A Liverpool woman is asking 'how are we still here' after years of people doubting the parentage of her mixed race children, with one person even calling her son a 'mongrel'.
Chantelle Lunt, 34, herself a mixed-race Black woman who runs The Little Green Juice Box with her White partner, lives in Halewood with their two mixed race sons.
When Chantelle's 14-year-old son was younger, someone asked about her kids.
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She told the ECHO : "[I] showed her a picture, and she went, 'Oh, he's a bit of a mongrel, isn't he?'
"And I went, 'What do you mean?' She went, 'He's a got a bit of mixed breed in him'. And I went, 'He's not a dog'."
"I was fuming with her. That was one time when I really took an issue and I was like, 'No, that's not appropriate to talk about my child like they're a breed of dog."
The former police officer added: "It's dehumanising. To use a word associated with a dog to describe my child as if they're a breed of something. That is dehumanising, and that's really offensive."
That was 14 years ago, and Chantelle hoped that attitudes had changed to mixed race families, particularly after the arrival of Meghan Markle to the royal family.
She told the ECHO : "With Meghan Markle, I really did think the understanding of what a mixed race family looks like had gone really mainstream.
"There's a woman who's quite light skinned as a mixed race Black woman and her mum is a lot darker than her. So I thought people's understanding of what mixed race constitutes as had broadened."
In July, journalist Ena Miller reported for the BBC on her own experience as the mother of a mixed race child, constantly facing the assumption that she is her child's nanny, and confronting constant doubt that she really is the mother.
Chantelle shared the article in the Facebook group of Merseyside Black Lives Matter, which she founded last summer.
People flocked to the comments beneath to share their own experiences, both recent and in the past.
Ignorance and insensitivity born from either curiosity or malice are things they've all had to face as people in mixed race families.
Chantelle has even had people ask her how she's her son's mother, with the mum left questioning how we're still in this situation.
Speaking of a conversation about her first son, Chantelle told the ECHO : "One of my friends was like, 'Oh, is he Black?', and I was like, 'Yeah, he's Black, he's just got a lighter skin tone'.
"So there was always that shock, that 'Why doesn't he look like you? Why isn't his skin as dark as you? Why is his hair different?'
"It just shows how limited people's knowledge is of what mixed race looks like."
This has caused difficulty when Chantelle goes to pick up her kids from school. Usually she drops them off in the morning while her husband does the afternoon run.
Sometimes she'll be left waiting for a teacher to come to her. Other time they'll bring another Black child in the class.
She told the ECHO : "That's just where their brain has gone, 'Oh, she's Black, the Black child must be hers', rather than asking.
"I am quite nice when I correct them, because it's not a malicious thing. It's just a lack of understanding of what mixed race is and what Black is."
Speaking of how this feels, Chantelle said: "In the early days when they don't know who I am, I'm not really that bothered, but I'd rather they ask. If you don't know, just say and I'll tell you who I'm here for.
"But in July when I'm still going up and they still don't know who I am, and you can tell they don't know who my child is, I'm a bit like, 'Come on, why can't you remember which child is mine?'"
Her older son's classmates have told him he's 'racially ambiguous' and that he doesn't look Black, despite his confidence in his Black identity.
Chantelle told the ECHO : "They're like, 'You could be Spanish, you could be Italian, you could pass as Mexican, you could even pass as White if you wanted', as if they're giving him a compliment."
Chantelle and her husband said they often get looks of curiosity, disgust and suspicion. Their family has even been laughed and pointed at on occasion.
Chantelle told the ECHO how judging eyes makes them feel.
She said: "It's uncomfortable as a family because it feels like you're doing something wrong. Every so often we'll get someone who'll look at us in open disgust, like an older person, who'll look at us and maybe grit their teeth or shake their head or tut, and you know that they're looking at us because there's no one else in the street.
"Me and Paul will just share a look. But it's upsetting because it's that feeling that society still doesn't approve of mixed race relationships."
Chantelle does have hope for the future though.
She told the ECHO : "We've still got a bit to go, but I do think, in terms of representation, people should hopefully be seeing more representation of mixed race identities and families in the media, which will hopefully help people understand that Black and mixed race is not one size fits all.
"We come in all shapes, colours, sizes. It's a bit like the 'don't touch my hair' conversation. No matter what's going on in your head, don't intrude on a person by asking them to explain their family history and genetics to you."
