"My mother is Irish, my father is black and Venezuelan, and me - I'm tan, I guess"
About this Quote
The intent is control. Carey has spent a career being read through other people’s lenses: light enough to be pushed toward mainstream pop, Black enough to be claimed or contested, “exotic” enough to be fetishized, never quite allowed to be simply complicated. By choosing “tan” - a color more associated with tanning salons than ancestry - she highlights the superficiality of skin-tone shorthand and the way the public collapses lineage into a shade card.
Subtext: race is treated as a visual product, especially for famous women. “I guess” signals exhaustion with interrogation and a savvy awareness of how quickly authenticity tests become entertainment. Contextually, it echoes the 1990s and 2000s celebrity ecosystem that demanded confessionals about “what are you?” while simultaneously profiting from ambiguity. Carey answers, but on her terms: playful, evasive, and quietly defiant.
Quote Details
| Topic | Family |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Carey, Mariah. (n.d.). My mother is Irish, my father is black and Venezuelan, and me - I'm tan, I guess. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-is-irish-my-father-is-black-and-88546/
Chicago Style
Carey, Mariah. "My mother is Irish, my father is black and Venezuelan, and me - I'm tan, I guess." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-is-irish-my-father-is-black-and-88546/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"My mother is Irish, my father is black and Venezuelan, and me - I'm tan, I guess." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/my-mother-is-irish-my-father-is-black-and-88546/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
