India or Savannah - Pretentious or pretty?

good luck rindercella!

RINDERCELLA- are you saying what I think you're saying?

Oooh, good luck!

I know 2 Indias at playgroup, one of which is an India Rose, here in Australia. Not pretentious here but both DH and I have noticed that names here have different contexts - some names that we might have thought of as pretentious or a bit common in the UK are the opposite here.

The India Rose I know is called Indie-Rose most of the time, btw.

Spangles, I actually did think quite carefully before using the term exotic in this thread. But I believe what I said to be true. However, I was trying to be diplomatic ( look where that got me) and did not want to say that actually a mousey plain child would not suit the name India (I realise I am likely to get flamed for this too). I think India is a beautiful name, which is why we chose it for our DD.

Living in rural England as we do, our mixed race DD is exotic. I personnally do not regard that as a bad thing and not in the least bit offensive. She is beautiful, and has the most beautiful brown eyes imaginable. I actually deleted 'pretty' from my description of her as I thought it sounded big headed, not because I wanted to emphasise that white girls can be pretty, while non-white girls can't. That would just be ridiculous (and obviously very far from what I believe).

Sorry I called you a numpty - it is clear that you are not.

Right, I'm getting some quite strong contractions. Guess I'd better get off my backside and see if they're going to amount to anything

spangles you are talking a bag o' shite

no wonder the real victims of racial abuse find it difficult to be heard, with idiots like you debasing the issue

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I think India is pretty but possibly a bit overused

Savannah is pretty but I prefer Susannah

agree with second coming

sorry op i meant to say i love india rose its a lovely name, not to hot on savanna though personally. i know people with both these names however and none of them are pretentious

spangles i think you are taking it a bit too far really, there are certain names that don't suit certain skin tones, thats not racsism. i.e i cringe when i hear a white child being called ebony. though funny enough my cousin (who is black) is called bianca! (meaning white!)

taht should be 'statement is reinforcing..' not 'you are'

Foxtrot - I dont get the Fionn reference?

Rindercella that was 'you' as in 'your placement of the word pretty with the blond haired blue eyed part of the statement you are reinforcing this as being the more positive.....' I have been corrected in the past by people in respect of terms I have used flippantly, that have been offensive to certain groups I have not used those terms since. I dont know your background, nor am I assuming what it is. Do you know mine other than 'exotic'?

It works the other way too spangles. I wouldn't have called my son Fionn because he was (going to be) too dark. Was that racist of me?

Some people love to trip themselves up in smoke and mirrors....

"You reinforce the white, having more value, with the blue eyes and the pretty." No I do not.

FFS

You know what, it is just not worth arguing the toss with a numpty on the internet who insists on seeing a problem where there is none.

I know what pointy means about too exotic for pasty faced kids!

I agree that Savannah is a bit Danielle Steele. I laughed at that. India is not my style either but I think it's prettier than Savannah. Do you like Willow? That seems in the same style as India and Savannah. It would suit a pasty-faced child a bit better though! India when all your ancestors are from Ipswich and you've never been there could be seen as odd.

as I said Rindercella, I said you may or may not be aware how that may be interpreted. But I and many others consider it racially offensive. I did not call you a racist I broke what you said down into how it could be interpreted.

Bitoffun - I can see where you are coming from but IME the word name and exotic are generally racially offensive. I have a couple of childre and it was the same each time.

I would be deeply offended that you think my post is racist spangles. However, you know nothing about me - you do not have a clue what background I am from; what my ethnicity is. You have interpreted your own blimkered views on what I have said.

More fool you really

Actaully pointy I and many other people have been patronised by the statement many times. Even DH (white) thought it was not right the first time he heard it and he never picks up on anything.

Rindercella I didnt see your post, I scrolled to the bottom to add my comment and noticed Pointys, a couple of posts ahead of mine. Similiar statements although yours is worse. Pointy has used pasty (infers white in this context), yours is more overtly white :blond haired blue eyed and pretty. Yours reads an India should be exotic (foreign, not from here therefore diffenct) or white and pretty. You reinforce the white, having more value, with the blue eyes and the pretty. You may or may not be aware that is how it will be read by someone from an ethnic background. It is the subtle language of racism and people use it without knowing. Exotic and the context in which is used is one the the words make me question the motives of the person making the comment.

I must say that I didn't read 'exotic' to mean non-white, just as i didn't read 'pasty' as white. My dd2 is 'exotic'-looking (dark eyes and auburn hair) and could carry off a strong unusual name, for example. It's like if you call a kid Einstein, or Troy or something: you'd better hope he can carry it off. Some children just don't fit their names if they aren't striking-seeming enough to suit them.

you choose to interpret 'exotic' purely as a racial term. And you;re being patronising.

Spangles, I also used the term 'exotic' in my post when referring to the names India and Savannah. I am genuinely interested why you picked Pointy up on her post, and not me.

its one of the offensive statements that 'exotic' people like me have to put up with when we are pregnant and discussing names. I thought I would point it out to you so you would know it was a statement to avoid saying in future.

that is how you have translated it, spangles. I have no idea what you might read into that translation, whether intentionally or not