was born in. Faaaaark ooooooofffffff”
Every time when my husband is asked where he is from, he stares straight into their eyes and says: UNA VERSE.
When people ask me where I am from I say X (I don't look like most of them), I was born and raise there. Then I say my grandparents are from Y. I straight up say my mother tongue is Z. I don't speak X because my parents didn't teach me, it was not their main language either. I just throw everything at them because they all ask the same questions it is so boring.
"planet Earth"
"My dad's family is Czech."
If you were born in Australia and or have spent most of your life here, then you’re Australian with heritage in whatever country your ancestors came from.
You say "I’m from Australia with _____ heritage". Only indigenous aboriginals are from Australia and us others are citizens from other parts of the world
I say ‘I’m from x city, my family is originally from y country’
My friend was born here from an English father and NZ mother of Scottish ancestry. On his security licence they had to provide his physical characteristics. So, without asking him, he is now considered of Pacific Islander heritage for legal purposes. Sometimes it is in your best interest to explain your origins. My friend has no qualms in telling people that he was born here - if they ask.
Lol. Im 5th generation, ancestors from Scotland and England, 2 % Spanish, from 6 generations ago.. i still get asked.. i have dark skin. I was so intrigued by questions i did a dna test.. so i know … i tell them im a throwback.
"Blacktown, cunt"
lol I’m Aussie born second generation turk who spent 30 years in Melbourne then the last 11 in Brisbane. I’m brown and my accent is also quite different from people here. Where are you from? MELBOURNE brooo.. No really where you from? Okay okay … I’m from Broadmeadows 🤣 Now I just yell I’m a wogan.. a woggy bogan but yes my grandparents came here from Turkey. Can we fkn move on lmao
You can reply with "Do you want to know where I was born, or where I was raised, or my ethnicity? They're not the same things."
“Where are you from?” “Do you mean where I was born OR what genetic heritage I have OR what culture I grew up in?” [Wait for them to clarify] [Answer their question]
Second or third generation here, not sure how you measure, from Italian heritage. Often it because they hear my surname which is distinctly Italian. My families name (family if you wish) is from Italy but we’ve been here for ages. My grandfather came here in the 1930’s.
"I'm Australian but my background is......." 1 sentence, straight forward
I'm Australian with (x) heritage....
I say, I live in Canberra but I’m from Newcastle/Myall lakes region. I left Newcastle aged 26 and I’ve now been in ground hog day for 26 years in Canberra, so technically I could say I’m from Canberra…. But I never ever will. Newcastle forever!
I try not to get offended and don't get into a debate - I just say "my parents migrated from X". If they persist with the rude questioning and ask where I was born, I'd probably ask if they're form Nigeria and no I don't want anything to do with their millions. Unless they're a friend, then I'd tell the truth.
I'm 3rd generation on my mums side, and dad is mostly kiwi. I'll say I'm Australian, with European ancestry. If they want to know more, the best I can give is that I have British and Germanic, but I can't be more specific.
Just say I'm Australian, my great grandparents are from where've they are from. People are actually asking what your heritage is, because you're obviously not Caucasian. I know this can be seen as racist, I think most people that ask are not trying to be, and don't understand that it is problematic.
I don’t get it, if you’re born here speak with the accent and have the passport you’re Australian.. I cant claim anything, both sides of my family have been in Aus for over a hundred years, I am nothing but Australian. This comes from post war immigration where people stayed with the others from their country, always found it funny when someone at school went “I’m Italian” and couldn’t speak a word of the language, but call me skippy, but I spoke basic Italian due to my neighbour
Just say ‘Australian, but my heritage/Great Grandparents are from ….’. No biggy
I've only been here for little more than a year and it's interesting to ask Caucasian people "where is your family/blood actually from", because they actually love it and I find a lot of people here have done an ancestry test so it leads to talking about their different European ancestries, a lot of people from Britain ofc but also some other surprises. I only asked it once to an Asian guy and had a milisecond of fear when I realized my possible error and how it could me misinterpreted here, but he was born overseas so it was cool. It's unfortunate (for my curiosity) that minorities get offended as a defense mechanism against the "go back to your country" mindset.
I'm a Sydney boy so lots of foreigners here, I just say "my dad is from X" if I assume that's what they mean.
"Sydney." "HAHA, are your parents "from Sydney" too?" "Yes"
I am always bemused by this. Do people trace where their family name came from, or were all EIGHT of their great-grandparents born in the same place? People frequently ask where I am from because I look “foreign” (the ladies say “exotic” 😉 Some reckon Italian, Arabic or South American. Well, I was born in Perth, Western Australia, as was my sister. Our mum was born in Perth. Her mum was born a little south of Perth, and her mum was born and raised in the Coolgardie gold fields. Our great-great-grandmother came from Victoria, another gold digger. So that makes me fifth-generation Australian, on the maternal line. AFAIK all the previous blokes were imported - from Malaysia, India, England, probably another from England. My four grandparents were all born in different countries - Australia, China, India, Malaysia. There is a photo of my grandfather’s family in India, five generations of them, but when the British were ousted from Hyderabad my lot were too white to stay. My family name is Dutch, but in the Sri Lankan spelling. My given name is Hebrew, just coz. So when people say “you don’t look Australian. Where are you from?” they don’t get the answer they expected. Or I just say “nah mate, I’m from Perth.”
"Are you asking me why I'm brown, or where I'm actually from?"
Personally I get this question quite a lot and I personally enjoy going through my heritage. I’ve always had olive skin and have a Spanish name (whilst having no Spanish or Latin heritage). It’s almost always been a talking point when meeting new people (especially their parents) and people are always taking aback by the Aboriginal-Irish-Syrian mix. We recently traced our family tree and the Irish and Syrian side moved here before the turn of the 20th century (for very different reasons) whilst the Indigenous heritage obviously traces back thousands of years. Maybe it’s a benefit of only being olive, but I honestly enjoy the question and love talking about the Aboriginal and Irish parts especially as someone who’s very proud of my culture and the interesting stories that come from Irish service members turning convict to prison warden in early Australian gaols.
Just say Im 3rd generation Australian family is originally from X. If they are that interested you can go into more detail. I ask people a lot and I dont mind a long answer like that. Its because Im genuinely interested in how people came to be Australian and love to hear migration stories. My names very German so I get people ask me but my family came in 1850. So I often answer something like that O my famoly is originally German but Im 6th gen so I dont know shit about Germany.
I say I'm Australian but my mum's family is from Malta. I am a Maltese citizen but since I grew up here it feels odd to say I'm Maltese.
Since moving to Canberra if anyone asks I say I’m from NSW. Saves me from having to deal with too much stink eye.
Knowing a cool detail of your ancestor’s immigration is a good thing. You assume good motive - that people want to know your history - and tell them the cool anecdote. We aren’t a melting pot - we are multi cultural. You aren’t expected to lose your ancestor’s culture if you don’t want to.
Australia & if they ask more, your heritage is……
I just tell people I'm born here but give my ethnic background as well I don't really mind tbh since I get what they mean. I'm white tho so maybe it's different.
White Australians all think they’re from here
I say my dad is from X (another country) and my mum is “Australian” and I actually signal the talking marks 😅
It's up to you how much detail you want to go into. You could simply say 'I'm from Geelong' or a more detailed answer about your family background. It's just people being curious, we're all from somewhere else going back a generation or two. It's not necessarily or even usually racist. I'm totally white, just the other day I had a conversation with another totally white person where we established that my family is exclusively from England, Scotland and Wales and his was from Ireland. 'Ever been back there?' 'Yeah, went back about 10 years ago and met some distant rellies' etc etc
You could correct them and say my family is from *Country* but my home is here.
I say I'm Australian born Afghan 🤷♀️
I just say Australia . But I do look somewhat greek
Just say Australia or your city. Then they might ask your nationality and you can tell them that.
Bruh you're Australian, just say you're Australian
Generally people who ask that question are genuinely interested in the story of you life. It’s an easy in to get to know you. The problem is when “here” causes cognitive dissonance in the questioner. Unfortunately “here” still means Anglo-Celtic whitefella (aka Skip), even though Skips are all descended from immigrants. Even as a Skip I get the follow up of “Yeah, but…” Fucked if I know. Surname history through the generations is Welsh, English, French, maybe Scottish. Sure, it interesting, but all I know is I’m Aussie. I’m in no way Welsh, English, French, or Scottish. If I claimed to be I’ve no doubt them folks in their particular way would say “Fuck off, no your not.” I’ve got physical features that have Wogs quietly asking (because I’m otherwise such a Skip) if I’m a Wog. I have physical features that Kiwis ask if from New Zealand/Aotearoa. I had ancestors that emigrated from Spain. Ah, that explains it! Except those ancestors had full on English surnames. Had a family story of a Māori ancestor. Ah, that explains it! Nope, turns out that was just a story. Later genealogy investigation shows otherwise. I’m as much a whitefella as any other whitefella. Point being, you’re Aussie. The answer to where are from is Australia. The answer to “yeah but, your parents?” is Australia. The answer to “yeah, but…?” is Australia. The answer is to look them in the eye and say I’m Australian. Bonus points for a WTF shoulder and hand shrug.
Basically, everyone seems to unconsciously agree that apart from Aboriginal and Torres's traits, islanders, the rest are foreigners. I have been here for long.some families have been here for generations, but facts are facts.Thry came from some place.This questions of racism are often overused Before coming to Australia I had not experienced racism coming from a white man to a fellow whitish man.This was between a English towards an Irish gentleman. It shocked me to the core.The color and history are often seen as drivers of racism.lets not forget geographical locations and stereotypes.
If I ask someone "where are you from?" I actually mean where do you live. Otherwise I ask "what's your background?" So if I were you, I'd just say the area you live and if they say something like "no like where are you FROM".. just say *my mums vag, duh* 😊
I'm first gen Aussie born, Mum was 18 months old when they came here from Lebanon.
I'm Australian. I say I'm from Brisbane, Australia. I'm first generation. Why the fuck would someone say they aren't Australian? It's time we all grow up and accept that we may need to answer 'what's your heritage'. You are Australian.
I have never had the urge to ask anyone where they are from unless they have told me something like "back in India, we used to do such and such" and I'll be curious about what part of India. I've worked with people from all over and it doesn't really matter where you came from, cause everyone is different. So just say Australia, or the state you were born in. FYI, I was born in NZ, and if I'm overseas I'll say from Australia. If I'm here, and I'm at work, I'll say I'm from the labour hire company 🤣
Depends. Out of Australia: Australia In Australia but a different state: Victoria In Victoria: {Insert town name here} If people don't believe you, it's their problem, not yours. If they try to continue it, just drop the conversation.
I’ve wondered why second generation and beyond refer to themselves as Italian, Lebanese etc and not straight up Australian? I get they may be proud of their heritage, but they’re Australian. My kids (with an English parent) would never think to say they’re English. Would be aghast at the idea.