The transracial aesthetic labour of an international teaching assistant
PurposeThis paper introduces the concept of transracial aesthetic labour to understand why and how an international teaching assistant (ITA) vocally changes meanings of his racial identity.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a narrative analysis to detail instances of transracial aesthetic labour.FindingsFor the ITA, this labour involved orally distancing from or aligning with particular Indian stereotypes for specific contexts.Research limitations/implicationsTransracial aesthetic labour may occur in other industries that deem race an integral part of sounding right or looking good for the job.Practical implicationsThe findings highlight the need for ITAs and universities to rethink the meaning of transracial to combat racist perceptions of ITAs' speech.Originality/valueThe paper advances the aesthetic labour literature by exploring how race is vocally performed for this labour and introducing ITAs as aesthetic labourers.