To have gone right off Benedict Cumberbatch

[UsedToBeAPaxmanFan]

I read today that Benedict Cumberbatch has had to apologise after using the phrase "coloured actors". Coloured? Seriously?

He did apologise and said that he knew it was wrong, but the fact that it was in his head in the first place is what's so troubling. I am older than him and have always known that "coloured" is an offensive term. Yes, I am aware that it wasn't considered so until the late 60s, but it hasn't been acceptable in his lifetime.

What was he not thinking?

Something I've been wondering about - what's the correct way to describe someone of Chinese origin? Especially if, say, I'm not entirely sure if they're Chinese or if they're from a neighbouring country like Japan?

I've always thought that Asian is generally used for people of Indian / Pakistani descent (I hope this is still right?) So doesn't seem to work if describing someone from China / Japan / Thailand etc.

Well I was taught by both my parents and my primary school that 'coloured' was the polite way to refer to a black person. It took me until my late teens to realise this was the case. Im afraid i didn't know ' half-caste' was unacceptable until my late 20's. I have only just turned 30 BTW. I still have to mentally correct myself to use the correct terminology.

I grew up in a very white, working class community though.

I think yabu for judging BC so harshly. He's clearly not actually a racist. He just slipped up.

I'm Irish with older parents, and my Dad occasionally gets mixed up between "black people" and "blacks" as "blacks" (noun) was offensive when he was growing up, and "coloured" was the more polite alternative.

"Black" as an adjective (as opposed to a noun) didn't filter through into post WWII working class Dublin for a little longer, so when he (very occasionally) says "coloured" and I correct him he gets cross because you were corrected for saying "black" (noun) when he was a child and to now say "black" as an adjective is close enough for him to get muddled.

I'm not defending it, because it's still lazy, apart from anything else, but mistakes happen and he (BC, not my Dad!) has apologised. End of.

YANBU OP.

I'm always shocked when someone my age says coloured. In fairness it happens very rarely and I suspect this is due to living in a large, multi-cultural city.

Disclaimer - I don't liked BC anyway as he's said other things that have made me

willferell surely " non white" implies that white is the default, more than any other term!
Which is why non- white would have been appropriate in the context of what cumbernauld was saying, but it wouldn't be right if you were generally describing people eg " my postman is non-white".

mama you know him personally then so you?

It's not a minefield. People make mistakes and no racist intention was there.

Ffs too much time on hands.

My parents live in handsworth birmingham and were brought up to say coloured as black was considered rude.

Language changes.

It's intent that counts.

"Aborigine" is a word that describes any original inhabitants of any country.

I suppose use of it for Australian Aborigines would be the same as describing Native Americans as "natives".

Cumbernauld? ?

SurfsUp1 - I've wondered about it because a few times recently I've read in the paper about a crime, and the suspects have been described along the lines of black, Somali appearance (probably because people in the UK otherwise think typical Black British appearance like West Indian).

Actually, is West Indian offensive? Should it be Afro Caribbean now?

So I've thought how would it be put, would you say Asian, Chinese appearance? How to differentiate between Indian/Pakistani looking, or Chinese/Korean/Japanese Asian, what are the politically correct terms?

Op - you'd go off me within half an hour some of the crap that comes out of my mouth by mistake.
But as you've already gone off Jeremy Paxman & the gorgeous Benedict, I wouldn't take it personally.

YoullLikeItNotaLot, I think you're so right about living in a multi-cultural city. When DS was young we lived in London and I think I kept up. We now live in the country and it seems to me that the only way to keep up is by learning from my mistakes!

In the UK, the term coloured was largely considered 'polite' by white people, who felt that mentioning that someone not being white was somehow unfortunate, embarrassing and almost unmentionable. It puts being black on a par with having a large nose or a hairy wart on your chin. That's why it is offensive and outdated. It casts being black as an awkward issue that needs to be skirted around.

That said, what seems like a genuine mix up isn't on a par with Jeremy Clarkson who seems to use racist language deliberately, but is so cowardly that he doesn't even have the courage of his convictions and is seemingly quite happy to lie when he gets caught.

Actually the phrase 'person/people of colour' is making its way over to the UK now too.

I'm in an interracial marriage, and whilst the men in my DHs extended family call themselves 'black', the women refer to themselves as 'women of colour'. My best friend has recently started calling herself a 'woman of colour' too.

My children are 'mixed race'.

Actually, is West Indian offensive? Should it be Afro Caribbean now?

I think you're fine while the cricket team still refer to themselves as the West Indies.

IfNot 'non white' isn't a term I would normally use, I was just using it to describe the context of the discussion that frequently occurs on Mumsnet!

As for a white person telling a mixed race person not to call themselves mixed race and to use a different term that the white person prefers. An epitome of offensiveness right there.

That's why it is offensive and outdated. It casts being black as an awkward issue that needs to be skirted around.

So in the UK would coloured really only refer to black people then?

I suppose use of it for Australian Aborigines would be the same as describing Native Americans as "natives".

Doesn't really explain why Aboriginal is more pc though. It's also essentially a synonym for "native".

Surf good point, it was/is generally used to describe anyone 'not white.'

Forget the politically correct terms as no one group will agree.

I dislike being called British and prefer English. My dm similarity likes welsh.

It's what a person defines them self as, not a group.

Or more often a worried white group pissing their pants trying to be politically correct and usually end up patronising and offending everyone.

I'm always shocked when someone my age says coloured. In fairness it happens very rarely and I suspect this is due to living in a large, multi-cultural city.

I think this is very true. Also the specific ethic mix of the city you live in will impact the terms you are comfortable and confident using. Moving from Sydney to London I was very uncomfortable describing someone as "black" because it wasn't a term I'd ever had to use before really and I wasn't entirely sure I wasn't unwittingly using the wrong term.

SurfsUp

Maybe because "aborigine" is a noun while "Aboriginal" is an adjective expressed with a capital letter clearly referring to one particular group of people.

I don't know, by the way, I find it quite confusing too.

YABU.
I don't find 'coloured' offensive. Just out of fashion.
Many people still use it including black people.

No comparison to 'nigger' which is historically filled with hatred and racism.

Who decided 'coloured' was unacceptable anyway?

I cannot believe the amount of sanctimonious bullshit on this thread - some of the most strident commenters on here have come out with far more offensive stuff than 'coloured' in previous threads. Some of you are talking like he's something out of 'American History X'. He didn't curb-stomp anyone, for fuck's sake.

Get a grip. He wasn't being derogatory in the slightest.

Maybe because "aborigine" is a noun while "Aboriginal" is an adjective expressed with a capital letter clearly referring to one particular group of people.

The only time I've actually heard the issue discussed by an Aboriginal person he said "I'm not bloody French am I!"

Not sure that's the most logical argument either. He described himself as Koori.