Nell Haynes,
Chile.
Sometimes it’s hard being the person that always stands out in a crowd, especially in an impoverished city in the middle of the Chilean desert (the driest place on earth). I get catcalled daily. I’m charged more for public transport and at the market. But I’m always surprised when people ask if I’m offended that they refer to me as a “gringa.” Especially because here it’s quite common to call people by the nicknames “Negro” [Black] “Gordo” [Fat] or “Flaco” [Skinny], such as “Oh my Gordo is so sweet, he cooked me dinner last night.” Having grown used to these terms, “gringa” seems pretty inoffensive. Of course it has colonialist connotations, but I also understand that as an anthropologist from the US researching people in Chile, well, I’m doing something that stems from colonial legacies, making “gringa” all the more appropriate.
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