She added that she believes Khai will nonetheless grow up feeling proud of her origins and intends for eventual discussions addressing such issues to take place organically. Is what I am, or what I have, enough to do what I feel is right? But then, also, is that taking advantage of the privilege of having the whiteness within me, right? Am I allowed to speak for this side of me, or is that speaking on something that I don’t experience enough to know?” You go through life trying to figure out where you fit in racially. She continued, “In certain situations, I feel-or I’m made to feel-that I’m too white to stand up for part of my Arab heritage. It’s something I’ve always thought about my whole life.” “We are that first generation of those mixed races, and then that comes with that first generational experience of being like, ‘Oh damn, I’m the bridge!’ That’s not something that my parents experienced or that they can really help me through. “ think about it and talk about it a lot as partners and it’s something that’s really important to us, but it’s also something that we first experienced ourselves,” Hadid told the magazine. On being asked her sentiments on raising a mixed child, Hadid reflected on her own sense of identity growing up, sharing that she, at times, feels like she's teetering between the several distinct cultures that comprise her multiethnic heritage.
Just because I have blonde hair, I still carry the value of my ancestors and I appreciate and respect that.In an interview with i-Dpublished today, Gigi Hadid opened up about her pregnancy parenting with her boyfriend, Zayn Malik and navigating her multiethnic identity, along with that of her daughter, Khai Hadid Malik. She continued, "I'm as Palestinian as I am Dutch. "When I shot the cover of Vogue Arabia, I wasn't 'Arab enough' to be representing those girls, even though I'm half-Palestinian," Hadid reportedly said during a Reebok event in Australia. Hadid has previously spoken about struggling with her mixed-race identity.Īfter the model faced accusations of cultural appropriation for wearing a hijab on the inaugural cover of Vogue Arabia in 2018, she defended herself and said that she and her siblings, Bella Hadid and Anwar Hadid, are proud Arabs. Malik's father, Yaser Malik, will be nicknamed "Abu" ("father" in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan), and his mother, Trisha Malik, will be called "Nini" (the British word for "Nana"). Mohamed will go by "Jido" (Arabic for "grandpa") and Yolanda will be "Oma" ("grandmother" in Dutch). Khai's diverse background is reflected in the names she'll call her four grandparents, the model said. Hadid recalled asking herself: "Is what I am, or what I have, enough to do what I feel is right? But then, also, is that taking advantage of the privilege of having the whiteness within me, right? Am I allowed to speak for this side of me, or is that speaking on something that I don't experience enough to know?"įrom left, Bella Hadid, Yolanda Foster, Gigi Hadid, and Mohamed Hadid in Paris in 2016. "In certain situations, I feel - or I'm made to feel - that I'm too white to stand up for part of my Arab heritage," she told the outlet. While Hadid said she identifies equally with both sides, she said she's spent time "trying to figure out" where she fits in.
The 26-year-old supermodel was raised by her father, Mohamed Hadid, who is Palestinian, and her mother, Yolanda Hadid, who is Dutch. In an interview i-D published Monday, Gigi Hadid said her light features have caused her to grapple with questions about her mixed-race identity. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Hadid said she hopes her and Zayn Malik's daughter discovers her own identity without pressure. The model said she's previously grappled with feeling "too white" to speak about her Arab roots. Gigi Hadid discussed her mixed-race identity in an interview that i-D published on Monday. Zayn Malik and Gigi Hadid have a daughter named Khai.