Dear Prudence,
I am a middle-aged white woman with an East Indian name. I am concerned about appropriation and walking around basically embodying a living micro-aggression. While my parents and I have close connections to India, and my Indian godparents suggested the name, nobody knows that when they meet me. They just meet a white woman with an Indian name.
Worse, I have been asked more than once what my name was before I changed it, so people apparently assume I’m the one who made this choice. Am I embodying racism? Should I change my name to something Western? I worry about this every day. I don’t want to cause pain just by introducing myself. Please help.
— Not Lakshmi, But Kinda