Hi Norky, yes it's old but it never dies!

Doh! I've just seen how old this thread is!

I'm mixed race, half black African, half white British. To confuse matters I was adopted, but my adoptive parents have the same background as my birth parents, so I still had a mixed upbringing.

In theory anyway - actually we were brought up totally white - I have no cultural connection to Africa through either my adoptive Dad (Sudanese) or my natural father (Kenyan).

In short, I feel white. People refer to me as black in appearance, even though I do look typically mixed race.

DS is also mixed race as DH is white. However he came out the spitting image of DH so he'll be ticking the "White" box on all the forms. That does bother me as it seems to discount my input, but that's life. And genetics!

i've been reading the posts...and one thing really stuck out to me: why is it that it offends you if you(of dual-heritage) or your dual-heritage child is called "black" or "asian" or "latino" when they are also part "white"(this could mean british,irish,portuguese, and all mentioned above)??
would u still be as pissed off if you or your child was referred to as "white"?
This is what i believe:i think that most mixed-race people would rather be associated with the so-called "superior" portion of them, which in several of the cases above, happen to be white. And i say this,not because i think that there are superior or inferior races.no, not at all. I say this because no matter what we think, because of the history that we should all know of, Europeans or Caucasians or whatever have managed to maintain this "superior" label because they have oppressed all the other races in the past.
Think about it this way: if Africa,for example,were this amazing continent in which all forms of technologies and discoveries took place, and if all the important people we learn about like Einstein and Pythagoras and Shakespeare and Bill Gatesall originated from Africa...would you mind if some random person accidentally called you black or of African-descent??
Just let me know

In America mixed race people are seen as black, no matter whether they have one white parent, or 3 white grandparents, or 7 white great-grandparents even. It is an inherently racist stance in this day-and-age IMO, implying a view that the white bloodline has been 'contaminated'. (Mind you - America, racist?! That's not exactly news is it).

Here's a quote from an article on the subject.

"The nation's answer to the question 'Who is black?" has long been that a black is any person with any known African black ancestry. This definition reflects the long experience with slavery and later with Jim Crow segregation. In the South it became known as the "one-drop rule,'' meaning that a single drop of "black blood" makes a person a black. It is also known as the "one black ancestor rule," some courts have called it the "traceable amount rule," and anthropologists call it the "hypo-descent rule," meaning that racially mixed persons are assigned the status of the subordinate group. This definition emerged from the American South to become the nation's definition, generally accepted by whites and blacks. Blacks had no other choice. As we shall see, this American cultural definition of blacks is taken for granted as readily by judges, affirmative action officers, and black protesters as it is by Ku Klux Klansmen."

[ref this page]

Thankfully in the UK we don't take this approach.

I do understand ethnic identity issues a little as I am half of something and half something else. As a result, I've never fitted into either identity and often feel inferior to both. Both are white incidentally, so my wrestling isn't apparent on the outside. All I know is it is absolute rubbish to feel like you are only half of anything, and not fully accepted by either camp.

When will society stop pigeon-holing us - it really doesn't make us more or less important as human beings.

I'm a white mother of a 'black' daughter. I go insane waching people tripping over themselves trying to find the 'correct' term.

Although some woman in work calls her a 'darkie'. I could cheerfully beat her with a 2x4 everytime she says it

Message deleted

I've got to go to bed but this I am very interested in this subject as I am just about to complete a questionnaire at work about being a Visibly Ethic Minority to help someone out with a degree paper.
I now look blankly at people and say where I was born and where my parents were born. They can then try and guess the colour of my parents. They can see me I don't feel I have to explain! I also tell them my dad was a stall holder and Mum a cook. To be fair to my boss, he asked if I would like to fill it out and said that my mix was totally irrelavant to the job I was doing and didn't mean to be rude in asking but, it was a favour for another colleague. I found his comment quite refreshing

This may come across as a rant and maybe so, I'm just going to touch on some of the things I have read on this page starting.....now...
Sorry but can I just say that as a mixed race female of 23 I really do feel that it's the rest of the world i.e. people of one nationality that have the problem not us and it really does get on my nerves. I read the column and I've some of the comments the reason why we tick or used to tick black is because it was the ONLY box to tick! That mentality does infact go as far back as slavery and quiet some time after, reason why I say this is, has everyone forgotten that back then and once you had black in you, you were NOT considered "Mixed Race?" you were "Black" or "Half Cast" which (I hope) we all know is a not a nice term. Back then even if you looked white once people knew you had black in you, you were automatically classed as scum (sorry for the strong term), and even though we've moved on from those days some things are still around today. It is only within the last few years I've been had the option of ticking mixed race as the box was never there in the first place! back then it was you were known as "Black" then when I was little we were suddenly called of "mixed parentage" then round about the time of the Spice Girls (please don't laugh it's true I'm mixed would know) we acquired the title "Mixed Race" (now it's starting to sound boring or something) now they want "Dual Parentage or Dual Heritage?!!!!" Excuse me but who thought this new fan-dangled one up? The proper term is Mixed, Mixed Race or Mulatto which means "One of Many" which when you think about it they all have the same meaning and all they’ve really done is made it more of a mouthful to say. As for the lady who said something like she feels insignificant not trying to be insensitive but come on! For the pure fact that your child is classed as mixed obviously means that you are NOT insignificant! I agree with the woman who said something like a mixed child should be exposed to both and then left to make their own decision 100% as I have come across other mixed people who have been brought up around mostly white family and yet still feel more at ease being around black people. and just to make you think my mother is from Guyana her mum Granny is part African, Amerindian (one the few original people left in South America) and French her appearance would dark skin with what is now described as coolie hair, and her dad my Granddad is part Portuguese, Hispanic and part African his appearance would be very similar but lighter my mum is Dark and my dad is White would you class me? Right now you may be thinking "I don’t know! Mixed raced who cares why is she going into it?" but that's just my point WHO CARES?! It does not matter and it's not important but if you MUST I would prefer it if I was referred Mixed or Mulatto as they seem to be the quickest and simplest way to say. I pretty much done but I hope that you see that it seems to be the people who are not mixed that who are of one nationality that have the problem and that this is not what I would class it as an issue infact far from and I’m sure that there are more important things that people should be spending their time on I hope this opened some eyes and I hope people can move on and find something better to do with their time (sorry if I’ve stepped on any one toes)