AIBU To ask if the term Mixed-Race is outdated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I don't want to cause offence by using outdated terms.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?

@eekbumbler

Can I ask in what context would this come up?

I cannot imagine a situation where you are with a person and you have to describe them other than by name. If for some bizarre reason you do have to address their heritage/race/being... then surely just ask them.

I'd really like to know what scenario you foresee OP. Or is it more of a written thing where you do not want to use an incorrect term.

Or maybe a baby coming - in which case ask the parents.

I dunno.

If you are describing someone perhaps?

It appears that different people find different terms
Offensive, so hopefully they’ll just correct a term they find offensive to something they don’t.

I think some other terms are offensive and outdated because they have derogatory meanings (eg half caste = not 'pure') or have negative connotations (not going to name them here but words that are nickname type words that have become used as insults by racists).

But the words mixed and race are used in everyday language, by all races, and they are clear and at the moment anyway don't have any alternative meanings. So I don't see what the issue is with this term as its pretty factual and there isnt an easy alternative (eg the issues people have described with using the term dual heritage)

@Greenlittle

I actually prefer the term BAME to “ethnic minorities”. In many contexts these ethnicities are not minorities, they are together a majority. Certainly in the world population and in parts of UK as well.

BAME lumps groups together, but disaggregates a bit. Just like LBGTQ. It is descriptive without putting any value judgment as such (other than lumping together. But then most terms do that, including ethnic minority)

I don't mind being referred to as an ethnic minority, because I am.

I think BAME irks me so much because it's basically 'black and other' and makes me feel marginalised as someone who isn't black.

Which circles nicely back to mixed race. It's accurate and isn't offensive. Why do people tie themselves up in knots trying to find some other term?

@Ilovecaviar

Mixed race implies a non mixed race is a pure race. Latest term I heard was inter-racial. Mixed race is quite offensive and I speak as someone who is ‘mixed race’. Never heard of duel heritage though, not sure that implies you’re talking about race specifically so I wouldn’t have used that term for kyself personally.

Whilst I can see your point, ultimately as all humanity is supposed to have originated in Africa, does than not make everyone mixed race? Also, what is the definition of race?

I have a nationality which was determined by where I was born. My parents were both born in the same country as I but my 4 grandparents were born in 3 different countries.

Or you could just try not to be several decades behind the times.

Isn't that what she is trying to do on this thread?

@ThinWomansBrain

given that everyone has two parents, unless the result of an incestuous relationship, doesn't that make everyone dual heritage?

I'm 0.25% Welsh, does that count?!

@Greenrubber

I was thinking about this the other day! My kid had mentioned a boy at nursery by name which was let's say Abdul her grandma immediately said ohh is he Indian? But why comment? Why is the colour of someone's skin so important to people? I teach my child that everyone is different some have darker skin some dark or light hair different eye colour some are fat or thin so many variations of people but we only want to label the skin colour. Why do we need to label people in this world now anyone can be born in any country and could be any colour so labelling seems very pointless My kid doesn't care that some of her friends have different colour of skin so why do we as adults feel we need to? Probably extremely naive but just wondering why we would even feel the need to call someone other than their name

Surely it’s important to the person themselves.

@Ilovecaviar

Mixed race implies a non mixed race is a pure race. Latest term I heard was inter-racial. Mixed race is quite offensive and I speak as someone who is ‘mixed race’. Never heard of duel heritage though, not sure that implies you’re talking about race specifically so I wouldn’t have used that term for kyself personally.

This is what I mean.

Many people have confirmed that they are fine with ''mixed race'' and now we read this.

How does the term mixed race imply that one race is ''pure'' any more than inter racial implies it.

I don't think these labels can control how you define pure

We say mixed race in our (mixed) house. But I wonder whether mixed ethnicity is more accurate. On the forms the question is what ethnicity would you say you are, not what race. And then we'd tick eg mixed other. Personally I dislike biracial. Dual heritage sounds ok to me as it sounds less 50/50 and more 100/100.

I've read/said the word "mixed" so many times now it's gone weird and lost all meaning!!!

The problem with dual heritage though is it doesn't make allowance for the fact many people have more than two 'heritages'?

[quote aspadeaspade]@Esspee I agree. White-passing feels like an attempt to erase my ethnic origins - like I'm not quite foreign enough to count as mixed race.

It feels like an attempt to shut me out.[/quote]
It's absolutely isn't, it's not an official identification term either (I have mixed race cousins who are 'white passing', but refer to themselves as mixed race). It's simply recognition that you won't face the same barriers than others because to the outside, you look white.

Like it or not, a 'white passing' footballer wouldn't be called a n* for missing a penalty 🤷🏽‍♀️

Mixed race is fine as long as mixed race people are fine with the description. It would help if white people stopped making anything to do with race / race description as awkward and negative.

There's nothing inherently negative about 'mixed race' don't try to make it so by turning it in to a problem word or situation. Can you think of it as positive. It's positive for me. Mixed race and proud??

My 16yo is mixed race and dual heritage. As far as she is concerned, both terms are fine but they refer to separate things. It's possible to be mixed race but not dual heritage and it's possible to be dual heritage but not mixed race. Race is an important aspect of people's experience and identity. We should not attempt to erase it.

Half caste is dreadful and should not be used. Enriched racial heritage sounds fucking ridiculous. BAME is unhelpful and potentially offensive because it lumps all non-white people together as if they were one single category. And personally, I can't bear the phrase "white passing" because I always feel that the unspoken implication is that people are somehow "failing" if they do not "pass" as white. Horrible.

I find it safer to never utter words any more. I really don't want to offend anyone or get into an argument about what's right or wrong. Even on this thread people are arguing about it so it's not as if there is any one description that's correct.
I've realised that over time I have become almost mute in real life. I think a lot, but most of it doesn't get said. It started out as a habit, but it's got to the point where I find it quite hard to speak at all.
I mean about everything, not solely about racial heritage.

One of my best friends refers to herself as mixed race, so that's how I would describe her (in the unlikely event that I would need to). Hilariously, another friend's (white) 12 yr old daughter tells us we can't say this as it is racist and we HAVE to say mixed heritage or mixed ethnicity.
Imagine telling another human how they HAD to describe themselves so as not to offend themselves

@Soontobe60

But a person is just a person no matter their skin colour why would they care what colour of skin they have why does it matter?

Other than for medical reasons or describing someone very specifically I don't see the need to even entertain that

Racism is learnt behaviour if we keep labeling everyone it will never stop!

Skin colour is really irrelevant

@MolyHolyGuacamole Except I don't actually look white. I look part-white, which is very different.

Racist people are still racist towards me, because I look foreign enough to them. I assure you, I've had to deal with some pretty appalling stuff in my time.

White-passing is an attempt to tell mixed race people like me that we don't get an opinion on racial matters because we're 'too privileged'. The truth is, when you're mixed race, often all that means is you don't belong anywhere. It can be quite lonely.

@RampantIvy

Or you could just try not to be several decades behind the times.

Isn't that what she is trying to do on this thread?

That reply wasn't for the OP...

It's not necessarily white people making it awkward @BrilliantBetty

On this one snapshot, this thread, I've read that most people are happy with mixed race but then wait, somebody else who is herself ''mixed race'' finds it offensive and prefers inter racial.

It's no wonder white people are at times self consciously ''careful''.

I''ll stick with mixed race if I need to, but it's not ''white people making it awkward'' when there is no hive mind and as this thread shows, and why should there be one hive mine, not everybody is fine with mixed race.

Genuine question: Why is half-caste- wrong?
And why is 'coloured' wrong but 'person of colour' okay?
And a general question: why is 'occidental' okay but 'oriental' wrong? Is it my age (60)?

Half caste is wrong because I'm not half anything, I'm not half acceptable [half white]. If an older person used it, I wouldn't get worked up if they're ignorant, but I wouldn't like it

Coloured shouldn't even need explaining when it was used during segregation. Like asking why the n word is offensive, it's obviously because of the historical context

Anyone who uses either of these phrases has either fairly old, poorly socialised or deliberately being a dick, because they're not in common use anymore. Just say mixed or black 🤷🏻‍♀️

[quote Greenrubber]@Soontobe60

But a person is just a person no matter their skin colour why would they care what colour of skin they have why does it matter?

Other than for medical reasons or describing someone very specifically I don't see the need to even entertain that

Racism is learnt behaviour if we keep labeling everyone it will never stop!

Skin colour is really irrelevant[/quote]
I'm guessing you're white?

Skin colour should be irrelevant but we are not there yet. Nowhere near. It is a very real part of people's day to day experience and we cannot just erase that or pretend it doesn't matter.

It is easy to say that it isn't important from a position of privilege. White people don't have to think about it much. People who regularly experience racism don't have that luxury.

[quote aspadeaspade]@MolyHolyGuacamole Except I don't actually look white. I look part-white, which is very different.

Racist people are still racist towards me, because I look foreign enough to them. I assure you, I've had to deal with some pretty appalling stuff in my time.

White-passing is an attempt to tell mixed race people like me that we don't get an opinion on racial matters because we're 'too privileged'. The truth is, when you're mixed race, often all that means is you don't belong anywhere. It can be quite lonely.[/quote]
To be fair, I don't know what you look like, I can only talk form my experience. My cousins have been told many times that people thought they were just 'Spanish' or 'have a great tan'. People are genuinely shocked to find that they have a black mother. They were born and raised in the UK.

I'm also speaking from my experience of growing up in a Caribbean country, where the majority of people are black, and white passing definitely ensures you will never experience certain problems.

I don't discount you and your experiences, and am sorry that you've had racist comments made towards you. It seems that 'white passing' is used to mean different things in different contexts.

@BrilliantBetty

Mixed race is fine as long as mixed race people are fine with the description. It would help if white people stopped making anything to do with race / race description as awkward and negative.

There's nothing inherently negative about 'mixed race' don't try to make it so by turning it in to a problem word or situation. Can you think of it as positive. It's positive for me. Mixed race and proud??

When I was little, my (also quite little) brother took me aside and very solemnly told me that because we were mixed race, we got the best bits of both races.

He doesn't even remember saying this or what prompted him to do so, but in my mind, I can picture (and hear) him as a little boy making that statement in his high-pitched hadn't-hit-puberty-yet boy voice. The memory brings me a great deal of comfort whenever I'm faced with racism.

As above mixed race and dual heritage are not the same thing. They are different things.

My mums parents are Irish and Greek. My dad is Asian. I was born in Ireland and live in England. My heritage and cultures that influence my upbringing are more than 'dual'.

I am not a fan of mixed race. But mainly because I don't like race at all, as a social construct. Some of the suggestions from people on here from peoples employers are that ridiculous I would find them offensive.

Don't like BAME. It makes me think you are either White or Black or other.

If people are describing me I would rather they used my skin colour to describe me. 'Have you seen Whiskey?'
'Who?'
'You know. Tall, dark hair, dark skin...always talking about her dogs'

But then I think mixed race works well if you are talking about groups. I am not a fav of POC, but can see how it could be useful

'How many people of colour did we consult with on our new diversity training?'
'None'

'When we decided to tell people these were the acceptable terms that should replace mixed race, how many people who are mixed race people did we consult'

'None'

I don't find them offensive. But I don't like them and accept is society we still need something.

@WorraLiberty

Also, I'm of dual heritage but I'm not mixed race.

Good point.

Me too.

My kids are of triple heritage and of mixed race however, so yes I refer to them as mixed race (rarely though as it doesn’t really come up!).