To be so infuriated by this...

[TwittyMcTwitterson]

Background: I'm white and my bosses are white. I'm late 20s one is early 40s the other is 50 something.

I have been told off today for using the term 'black' (we were talking about political correctness and labelling a SAHM and how for decades it was housewife, he said why would it change... I said things do eg coloured is now black)

Anyway, they went mad saying you can't use language like that, that's unacceptable. I know they are of a different age and they have been bought up using 'coloured' but I have always been told 'black' is correct. This sparked a twenty minute debate with my boss getting angrier and angrier saying his best mate would hate me. He's coloured and nothing else. I resorted to google blah blah blah.

Now I'm being branded racist because I use a word my generation has deemed appropriate! Grrrrr

Actually I am led to believe that the term is now changing to "a person of colour"

However, OP you were not wrong - I remember having a class at teacher training for politically correct terms to us in the classroom and we were told to call people black whether they be African or Asian

"person of colour" -ugh! Do we have to affect an American drawl at the same time? Everyone is a colour!

well, I'm in my early 40s and I would never say coloured. It has such awful connotations of apartheid. It's black.

I don't like "person of colour" at all, because to me that implies that non-colour is the standard.

Descriptive terms work better, whether that's white, black or brown because they should be no more judgemental than blonde or brunette.

Happy to be corrected though - I'm pale blue myself

black if asian? thats no different to calling me black surely? i am simply not! that sounds stupid, as does person of colour. could be purple?

are you a teacher? its very important you know if you are and seems silly adivce to me

Ooh I worked once with a guy who's skin was that lovely black that has purple highlights in some lights. Annoyingly he also had really dry skin and I kept wanting to attack him with an exfoliator...

I genuinely believed that 'ethnically challenged' was the politically correct term for mixed race.

Then I thought about it again a few months later...

That's in regards to mixed race people. it took me forever to work out how horrible it was. Luckily enough I never got round to using it in public.

MrsOakenshield Under apartheid the term black was used as well as coloured, or at least it was when we went to Cape Town. "Coloureds" were a separate group that included people of mixed race, Indians and Cape Malays among others and they would, back then, be very offended if you thought they were the same as "Blacks" who were usually Africans.

I think coloured may have connotations from segregation in the southern states of America though.

Whatever term is used it will offend someone! E.g. my df dislikes being referred to as a senior or an older man - old man will do apparently.

black if asian? thats no different to calling me black surely? - We were informed this by Asian tutors.

that sounds stupid, as does person of colour. could be purple? - agree person of colour is a stupid affectation, however, some people are beginning to use it (Naomi Campbell for one)

I recently had to ask a friend to pick up another friend at the station. Friend A called me a racist because I described friend B as about 5'10", black, with red hair. How else was I supposed to describe her? If I'd left off the black part you can guarantee she wouldn't have found her - she'd automatically have been looking for a white woman...

muppet exactly, it is a physical feature like any other!

Ha, thought you were calling her a muppet. Back when I was studying we had a whole seminar on whether skin colour was needed in the description of a missing/wanted person. The lecturer was an extreme liberal and said it was irrelevant. On that note, what's the point in saying hair, eye colour, face shape etc.

May as well just say person as obv if all other is wrong so is male/female!

Naomi Campbell is a bit of a clown tho I feel. I saw her on mtv cribs or a programme showing off ones house and I just thought urrggghhh. She's bloody beautiful tho. I haven't seen her on the face or the model programme.

I just don't know what to say about black Asians. Who decides these things?

I am 45 and would never used the terms coloured or half caste, so I'm not sure it's an age thinng.

I find it quite sad people still use half-caste, especially about themselves. Free your mind, and your ass will follow, as Funkadelic used to sing.

Hi. Get onto the website of your local council (local authorities are the kings of equality and diversity) request a job application, any job. You'll be able to download the form which should come with their equality and diversity form which will list categories of ethnic origin in their correct terms. Take it in a wave it under their noses.

I work for a company with roots in Africa, lots of different ethnicity in my place of work and the black African folk call themselves black as I am white (pale peach)

Coloured/black/white/brown whatever, they are just words. Stating facts about society (which you said you were doing) is not racist. Using a particular word such as 'black' is not racist. It is only racist if used in an abusive way which you did not seem to be doing.

Your bosses were being ridiculous

Yeah, coloured is rude. It has echos of the segregation in the US and South Africa which is why it is not appropriate to use now.

Black is the correct term, it is the term used on official government forms, the census, etc.