To ask your ethnic group?

[bojkaboom]

...in your country of origin or parents' or grandparents' or ancestors' country of origin (if you know)?

Inspired by a thread here and I had to google an ethnic group mentioned. It's led to the interest in different ethnic groups in other countries and I'll like to learn more about other people's.

I'm English (with a Scottish heritage. Mum was part English and Scottish) but from ancestors, I've been told Anglo-Saxons who're Germanic tribes that migrated from Denmark and Germany to the island in the 5th century.

I had an argument with the midwife at my booking appointment over this.

I’m 1/4 Indian and quite olive skinned. People assume I’m Italian/Spanish especially when I have a tan. My natural hair is quite light brown but I dye it dark brown (due to a dye fuck up years ago that I can’t be arsed to grow out or get removed).

My grandmother was Indian (Although like many southern Indians, her family originated from Portugal), my grandfather English. My mother despite being born in India in the 40s had a British passport.

If asked I always put white British. I am white British. My Mother always put white British too.

I’ve had so much shit over the years and so did my mother about white washing the Indian heritage (my mother wasn’t brought up with any).

The midwife appointment was the last straw, I made a complaint. She refused to put white British as, in her words, “I didn’t look it”.

Everyone belongs to an ethnic group, what's your point

Well ethnicity is to do with social and cultural traditions, so what people's ancestors were doing is kind of irrelevant unless there has been no geographical/cultural movement. So my grandparents on my mother's side are from a totally different ethnic group than I am - there ethnicity in their country of origin is nothing to do with me today, so I don't quite understand what you are asking in your OP. I see you've said it's not to do with race, but ethnicity can be quite an ephemeral thing generationally.

@Billyjoearmstrong

I had an argument with the midwife at my booking appointment over this.

I’m 1/4 Indian and quite olive skinned. People assume I’m Italian/Spanish especially when I have a tan. My natural hair is quite light brown but I dye it dark brown (due to a dye fuck up years ago that I can’t be arsed to grow out or get removed).

My grandmother was Indian (Although like many southern Indians, her family originated from Portugal), my grandfather English. My mother despite being born in India in the 40s had a British passport.

If asked I always put white British. I am white British. My Mother always put white British too.

I’ve had so much shit over the years and so did my mother about white washing the Indian heritage (my mother wasn’t brought up with any).

The midwife appointment was the last straw, I made a complaint. She refused to put white British as, in her words, “I didn’t look it”.

Disgusting. That is none of your my wife’s business even if you choose to lie or what ever it’s not coming out of her wage is it!.

Eurghh I’m glad you complained.

Irish on mums side, something Scandinavian on my dads

@Billyjoe She refused to put white British as, in her words, “I didn’t look it”.

Jaw actually dropped reading this. I think you're right to make a complaint.

I've a friend whom you'd never know is mixed. She has the "full english rose" aesthetic going on. I've been friends with her for 3 years before she confided in me that her mum is full Ghanian (black). She said she doesn't say this to alot of people because from experience, they see her differently afterwards, which is sad. I can imagine the midwife would have no problem ticking her as white because "she looks it".

My Igbo/Nigerian friend I used to work with told me once she was registering her child for something (can't quite remember) and there were two ladies sat in front of her, one was a trainee - an older white lady, the other a much younger white lady.

When the younger lady asked her nationality, she told her and a few moments later, the older white lady (trainee, who was just observing) made a comment about what the main lady (the younger one) had written down.

It happened that the younger lady was supposed to ask the ethnicity of the child but had assumed fully black because (as she said to the older one) "She clearly looks it" and the older one (surprisingly) told her there's no way she can know just by looking. The younger one in a huff then asked my friend and what do you know? Her child was mixed! My friend said she had second hand embarrassment for the younger lady and wished she could lie to protect her ego but on the other hand, she was so appreciative of the older woman's awareness and standing up to who was meant to be her trainer that she gave her a visibly thankful nod. The younger lady didn't know where to look after that.

She said the point wasn't that she assumed but she didn't feel the need to ask even when she was supposed to as it was an official form. She said the obvious nonchalant attitude the younger lady had throughout the meeting changed a bit after that blunder.

White British. My great grandmother fled Russia and ended up meeting my great grandfather somewhere in Europe. He was Irish (from Donegal). He took her home. My grandfather went to England looking for work and found my grandmother. On my dad's side Welsh and English with the caveat that no one knows who his paternal grandfather was. I'm very dark haired with blue eyes and I tan very quickly even in the Scottish sun. According to the Irish part of the family, there was some Spanish thrown in. I stand out in maternal family photos, tall and dark haired in a sea of short red heads.

Dh is Scottish/Nirish. We had to elope as some of my family were disgusted I was lowering myself to marry someone whose grandfather had been a high ranking officer in the UDR.

@MittensTheSerpent

Why do you want to know?

OP clearly wants to perform nefarious eugenics on us all from behind her keyboard.

So much ridiculousness on this thread.

@MittensTheSerpent LMAO! I missed this. Thanks for the laugh! I'm afraid you've exposed my plan to them though, now I have to find a different strategy

White British. My dad traced our family tree as far back as records go, and we are pretty exclusively english and scottish.
My old granny used to say we were related to a guy who went missing and said he was away with the queen of the fairies. So my scottish background might infact be fairy background.

Billyjoearmstrong That's horrible. I had a health visitor pull similar weird nastiness, but with my daughter and me.

Apparently, DD didn't look mixed like me so she wouldn't put that down, but the HV wouldn't put her down as White - British either (even after I explained my kids only have British nationality) because I'm not British. I really did not like that she put her down as White - Other, it felt like I was both not being recognized because she wasn't born as dark as I am (they've all gotten darker as they've gotten older), but I 'othered' her too much for the HV to see her as British, and either way my and her father's opinion on the topic didn't matter. I don't know why some professionals seem to get so much pleasure making that choice for us.

Irish/English, so part Gaelic ethnicity.

I identify as a member of the human race.

Although, given the state of the world at present, I am considering relinquishing my membership.

White scottish, though my dad's biological father is unknown so who knows really.

White British & proud and no that doesn't make me racist. I

@Boulshired

DPs was 100% Irish/Scottish he was so upset as he so wanted to be a Viking

Ha! I get your DP. I've always suspected my parents told me the Anglo-Saxon connection to shut me up because it was the time when I was hounding them about "our family's Ancient history". Still holding on to it though.

DPs was 100% Irish/Scottish he was so upset as he so wanted to be a Viking

The Vikings had settlements in both these countries. Dublin, and many other places, was founded by Vikings

So yes, he CAN absolutely be a Viking!!!