AIBU to find the idea of trans-racial ridiculous.....

[CastlesBlown]

but support the idea of trans-gender? I just read this article

www.upworthy.com/a-black-trans-woman-explains-changing-gender-vs-changing-race?c=ufb1

And the arguments for trans-gender appear to support trans-racial, despite that being the very opposite of what it aims to do.

I feel SO confused!!!!!

Oh, great, I want to be Princess Anne!

Either that, or a small, grey pebble which seems eminently more sensible.

John Hurt always felt Irish and thought he had Irish ancestors but it turned out he didn't. www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/past-stories/john-hurt.shtml. Should he be allowed to say he is Irish if that's what he feels?

Caitlyn Jenner is categorically not female even though she wishes to present as such but it's apparently fine for her to say she is. How is that different?

I mean, either the Caitlyn Jenner thing is totally wrongheaded or John Hurt and Rachel Dolezal are absolutely fine to identfy as something they obviously aren't.

I've followed the news story with interest. I'm really not sure how I feel about it. But it's made me reflect on my own position. I am white middle class, but converted to Islam, which means many people assume I am non-white, married a 'black' man and have mixed race children. Essentially I feel I have 'jumped ship'. Even as a child I felt ashamed of being white, in the context of racism I was aware of towards non-whites. While I would never identify myself as anything other than 'white' as that would be ignoring the benefits of my middle class white upbringing, I also feel like I have a different identity from most white people. Also the visual aspect if being Muslim means I have experienced a degree of prejudice.
I agree with the op that identifying as a different race than you physically are leaves a different taste than the the gender issue, despite the fact that the boundaries of race are less clear than gender.