What makes someone white?

[KitBumbleB]

I hope this isn't taken the wrong way

I am mixed race, 1/4 white 3/4 north african but I look completely white, this has always caused some confusion for me.

My (surprisingly racist) white grandad was really happy when I was born pale skinned, a lot paler than my brother who looks north african.

I was bullied in primary school especially when we had to study Ancient Egypt, kids would tease me for "pretending" to be Egyptian, I remember speaking Arabic (the like, two words I knew!) To prove it but they literally shrieked with laughter at my "made up language"
Growing up I've had people pull up their sleeves to prove they are darker skinned than me as if that proves I'm not mixed race....?

I know I am not the only mixed race person who struggles with identifying with my race. And also I am so fed up of having to prove I am a WoC.
But I guess my question is, what makes a person white, is it skin colour, ethnicity, heritage?
Sorry if that was a ramble!

you should definitely not feel less of a right to call yourself mixed race because you're lighter than your sibling. Identity is based on what you identify as. People will always have opinion and something to say. mixed race families feel that too keenly...and don't forget that anything said is with racist inferences is the person who said its problem not yours..don't let it sink in and shape who you are....

It's so cruel that people can make you feel like that.

You are mixed and that is beautiful. Their is a lady on Instagram called "educatingmummy". She has 2 little boys and a little girl with her husband. I'm not 100% sure of their heritage but for arguments sake, shes mixed race (I believe of Jamaican heritage) but has "white" skin and her husband is not white (can't remember his heritage). Anyway, she gets a fair amount of negativity on social media as her middle child Oscar has blond hair and a light tan like her and the other 2 children have darker skin and darker hair like their dad. I think they are an excellent example of how genetics work. Mixed race isn't 50/50. It doesn't mean you will absolutely have a medium skin tone, curly hair and brown eyes. It depends what genes are more dominant and every one is different.

Don't feel like you have to prove anything. People are ignorent and unkind alot of the time. What should matter is how YOU feel about yourself. Sometimes people ask to learn, sometimes they ask because they like to put people down.

I got bullied alot at school for being French. I went to a village school despite living in a major city. No mixed people, one black person and that was it. They were all ignorent. I was born and raised in England but also was able to speak several languages. The bullying was relentless bevause of it.

I don't actually know anything about my heritage from my dad's side as he isn't around anymore but I can sympathise with you. Its always been something I have wondered but never took the time to find out.

Work on how you feel about yourself instead of worrying about what other people say as you will never be able to please everyone.

Your amazing and don't forget it

There's nothing wrong with you. People are bullies and you have nothing to prove. You are mixed race and that's that.

The only time this is relevant is when talking about discrimination - if you look white, speak like a British person and have a fully white name you probably don't face the bias that goes with not being white. That doesn't make you any less mixed race , but it's still a consideration.

A lot of ethnic minorities will be jealous and mean to you because of this 'privilege' and that's probably why you were bullied relentlessly. They feel that you can't identify with their struggles. what makes someone a particular 'race' is their behaviours and attitudes. My mixed race (half Eastern European, half Chinese) friends looks white but is the most Chinese person you'll ever meet. She was raised in Asia, knows nothing about Eastern Europe and doesn't care. Meanwhile I have black friends who are extremely 'white'.

A society drawn along racial lines thus helps no one.

I get it, OP.
I'm mixed race (ethnicity) and very much look it. My DSis, however, you would never know she was mixed at all-looks completely white.
We both identify by our ethnic backgrounds rather than the colour of our skin.
People's perception is interesting though--some people cannot see passed skin colour to the nuances that make up a person's ethnic make-up (obvious or subtle).

You’re mixed race and have every right to identify as you feel. There’s no independent standard set which defines what race mixed people are. You decide how you feel.

what makes a person white, is it skin colour, ethnicity, heritage?

As a white person, I would say it's heritage, but I am happy to be corrected if I am wrong from a black point of view.

There are so many different skin tones, I don't think you can take one and say 'that's white' and another and say 'that's black.'

If someone has dual or multiple heritages, they should have the choice of how they want to identify (just as you would if you had dual nationality) - it's not for other people to tell someone they are 'white' or 'black'.

The only time this is relevant is when talking about discrimination - if you look white, speak like a British person and have a fully white name you probably don't face the bias that goes with not being white. That doesn't make you any less mixed race , but it's still a consideration.

Yes, definitely something I struggle with. But its a little more complicated because I look white and identify strongly with being Egyptian, but essentially I dont "pass" as Egyptian despite my love and passion for my country and culture.

I almost feel discriminated against and rejected by my own race

Does anyone else feel this way?

We are a mixed ethinicity family from a non UK culture. I've been told that my little one "doesn't look the right colour" and people asked me if I am his mum. (Yep, I am!) The midwife actually described him as yellow due to his race (no....that's neonatal jaundice, thanks though,!)

Even healthcare professionals are hesitant about ticking the correct box for DC ethnic origin.

Some people from our own background find it all quite amusing. (DC name is also aligned to the culture ....Somehow we didn't know what colour the baby was in the womb when we chose the name?!)

Bizarre conversations you have with randoms about personal stuff (i.e. family tree in detail) when you don't fit a particular mould.

All the families we know are mixed, all the kiddies are a complete roulette of shades tbh so I know we aren't alone, but it's still tough at times.

I think the general population just don't understand genetics on a fundamental level, therein the problem lies?

@KitBumbleB I understand exactly what you mean. I am mixed race, carribean and British but I'm very much white although I do have curly dark hair, dark eyes and I tan easily. When I mention my heritage everyone is surprised. When I have spoken to black carribean people about my heritage I have had strange reactions. Not unfriendly or hostile but things like they would test me on the foods etc as if they are checking if i am actually who I say I am.

I identity strongly with my carribean side, I was actually born in the carribean (I haven't mentioned the country because I don't want to out myself!) and moved to England when I was 9. But i don't fit in because I'm not black, and as someone else has said I have never experienced the struggle black people face. I feel like an intruder, like I'm predending to be part of the culture, even though I feel like it's very much part of me.

And vice versa, I look white, so from the outside I fit in with white british people. But even though I'm white and I'm accepted as white and British, I still don't fit in because I'm mixed race and white British people can't understand what it's like to be mixed race and to have this connection with another culture you don't quite fit in to because you don't look the same as everyone else.