person who has dark skin or person who is black

[ginodacampoismydh]

I did nt think I was BU or gave my comment much thought at the time, but exp and my dd were having a conversation when exp could not remember someones name and he descibed her as the dark skinned girl. DD came and asked me what the dark skined girls name was and I kind of said not correcting her as such but the black girls name is....

exp thought i was correcting his use of language and said that black girl sounds rasist any way??

i was correcting dd a little as i would rather use accepted terms but this could also have got out of hand in saying the girl who is from a black minirity group is called....

exp though I WBU when we discussed this. what do you recon?

[bethelbeth]

It was discussed on here earlier but I think if you are black then you are black, if you're indian then you're indian, pakistani then your pakistani, bangladeshi, white, korean, chinese, japanese, nigerian etc etc

It is not racist to acknowledge someone's ethnic background.

[bethelbeth]

Didn't explain as well as I would have liked, but some people cannot tell the difference between 'white' faces. (Ie: British, Swedish, French etc etc) Some people cannot tell the difference between black faces. (Ie:Nigerian, Zimbabwe, Africa, Jamaica) Some cannot tell the difference between Chinese,Japanese or Korean.

But if you are describing somebody it is not derogatory to say 'this is what they resemble'.

If it was a statement like 'She is ugly because she is white/black/japanese/etc' then of course it is racist but in an average conversation I don't think it is unreasonable to comment upon a persons ethnicity.

[ginodacampoismydh]

that was the point i made with him that her ethnicity is black as i dont know where her family origins are from and so it is not correct to descibe her as the darked skined girl. but doubting myself a little in how i steered dd.

[ginodacampoismydh]

x post i thought you explained it well

[StrawberryTot]

both my brother and sister are mixed race and i know undoubtedly that my brother would be offended however my sister wouldn't, so in all honesty its a difficult one to answer but i don't think there is a right or wrong, sorry i know that doesn't really help

[bethelbeth]

Her ethnicity is not 'black' per se but she has black skin. That is not debatable- it's a fact. A fact cannot be racist as it is not an opinion. It just is what it is.

By saying dark skinned it really is ambiguous as it doesn't confirm what it is 'darker' than. If I was wearing fake tan then my skin could be defined as being dark. But I am not.

I think that just saying things as they are has been over-stigmatized in the hopes of being 'PC'- lot of nonsense in my book.

[TrillianAstra]

Well, she is a girl with dark skin, so it is a correct description because her skin is dark.

'Black girl' or 'Indian girl' or 'Mediterranean-looking girl' would be more usefully descriptive.

Given that I can't tell the difference between someone who is ethnicallly Indian and someone who is ethnically Pakistani, how do I usefully describe 'Indian subcontinent' as opposed to 'Oriental/South-East Asian'?

[katkouta]

I dont think its racist to say someone is black. Its a colour as much as white is.
I did the other day as a man in a car shouted "Paki" at DH on the way home (he is Arab and its the second time this has happened!) I have never myself seen a Pakistani with Afro hair....

[TrillianAstra]

So the racist moron is not just a moron because he is racist, he is also a mornon because he cannot be accurately racist

[bethelbeth]

The Pakistani/Indian thing does seem to be a problem for a lot of British people but in general I find that if you have a friend of that persuasion that you are curious about then just ask.
Most (in my experience) are usually pleased to tell you whether they are in fact Indian or Pakistani as you are taking an interest in them and their background.

I think that, while sometimes it can be a bit embarrassing, it is better than getting it wrong.

I get a bit miffed when people mistake me as English when I am indeed Scottish.... I think every nationality has a similar bugbear.

[bethelbeth]

katkouta that is exactly what I mean. It must drive him mad.

I hate 'Paki'. I don't hate it if my Pakistani friend tells me all about being a 'Paki' and about his 'Paki' friends but I hate hearing it as a word of hate.

It's just as bad as that other word that shall not be mentioned as it garners too much debate on this board!

[katkouta]

Exactly Trillian It seems in some circles that everyone who is a bit brown is an Indian or Pakistani.

[ginodacampoismydh]

well you are right bethelbeth probaly not worded correctly by me. as i understand her ethnicity is not "black" but in the absence of knowing her true ethnicity i can conclude she is from a black minority ethnic group, but this is a mouthfull and does take the pc to far.

it is contentious issue and i would preffer to use black than dark skined.

laughing at the accurate rasist

[Tigerbomb]

The Pakistani/Indian confusion can cause a lot of upset ime. I use the term Asian when I don't know.

I would never use the word Oriental - I thought that term was for objects and not for a person

[katkouta]

Me too Bethelbeth, the first time I had to explain what was said, he didnt care, just said "No,I'm an E-gie"

[bethelbeth]

Lol, try explaining that to some knucklehead shouting in the street!

[bethelbeth]

I don't take great offense at being called 'white'. Even when filling in forms and you get loads of options like Afro Caribbean, Nigerian, Malaysian and everything inbetween- the only option I get is White (Caucasian). Not White (Scottish and pasty!).

You could probably not tell that I was Scottish unless you spoke to me. It is the same with a myriad of other backgrounds. So I wouldn't be terribly put out if you described me to a friend as 'white'. Same applies everywhere else I can think of.

[katkouta]

At least you dont have to tick 'other',(I do for DC's) thats irksome.

[ginodacampoismydh]

other...how horrible, as in not worth mentioning.

[bethelbeth]

It's a funny title- 'Other'. But possibly the most fun. As a little 'un I was always jealous of mixed heritage kids. My best friend was half Japanese and half Kiwi. I was always the boring white kid next to her!

[katkouta]

Yes, you'd think in this day and age there would be a Multi Racial option wouldn't you?

[bethelbeth]

That's a very good point. You could be onto something there katkouta.

(And if it makes you a millionaire remember that I said it was a good idea first!! Lol)

[katkouta]

ok !

[scattermummy]

I am mixed race, but adopted so i dont know where i hail from.Sometimes i say mixed race,sometimes i say dark skin.I get fed up of ticking the "other" box on forms.To amuse myself on occasions i have put "hybrid" he he,always makes me chuckle.If spoken with kindness then i think people can describe us however they want.Most people are not racist and im sure also fed up with being demonised for saying the wrong thing.

[WassaAxolotl]

Actually, I can't help feel that "dark skin" has negative connotations. I can't explain why or give examples of it being such, though.

But I have the feeling it is negative.