Although experiences in the home are some of the most significant for the formation of multiracial identity, external experience and societal reception also have a strong impact. Acceptance by groups that share the racial heritage of their parents' groups, racial discrimination, and social relationships all have an impact on multiracial individuals. For people of mixed race, the experience of racism occurs on different levels and in different ways. Personal narratives from the United States are replete with experiences of racial discrimination (Gaskins, 1999; O'Hearn, 1998). Most of those interviewed for this essay, however, could not remember serious incidents of racism or discrimination beyond a few small occurrences, primarily in elementary school. Often, discrimination is not experienced directly because of mixed race status but because of external assumptions based on the physical appearance of multiracial people. Kathleen explained that she had been the recipient of racial remarks in the past because people had assumed, based on her physical appearance, that she was full Chinese. Similarly, Toby explained that he also experienced racism but he felt that it did not necessarily have anything to do with his status as a person of mixed race. Instead, he felt that it was because he grew up in a small town as one of the few Asians in the community. Ayesha also noticed that when she and her sister were with their mother they would often be treated differently than when they were with their father. Because of the physical ambiguities of people who are of mixed race, and the difficulty in categorizing them according to distinct physical differences, discrimination was often experienced because of how they are perceived, racially categorized and then stereotyped on the basis of those perceptions.

Pearl Fuyo Gaskins, who has compiled a book on the experiences of a number of racially mixed Americans, describes another form of racism that often occurs with multiracial individuals. She has observed that people seem to be more likely to express prejudicial attitudes around mixed race people (Gaskins, 158). Ayesha reiterated this point when she observed that her French family often made racial comments in her presence, based on the assumption that they mostly identified her as white:

Also, what bugs me is I find my family there [in France] is racist in ways that they don't necessarily notice, just like people here. They don't realize that my sister and I are implicated in that. They never think we might be. They'll just throw stuff out or make a comment or throw out some belief about this, that or the other and they won't stop to think that there are people in the room that aren't white. And I'm not sure how to bring it up.

Jason also mentioned that he had heard such comments in different social situations. However, he also said that, because his self-concept is solid, he typically did not let it bother him and usually could "dismiss the other person with disdain." Ayesha also made an interesting statement when she said that the discrimination that she sometimes feels is not necessarily blatantly directed at her. Instead, she explained that she sometimes felt discrimination in the sense that she often feels that she must censor herself when discussing issues of race in her classes and in social situations. She sometimes felt that she is uncomfortable about bringing up certain issues because she felt that others might perceive it as "Oh that person needs to bring up their colour again." Thus, discrimination against the multiracial person can occur in very subtle and insidious ways.

Social relationships external to the home are also important in the identity development process for all people. How these relationships are formed and with whom is an important aspect of the construction of racial and cultural identities among multiracial people. Cauce et. al. conducted a study assessing the social adjustment of biracial youth and noted that biracial individuals "may have access to a wider circle of children from whom to draw friends, which may provide them with richer and more diverse experiences" (Cauce et. al., 216). Because of their adaptability in different social contexts they often find diverse groups more accessible than those who identify monoracially. Conversely, an alternative perspective on the social relationships formed by biracial people suggests that they also run the risk of being rejected by group members of both races (Cauce et. al, 216). It is interesting to note that those interviewed had experiences supporting both arguments. Jason, Kathleen and Daylan said that, all through their lives they had friends from many different backgrounds, the latter two as a function of growing up in diverse Vancouver communities.

At the same time, however, Daylan pointed out that once he began university, he noticed that groups tended to segregate themselves along racial lines. When this occurred, he felt that he did not know where he fit into those groups. Similarly, during high-school, Ayesha expressed, "I didn't know where my space was as who I was" when trying to adapt. She also commented that she felt that she was never fully accepted or rejected by the different communities to which she felt she had some affiliation. For example, when she moved through Vancouver's Punjabi community, she felt recognized as neither Indian nor white:

I'll feel really comfortable being in the Punjabi Market, in a place where there is not just white people walking down the street. At the same time, I feel like those people see me as white or don't see me as Indian or Indian enough.

Although there is the aspect of feeling as if they are unable to fit into the groups to which they feel they could belong, both Amber and Ayesha realized that they have tended to befriend others with similar backgrounds and experiences of being racially or culturally mixed. As Amber says,

I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that we come from mixed backgrounds and have had that experience just in the school system and out in the world where you don't really identify with any of the major categories of people. Where you're not totally white but you're not totally Chinese … I have friends who also come from mixed background but have different cultures and they have that similar experience of being immersed in different cultures.

These attitudes extended to romantic relationships as well. Almost all of those interviewed had dated a diverse range of people, although many of them admitted that they had tended to date and be attracted primarily to white people, perhaps due to North American beauty ideals. The three women, however, admitted that now they feel most comfortable with others who are mixed, not necessarily racially, but culturally. For example, Amber's boyfriend is full Chinese-Canadian but who experienced bicultural conflicts growing up culturally as Canadian but as a racially Chinese person.