When I was a young girl, I was an anglophile. This was a strange way of being for me since I was a working class African-American in the Midwest. My anglophilia manifested itself in my love of 80's British pop music (especially Culture Club & Wham), my love of British magazines (Smash Hits, The Blitz, & The Face), the EastEnders soap opera, and my longing to see London. My family was somewhat supportive of my anglophilia since it harmless and didn't disrupt any important aspects of my life.
A little late in my teenage years, I verged into francophilia. After viewing photos of Paris, I thought the French definitely had some secrets up their sleeves because it is such a beautiful city. (Please note that I didn't dwell on the fact that the British & French were huge colonizers.)
I eventually grew out of these phases. However, the phile in me came back in a major way when I got interested in India. Of course, I became an indophile. But I always had a problem being an indophile because it didn't sit well with my innate afrocentric tendencies. I don't think I'm an overt afrocentric person but it is in me. I stopped being a huge indophile after traveling around India (I think I got it out of my system!).
After traveling around South Africa and Mozambique, I became enamored with the continent of Africa. Now I want to see it all! And I'm formulating a plan to visit the western and eastern regions of Africa in the next several years. I feel like my African interests are a better fit with my identity as a person of African descent. But the truth is that I'm still an indophile and anglophile at heart. I also have a touch of japanophile in me after spending two years living there.
In the end, the only way I can make sense of all of this is to embrace the identity of an internationalist. I think this word will allow me to acknowledge all of the places which I feel intimately drawn to no matter what cultural, ethnic, religious, or racial differences may exist.
