Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think that if someone called me a 'white bitch' I would not find that racist

198 replies

Brigantia · 02/10/2013 21:23

I've been reading the 2 asian guys chased me thread and I'm a bit confused.

If someone said to you 'white bitch' would you think that was a racial slur?

I wouldn't ..I'd just think they were arseholes

I'd be more concerned about the 'bitch' bit

OP posts:
VisualCharades · 02/10/2013 21:25

I'd find it racist

ginmakesitallok · 02/10/2013 21:25

Yes I would.

Sirzy · 02/10/2013 21:25

I think it would all depend on context but it in certain contexts yes I would deem it racist.

MurderOfBanshees · 02/10/2013 21:26

Context makes a difference, I know I've been called it in the past and the "white" bit was emphasised as the bad bit. Which was nice of them.

LessMissAbs · 02/10/2013 21:26

Yes, because its a comment based on race.

FreudiansSlipper · 02/10/2013 21:26

mmm no not really

being white has never held me back and i have not been judged or expected to act a certain way because of my colour, it is never an issue

the bitch bit yes

QuintessentialShadows · 02/10/2013 21:26

There is a major difference between

"You fucking bitch"
and
"You fucking white bitch"

Can you really not see what that is? You can substitute White for any Colour or ethnicity/race, btw.

ClaraOswald · 02/10/2013 21:27

YEp, I'd think that the reason they were targetting me is becasue of my colour

AnyaKnowIt · 02/10/2013 21:27

Yes, if someone called me a black bitch that would be racist, same goes for while bitch

Ilovemydogandmydoglovesme · 02/10/2013 21:27

If it's used negatively then yes it's racist.

QuintessentialShadows · 02/10/2013 21:28

"YEp, I'd think that the reason they were targetting me is becasue of my colour"

Good point.

They would be targeting you because of your gender, your race would be secondary.

The question is, would they especially avoid targeting women of their own ethnicity?

Stravy · 02/10/2013 21:28

I would find it racist. I've had it plenty of times (mixed race relationship). I would still think they were arseholes but racist arseholes.

Quangle · 02/10/2013 21:29

Well they are hardly likely to be positively referencing your lily white complexion in that context so yes it's racist. Just as you can describe someone as black without being racist but in the context of the same phrase it would clearly be intended as a negative.

janey68 · 02/10/2013 21:29

Yes. I can't think of a context whereby anyone Would use that phrase without the intention to be racist tbh

ICameOnTheJitney · 02/10/2013 21:29

You're not being unreasonable to THINK it but you'd be wrong. So yes....YABU. And naive.

ChippingInNeedsSleepAndCoffee · 02/10/2013 21:30

No I wouldn't, not at all. However, the way it has been explained in the past is that you can't really understand it, if you aren't from a minority group - which makes sense.

I think there is sometimes a fine line between racism & description though, if I am being totally honest. I haven't read the other thread, so have no idea about that one.

runes · 02/10/2013 21:32

Of course it is racist. No one pits a complimentary word in front of bitch or bastard do they? It's never beautiful or kind bitch, it's ugly or fat, so it's like a double insult. If someone puts someone's race before bitch or bastard I would assume they thought the race was a negative attribute too.

MurderOfBanshees · 02/10/2013 21:32

Freudian That's a fair point, think there's two levels to this though. One in the immediate circumstance in which someone is being targeted for their colour, and two which is the larger society view of their colour.

I think it is racist, but without the wider implications of targeting someone from other groups.

mumofthemonsters808 · 02/10/2013 21:33

Yes it is racist, I have only been called this once, me and OH were in New York on the subway. Someone was coughing and spluttering and I just looked up when I heard the noise, a black woman then shouted in my face "mind your own, white bitch". I was too scared to even comment.

runes · 02/10/2013 21:33

*puts

Original poster
Brigantia · 02/10/2013 21:33

But I am white therefore why would that be an insult QuintessntialShadows

OP posts:
Quangle · 02/10/2013 21:33

In either case it would be used by someone of the other ethnicity to draw attention to your otherness or their lack of commonality with you. It's not likely to be used white on white as it were. It's not meant as a pure descriptor.

imofftolisdoonvarna · 02/10/2013 21:34

This thread is not going to end well........

QuintessentialShadows · 02/10/2013 21:35

Because they mean it in a derogatory sense?

Kendodd · 02/10/2013 21:37

Yes it is. I've been called a white bitch before a couple of times, can't say it really bothered me though. Another time I was turned away from a hairdressers and was told they "only cut black hair" that did piss me off although the more I think about it... afro and white hair is very different and they were used to working with black hair, still not right though and I would guess not legal.