Devon Hunter

I’ve been asked quite a bit what my ethnic background is. I thought I was pretty obviously a straight-up honky cracka, but I can see how my particular breeding (or lack thereof) might not be so obvious. I get a variety of guesses, so, since it seems to be a point of interest, I’ll just address it now and clear the air.

My Gramma did about 15 years of research into this, and I guess the easiest way to describe me is 1/3 German, 1/3 Dutch, and 1/3 French (I guess that means i’m 100% Germanic, eh?). I am not the expert on this, so I’m basing all this on what I think Gramma has told me. I remember (but that’s a problematic term, isn’t it?) her saying our German dirt farmers were from Bavaria, that our Dutch dirt farmers were from Friesland, and that our French dirt farmers were from Normandy. Somehow, going way way way back, one of my distant French relatives was one of the knights killed by Henry V at the Battle of Agencourt (and he even has a line or two in the play “Henry V” by Shakespeare before he croaks on stage! Awesome!). So, there’s evidently some little drizzling of nobility up in me somewhere (I suppose that’s what makes me such a pincess?).

Anyway, I’ve lived in France and I speak French. I’ve visited the Black Forest of Bavaria, and I’ve spent time in The Netherlands. I wanted to get closer to my roots, so that’s what I’ve done over the years to see where my poor white trash peeps used to grovel around in the mud. They must’ve been some tough bastards, that’s for sure. I concentrated my interest, and therefore identify, mostly on the French portion. This is for both practical and romantic reasons: I wanted to understand all the terminology in my ballet classes, so that’s how I picked French in highschool, and that in turn set me out in the direction of all things French (I did a double major in Dance and French with a minor in Spanish – they didn’t have German at the time). I also had a better time with French history, because I fell in love with the stories about Eleanor of Acquataine, Jeanne la Pucelle (Joan of Arc), and Marie Antoinette. France is so gay! I love it there (although Germany and Holland are great places to be queer, too).

So, there you have it. I’m a gringo from the South. I identify as French, but i’m 1/3 German, 1/3 Dutch, 1/3 French, and 1/3 Fabuluscious (did you actually think you could fit this much personality into a measley 3 thirds?!).