to wonder why people still use this word.

[Creepycrawler]

Half caste

My children are mixed race and my son when to his friend's house for a sleepover last night.
I was chatting to the mum when she used this term about another boy who '' is half caste as well''. Luckily, my son was in the car and didn't hear.
I was recently in hospital and having a conversation with someone who also used the term and I excused myself to go outside and sat somewhere else.

... And it's not just here. Several years ago H' s (Nigerian) aunty visited from Africa and used the term. We were both very uncomfortable and H told her we don't use that word.

Do people really not understand that it's offensive?

There is still a lot of racism where we live now (South Wales) and we get a lot of it at school ( where I work). I don't think this woman made the comment intentionally but surely people know by now not to use it?

I am mixed race and the idea that we should use 'dual heritage' is BS. I'm willing to bet it came from a white person who's prettified of saying the wrong thing🙄

If anyone is that scared that they can't just say 'mixed race', then don't mention race. But they should not be patronising to people who are actually mixed race!

It helps to have a diverse friendship group. Then you can have these conversations. I am happy for people to ask me things so they can have an alternative opinion.
I dont speak on behalf of all black people of course but I am happy to answer questions from friends when asked.

Thank you! The same people who came up with BAME🤣

Surely, you are not so ignorant to not understand the difference.

@BunnyFun yes I know my post was off topic but I was just making the point ( after being on an Inclusion and Diversity course recently) about the various phrases that shouldn't be used nowadays... 'mixed race' is very outdated and during the course we were told it could cause offence so 'dual heritage' should be used instead...

Link to JohnAgard’s great poem ‘Half Caste’
https://www.amnesty.org.uk/files/2019-01/Half-caste%20by%20John%20Agard.pdf

@notsayingmuch . How would you/your course leaders group and refer to people with 3 heritage (like my DD), 4 heritage (like my DNephew) and anyone else?

My teen daughter and her 'dual heritage' friends all identify as this. She's never mentioned 'dual heritage'.

I'm still waiting to hear why the term mixed race is offensive though.

🙄🙄

Thanks for posting this.

I was told as a child never to call anyone black, given all the word’s bad associations with a black day, black-hearted etc. You should always say “coloured”.

Decades later, a footballer was abused in an internet pile-on for describing someone, with no ill-intent, as a coloured player. I pointed out this was once considered the only polite word.

Scores of commenters called me a liar, stated as an absolute fact ‘coloured’ had always been an insult, accused me of racist bigotry and wished all kinds of harm on me.

I felt for the baffled footballer, who of course did public penance.

I just informed my (black) husband he is now unPC to describe our kids as mixed race (which he always does) and he said he finds it far more offensive when (white) people tell him how he should feel/be offended by stuff and he sees that as what’s actually patronising- speaking to him as if he doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a black man. I was definitely guilty of this when we met, in my slightly misguided attempt to be an ally, and he’s educated me loads. Not accusing any poster of doing this here necessarily btw - just mentioning this happens to him. I think people won’t go far wrong with the approach of “I’m sorry I caused offence. I’m going to educate myself.” Not “Oh I can’t keep up with all this woke nonsense!”

All these white people telling other white people what' non white people find "offensive "...

I think certainly some people over 70ish don't know it's offensive, although that said my mum (who used to use it) stopped using it by the early 2000s. Maybe in less diverse areas more people assume it's OK?

@DollyP88 - yes, the former phrase, not the latter is definitely advisable.

I’ve always thought Half Caste sounds a lot more friendly and complimentary than mixed race. It’s a nice colour to be almost golden and frankly how can anyone be mixed race when we’re all fully human. There is only one race, the human race, and the sooner it ceases to be divided up by skin colour the more harmonious and peaceful we will become.
Humanity is a race, every other animal and plant is a species or at least that’s what I’m teaching my children so that they accept people according to the content of their character not the colour of their skin. That’s how prejudice is born imo.

It was the advised terminology when I was growing up. I honestly didn't know it's considered offensive now.

I do tend to use mixed race now but here I am learning that that is also outdated now!

I was told as a child never to call anyone black, given all the word’s bad associations with a black day, black-hearted etc. You should always say “coloured”.

@Ofcourseshecan black is not a bad word- every black personality I've ever know refers to themselves as black HOWEVER you shouldn't single a child out by their race (unless it's actually necessary). If you're pointing out a child, think of something other than their race, basically.

My mum is nearly 80 as has never usedit.
I can't remember any of her friends using it either.

I have mixed race children and two people I consider friends have used this term to describe similar children. Neither of them realised how offensive it can be! I addressed the issue both times and neither of them will use the term again, I'm certain. They genuinely didn't know though 🤷🏻‍♀️

i Had a mixed race work colleague who referred to herself as half caste. This was about 15 years ago. She wasn’t particularly worldly though and had a surprising lack of knowledge on lots of subjects. So it’s not surprising that she didn’t realize that it was an offense term. I actually thought it to be more of a dated term rather that offense, probably because it’s used of infrequently.
I would say OP that there really are a lot of people out there who don’t intend to use offensive language, they just don’t realize.

😐

It was so long ago that I’ve got my qualifications muddled. It was on GCSE English language, not Lit.

@Creepycrawler the reason 'mixed race' is offensive is because it sounds too generic and non specific (course co-ordinator words btw not mine), basically it could mean a mix of many heritages. Dual heritage means a mix of 2 heritages but could also mean more if you take into account e.g a child's grandparents who could be from 2 other different heritages. It's a more polite term.

Indeed. Elderly doesn't mean ignorant or ill informed.