You Sound Like a White Girl

The Case for Rejecting Assimilation

By: Julissa Arce

Narrated by: Julissa Arce

This program is read by the author and includes a bonus conversation with the author and Paola Ramos, a Vice News journalist, MSNBC Contributor, and author of Finding Latinx.

“A love letter to our people - full of fury and passion."
- José Olivarez, award-winning poet and author of Citizen Illegal

"If you could take Rodolfo Gonzales epic poem 'I Am Joaquin' and explain it through compelling, personal narrative in twenty-first century America, You Sound Like A White Girl would be it.”
- Joaquin Castro

Bestselling author Julissa Arce brings listeners a powerful polemic against the myth that assimilation leads to happiness and belonging for immigrants in America. Instead, she calls for a celebration of our uniqueness, our origins, our heritage, and the beauty of the differences that make us Americans.

“You sound like a white girl.” These were the words spoken to Julissa by a high school crush as she struggled to find her place in America. As a brown immigrant from Mexico, assimilation had been demanded of her since the moment she set foot in San Antonio, Texas, in 1994. She’d spent so much time getting rid of her accent so no one could tell English was her second language that in that moment she felt those words - you sound like a white girl? - were a compliment. As a child, she didn’t yet understand that assimilating to “American” culture really meant imitating “white” America - that sounding like a white girl was a racist idea meant to tame her, change her, and make her small. She ran the race, completing each stage, but never quite fit in, until she stopped running altogether.

In this dual polemic and manifesto, Julissa dives into and tears apart the lie that assimilation leads to belonging. She combs through history and her own story to break down this myth, arguing that assimilation is a moving finish line designed to keep Black and brown Americans and immigrants chasing racist American ideals. She talks about the Lie of Success, the Lie of Legality, the Lie of Whiteness, and the Lie of English - each promising that if you obtain these things, you will reach acceptance and won’t be an outsider anymore. Julissa deftly argues that these demands leave her and those like her in a purgatory - neither able to secure the power and belonging within whiteness nor find it in the community and cultures whiteness demands immigrants and people of color leave behind.

In You Sound Like a White Girl, Julissa offers a bold new promise: Belonging only comes through celebrating yourself, your history, your culture, and everything that makes you uniquely you. Only in turning away from the white gaze can we truly make America beautiful. An America where difference is celebrated, heritage is shared and embraced, and belonging is for everyone. Through unearthing veiled history and reclaiming her own identity, Julissa shows us how to do this.

©2021 Julissa Arce (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

10/10 highly recommend

Extremely informative and educational. I enjoyed every minute while reading this book. Very factual and relatable to so many people.

I am the choir…

…and I needed this book from the history shared to the affirmation on feelings around identity.

Life Shifting

Rich in history, hard facts, and sad truths. A story worth sharing. A story I needed to hear.

Finally feel understood

This book explains how I, an immigrant from Colombia, have felt and still feel after living in the USA for over 20 years. I believe Julissa puts into words what millions of immigrants and Latinos feel.

Exceptionally well written

I loved it from start to finish. Well rounded historical events. It should be required reading for schools.

Thankful for this eye opening perspective.

Julissa Arce is an excellent storyteller and through listening to her voice I am able to connect with her emotion in this heartbreaking and still hopeful view of race and ethnicity in America. I hope that listeners will be open-minded so that they can fully experience this book. I know that it helped me see many issues through a new lens and prompted me to get curious and look for more like this.

We need more!

Thank you for writing this book! I think everyone from everywhere could benefit from this story

Excellent writing and reading

I found it highly educational, incredibly interesting, and I emotionally connected with so many of the stories. I particularly appreciated the conversation at the end of the audiobook as well. Powerful and should be read by everyone.

Loved this book

She put on words what I felt, growing up in USA.
I always have trouble expressing myself and this book is a perfect example

Passionate and so relatable

Loved this book and all of the topics covered and discussed it was so passionate and interesting and really inspiring