Key points
- Rhyan Clapham (aka Dobby) and Yin Paradies both struggled with their mixedness growing up.
- Dobby is a rapper who focuses on writing songs about his heritage as well as social issues.
- Yin is an academic who connects with the Indigenous community by putting a spotlight on the issues that are important to them.
(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island readers are advised that the following article may contain images of people who have died.)
Listen to the episode
Indiginoy Episode 2: Pag-unawa sa sariling kultura at pagkakakilanlan
SBS Filipino
01/06/202218:56
“Keep your eyes on the sun, and you will not see the shadows.” – Aboriginal Australian proverb
Skin colour, cultural and racial differences exist. Historical strife, trauma and social injustice are real.
One creative produces songs to acknowledge these realities. One academic studies research to make sense of these truths. Both push for respect, understanding and compassion to create change.
Rapper Dobby and academic Dr Yin Paradies are high-achieving children of Indigenous Australians and Filipinos. Both have struggled with their mixed identities; and in their search for themselves, realised that they didn’t have to choose sides.
Rapper Dobby and academic Yin Paradies Source: Luke Currie-Richardson / Yin Paradies
My mixedness
Kerri-Lee Harding, an emerging elder and the Indigenous Head of SBS, shares, “It’s so important to honour ancestry and family from both sides. [There is much] to be gained from their history, their culture and diversity.
“I think it’s so important for parents to play a critical role in helping their children understand the many complexities of being raised within dual cultures.”
Dobby admits that the struggle of mixedness and identity is necessary, albeit isolating.
Rhyan Clapham (aka Dobby) as a child. Source: Rhyan Clapham
Dobby discloses that some close to him didn’t “necessarily understand the struggle”; and while the feeling of figuring himself out“ bothered him and sometimes didn’t”, it has always been persistent.
He shares, “[Even when I was younger,] I was trying to answer questions that I had in my head. If I’m Aboriginal, am I acting Aboriginal enough? Did I grow up Filipino or did I grow up white? Or am I a mix of the three?
“This is where people can find themselves in a bit of trouble or in a confusing place, [especially] when they try to ignore those questions; but those questions are so important in terms of understanding yourself, your history, your family, community and culture.”
Yin Paradies, an Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in Race Relations, had his own experience of questioning.
Yin’s father is Filipino, while his mother is half-Indigenous Australian and half-English.
A younger Yin [standing] with his mum, brother Niall and paternal grandmother Source: Tony and Sharon Paradies
Yin admits that he had trouble traversing “mainstream culture”, sharing that it made him retract when he was a teenager.
“It becomes about having to describe, explain and justify a lot about [myself] to other people whom I just met and who seem to know ‘better’ about what it should mean to be Aboriginal or Filipino.
“[On the other hand,] my brother who has much darker skin than me, deals with other forms of racism. Many don’t believe we’re brothers.
“Others have difficulty in understanding that people can be complex. You can be multiple things all at once. I think being born multi-racial and having a lot of different ancestries is something that people have trouble with.”
Familial support and achievement
While understanding and acceptance were difficult to get from other people, these were never lacking from Dobby and Yin’s families, especially when it came to intellectual pursuits.
Dobby shares that even though his mum had hopes that he would be a lawyer or doctor, his parents supported his musical leanings.
Rhyan with his mum. Source: Rhyan Clapham
He shares that around the time he was about to graduate from uni, an Honours degree in Indigenous studies opened up.
“I was already starting to write music about being Aboriginal and being Filipino as Dobby that time. [It helped me] write Aboriginal hip-hop, so it was just perfect timing.
Rhyan has learned to value his Aboriginal heritage because of his dad [left]. Source: Rhyan Clapham
While Dobby found himself in the hip-hop community in Sydney, Yin discovered his calling in academia.
“My parents have always been accepting of what I wanted to do. They never pushed me to engage in a particular path.”
Yin began his academic career in Physics and Mathematics, and later on, shifted to Computer Science.
Young Yin [R] with brother Niall and Aunt Flora Source: Tony and Sharon Paradies
His involvement with the community later led him to public health and epidemiology. He credits his mentors for giving him encouragement to continue.
“My mentors told me it was okay to be Aboriginal and be involved in academics. There’s a stereotype that Aboriginal people are ‘stupid’ or ‘lazy’, so there are some who see an academic job as a job for white people. It’s difficult to traverse; but hopefully, there will be more Aboriginal academics in the future.”
The Paradies family Source: Terri Hanlon
She continues, “We have many talented people in the Indigenous community, many of whom are doctors, academics, historians. I could go on all day about the amount of amazing people and achievers in our community.”
For Kerri-Lee, a high achiever is someone who finds their place in the world, adding, “You can be a high achiever if your graduate from high school or university, or if you’re successful in any career that you’ve chosen. A high achiever can also be someone who has overcome adversity, or someone who has a disability and goes on to live their best life.”
Community and connection
Both Dobby and Yin believe that living their best lives means connecting with the communities they belong to.
Yin shares that mentorship has been his way of connecting with his community.
“When people start contacting me and asking me to help in projects or mentoring or supervision, or contributing to some sort of policy, program or task force…I appreciate these sort of things because it gives me a chance to contribute. That for me is the most important part of academic work – engagement and connection.”
In order for engagement and connection to occur, Yin believes in letting go of assumptions, sharing “People have to listen to experience. Finding your racial identity can be a difficult journey, mostly because of people’s views and expectations about your journey. [Be curious,] but come with a kind of humility and listen.”
Dobby agrees that engagement follows when earnest listening occurs, adding, “It’s about activating our culture and connecting with the youth.”
He continues, “Hip-hop and Aboriginal culture very much go hand in hand. In Aboriginal culture, there’s oral, visual and musical storytelling; while in hip-hop you have deejaying, graffiti, rapping and breakdancing.
“[We’ve been experiencing] a loss of language, history and culture; [but there are still things available] that I want to be able to bring to life in some way.”
With hopes that he could eventually create music in both an Aboriginal language and in Filipino, Dobby shares, “Language is one of the most important parts of decolonising and helping cultures thrive. It’s the thing that helps assert your connection to the land and helps justify your identity.”
And for those struggling with identity and mixedness, he adds, “You are absolutely solid in who you are. It’s just a matter of connecting and that takes time and that’s okay. Sit well in the comfort of being [both] solid Filipino and solid Indigenous Australian.”
"Ang magandang kinabukasan ay para sa mga taong nagtitiwala sa kanilang kakayahan." [“A bright future awaits those who believe in what they can do.”]
