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What is code-switching?
17 November 2020
In the latest episode of The Hayley Pearce Podcast, Hayley finds out about code-switching – which in this case, means subtle changes you might make to the way you act or speak, to fit into a situation. Which, as contributors Asha Jane and Dafydd Francis explain, might be especially the case, if you’re a minority.
Asha Jane
Growing up I felt really isolated... I was the only black or brown face in my area and in my school, so most people's reference to knowing anything that was black was me. So, I tried my best to not let that section of society look bad. I felt like I was heavily stereotyped as well. So, I do think that I spoke more eloquently maybe because of that. I moved to Cardiff and I feel like I was a lot more myself. I met some people and didn’t feel like I always had to be living up to a certain standard.
In serious situations I definitely become the most boss-ass version of myself... When I was younger I was shrinking to try and fit in, to make sure that I didn't stand out.Asha Jane
I genuinely think we’re all one human race, but I definitely looked different and there's a media representation of what black people or brown people are and especially what black women are – I was often stereotyped and put into boxes for things. It's such a deeply layered and complex conversation when you talk about code-breaking because for me, it was a survival instinct that I had to adapt to what kind of music my friends liked and what kind of clothes they would wear and things like that. So, maybe then I would go to see a group of black people like my cousins and when we were younger we didn't really think about political correctness and stuff when they were talking. They would just say stuff like, 'Oh, sometimes you're really white!' and so I never really fitted in either way – it didn't really matter how I acted because people would always see me as different, no matter how I represented myself.
I've come to a point where I understand what that is now and I can educate myself. If I’m in a meeting and it’s with a bunch of white men or with people that don’t look like me at all and I’m the only black/person of colour in the room, I definitely (in serious situations) become the most boss-ass version of myself and I don't let people speak over me and I don't shy away. When I was younger, that's what that was: I was shrinking to try and fit in, to make sure that I didn't stand out or do anything bad. Whereas now, I’m aware of what that behaviour is, how damaging that is, how that didn't progress me in life at all and it's other people that needed to change their perspective as opposed to mine. But, that was really hard to grow up with because I think that some people talk down to me, they dismiss me, or think that I might not be educated or assume I’m not from this country. But, I've been quite lucky... I still had a lot of privilege for a person of colour growing up.
Dafydd Francis
In school I had a lot of bullying, it was very full on every single day. I don’t think it was just because I’m gay – I was six feet tall, I was fat, I had curly hair, I was spotty... I stood out! So, for me, I built this weird persona of false confidence and it wasn't a conscious decision and effort that I made as a 17-year-old, but, I think when they were calling me these names, ‘You’re gay, you’re this, you’re that’, I almost became that and shoved it in their face. I stopped caring about what people thought a long time ago. It's not about shoving my personality in people's faces (that's not how I am), but I'll go into work with nail varnish on – I don't care. What other people think about me is none of my business.
If I feel a little bit insecure or out of my comfort zone, I will act confident and the saying is true: 'fake it until you make it'!Dafydd Francis
When I was younger, it was something I would tone down. I had a job once where I had to work at a popular ice cream parlour – I felt going into work I was toning myself down and it's not like I’m skipping into work singing Julie Garland tracks! It's not like that, but I’m definitely a 'personality' and I like to be flamboyant.
People are different. Just because you’re gay, doesn’t mean every single gay person has the same defence mechanisms. I think as a 14-year-old, I just developed this weird armour of confidence and I think that did protect me. I think it is something I still deal with today as a 27-year-old. If I feel a little bit insecure or out of my comfort zone, I will act confident and the saying is true: 'fake it until you make it' and I had little confidence growing up and now faking confidence has made me confident, if that makes any sense?
Having confidence has done wonders [for me], but it is tiring. Definitely when I was in school, when I was in college and when I was working... I was coming home feeling drained and shattered all the time. It's subconscious, I just switch on this funny, camp, very familiar personality that's inside me!
You can hear the discussion in full in 大象传媒 Sounds in The Hayley Pearce Podcast.
