AIBU To ask if the term Mixed-Race is outdated

[CambridgeEntry2022]

I don't want to cause offence by using outdated terms. Would it be more appropriate to use the term multi racial?

I'm mixed race. I'm fine with that term. My biological mother was born and raised in Thailand and her ancestors were all Thai. My biological father was born and raised in England and his ancestors were all British.

Nicked from the interweb as its better at describing it than me:

Heritage is a person’s unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations.

So, that. I'm not dual heritage. I was raised in England, by English people, and I identify as English, even though my skin tone might be a little different to theirs. I have no experience of any other culture other than the one in which I was raised.

My husband likes to call me 'neither hither nor thither' - he doesn't do PC and as long as he keeps it in the family I don't mind that either.

Caucasian isn’t racist or outdated, why are you making it about quite people??

Of course it is and it is not just about white people. Caucasian is part of an out-of-date set of racial stereotypes that affects us all, being a term much bandied about in one of the most racially divided countries in the world.

I refer to myself as mixed race (half Indian, half white.) I've never heard the term dual heritage before although that does apply to me too. I think biracial is used more in the US, along with multiracial and monoracial.

Why do you need to describe anyone's ethnicity? Aren't they just people?

I tend to use dual heritage but I’m white

We are all certainly just people but sometimes you need to describe someone - eg a man ran from the shop stealing the goods. Police are more likely to catch someone if you describe them. You can also direct resources to particular groups if we count people and know who is what.

Heritage and race are not the same thing. I refer to my children as mixed race. I am dual heritage myself but I am not mixed race. We all tend to tick the “other” box in one way or another when ticking form. Apart from my husband who always ticks “prefer not to say.

We are all certainly just people but sometimes you need to describe someone - eg a man ran from the shop stealing the goods. Police are more likely to catch someone if you describe them

But mixed race doesn't cut it as a description, does it?

I don't know which is why people are asking what terms should not be used and which should. That is all the thread is about - to ensure none of us put our foot in it and say the wrong thing.

@Miranda15110

Why do you need to describe anyone's ethnicity? Aren't they just people?

Most of the time you wouldn't. If you work in certain sectors sometimes it may be relevant. Or giving a description of someone. I've heard co-workers tie themselves in knots trying to describe another coworker to someone hunting them down without mentioning the most obvious thing that would help to identify them. (As an aside- would it be considered offensive to say "Dave is the tall guy with glasses and in a red shirt" rather than "Dave is a tall, Asian guy with glasses and a red shirt"?)

No, but saying "Dave is THE Asian one with glasses and a red shirt" is. Using ethnicity/skin tone as part of a description is just like describing hair or eye colour. Singling someone out as "the black one", "the Asian one" etc. Is singlinging someone out because of their ethnicity/skin tone and is racist.

Yes, there might be a reason to mention someone's ethnicity in a description but mixed race could be any combination of ethnicities with all the varieties of appearance that could mean.

This has got me wondering how a couple of my friends would describe themselves in the context of these descriptors.
Friend 1. Bother parents Nigerian, themselves born in Nigeria, moved to UK aged 3 and lived in several big towns before settling in London aged 8. Now in their 30s and married to someone of Nigerian parentage.
Friend 2. Born in London to Guyanese parent and Jamaican parent. Guyanese parent has ancestry from Jamaica and Trinidad. Jamaican parent has unknown heritage as their own parents were never encouraged to talk about their origins. Both those family lines directly affected by the slave trade.
Friend 3. Parent 1 born in Kent to English and Irish parents. Parent 2 born in Trinidad but did not know birth parents. They were born and raised in London.
Friend 4. One parent Polish, one parent French. Born in France, lives in England now.

In everyday dealings with people I don't generally need descriptors of anyone's background/ethnicity/heritage/skin colour but if I am needing to use any such terms I try to use the words they would choose themselves. So, for example, Friend 1 describes themselves as black, Friend 4 describes themselves as mixed race.

@WeatherwaxOn I wouldn’t say any of your friends are mixed race except maybe friend 2. Friend 4 is definitely mixed heritage, not mixed race because both of their parents are white (the same race).

Friend three has one Trini parent @CutePanda & likely to be mixed race. There are white Trinidadians but the island has a very interesting mix of races - descendants of African slaves and imported Indians in the main (with some Syrian and Chinese too I think from memory). My ex DPs Trini Mum is a mix of Indian, African & French.

@SJaneS49 oh yes. I saw Kent and Irish and missed the Trinidad part! Friend 4 isn’t mixed race though.