A/76/178 or immutable are significant obstacles for achieving gender equality. Unequal gender norms may task women with reproducing dominant interpretations of culture. Women’s conformity with gender norms may be incorrectly framed as cu ltural preservation while women advocating for gender equality may be tainted as “cultural traitors” (A/67/287, paras. 17 and 19). Debates about cultural mixing and openness, perceived cultural borders and mixed and multiple identities are critical women’s human rights debates. III. Mixed cultural identities 55. In many places in the world, people of mixed cultural, ethnic, linguistic, national, racial, religious or other identities are in the majority or are increasing in numbers. 70 This is recognized and respected to varying degrees. 71 Such people may face multiple exclusions, suffer from what has been called “racial imposter syndrome” 72 or be forced to simplify their identities in order to belong. Their existence may be denied outright, and they may be socially excluded (E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.1, para. 39). They are sometimes left out even of human rights discourse. 56. In some contexts, due to the imposition of frameworks that hamper selfidentification, people with mixed identities are said to be among those facing the most marginalization. The many layers that are hard to unpack of how they identify and interpret their own identities may disappear into simple categories that thwart their ability to enjoy cultural rights without discrimination. They may be labelled, such as on identity cards and documents, and even within the United Nations system, in ways that do not reflect their own understandings and lived realities (A/HRC/17/40/Add.2, para. 34). “Information on ethnicity should always be acquired through self declaration of the respondent, who should also have the option of indica ting multiple or no ethnic affiliations without any negative consequences ” (A/70/335, para. 57). 73 As the former Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights correctly asserted, “it is of vital importance that individuals not be forced to identify themselves in terms of a singular aspect of their identity” (A/67/287, paras. 11 and 35). 57. The quest to ensure the human rights of people with pronounced mixed identities often personifies the issue of cultural mixing. Where those dynamics are not respected, the cultural and other human rights of such persons are harder to realize. When the concept of being mixed is viewed as “impure”, they are more likely to be excluded from equal participation in cultural life. They may face discrimination in many fields, including education, employment, marriage and on the basis of phenotype, as well as questioning about where they are from and being labelled as foreigners. Discriminatory attitudes may also lead to hate speech and even violence. Such persons often face various versions of monoracial supremacy or monolingual bias. There may be no recourse for them other than peer-to-peer support, and sometimes not even that, when they face the specificity of cultural rights violations they may experience. __________________ 70 71 72 73 16/22 See, e.g, E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.5, para. 3; A/HRC/35/25/Add.3, para. 96; E/CN.4/2005/18/Add.3, para. 37; and E/CN.4/1996/72/Add.1, paras. 34–39. On the other hand, in some regions, official rhetoric about hybrid identities has sometimes been reported to be used to conceal discrimination, which must also be guarded against. See A/HRC/32/50, para. 48. See https://choice.npr.org/index.html?origin=https://www.npr.org/section s/codeswitch/2017/06/08/462395722/racial-impostor-syndrome-here-are-your-stories. For examples of persons of mixed descent choosing not to affiliate with any groups, see A/HRC/25/49/Add.1, paras. 16 and 21. 21-10019