To be confused about my partner's nationality

[ForestryForever]

Good evening,
My partner's parents were both born in Wales. They both lived and grew up in Wales. As adults they both left Wales and lived in England, where they remained.
Whilst married and living in England, they had a baby - my partner. My partner was born, raised in and grew up in England, and still lives in England.
What nationality is my partner?

I think he’s free to identify with being either Welsh or English and not sure why it matters so much to you!?

A friend’s son was born and grew up in Wales and still living here. His parents are English but he identifies as Welsh.

Why are you so keen to erase Welsh identity, @ginandtonicwithlimes ?

If his nationality is British then in what sense is he Welsh? I think what you mean is that he is ethnically Welsh, which he is. Some people also use the term nationality as a synonym for ethnicity, especially in the case of nations like Wales which are not states and therefore don't provide citizenship.

I think your partner needs to get a life. Kicking off like that over something so stupid.

Huh? And what does Megan Markle have to do with this?

So it's all about being white. FINALLY WE SAID IT.

Then add a german, irish, scottish, European-American in the bunch.

i guess you’re English and offended by his response? I think it’s perfectly acceptable to consider yourself Welsh if both your parents are Welsh. Irish people do that all the time.

As someone who has had their DNA done, I can safely tell you that you’re very wrong. As someone who knows of familial lines who have migrated out of the county, I can safely say you’re very wrong. Living in a county which has a rich history of large groups of people moving to other countries for mining, I can safely tell you that you’re very wrong.

All my relatives are from the same country as far back as can be traced (and I've traced back a good few centuries). I feel my roots are solidly in that country.

He's not really half Welsh because both of his parents are Welsh so although he sounds like a bit of a dick in this scenario I can see where he is coming from. I probably would say I was welsh if both my parents were regardless of where I grew up. The main issue here is that he is being an asshole about it 😂

Are you having a laugh?

What do you think caused the troubles in NI?

They still have a massive effect on the whole island today.

People growing up with generational trauma and PTSD, no, let's not just forget about it. So bloody offensive!

That’s your situation, but many, many people aren’t in this position. Migration is extremely common for humans and has been since day dot. It’s really important for humans, this idea that everyone should stay in their own space is dangerous and bad for us genetically.

I did a DNA test. I'm 20% British, 44% German, 10% French, and the rest Scandinavian. I identify as human...

If you have evidence you're free to bring it at any time. You could also just google what I said and you can find the research as easily as I can.

If he doesn't identify with being British, then he's English.

My grandparents were born and raised in Ireland. They moved to England and had my mum. My mum is English.

Nationality is objective. It can be changed but you can’t deny the nationality you hold. It’s how you’re legally recognised. He is a British national (whether he says so or not, does he want to surrender his British passport? Probs not), but can likely also be recognised as both English (born and raised there) and Welsh (due to parents and heritage) in their local powers.

But that's not the same as heritage or ethnicity, which is cultural and therefore more subjective. He can say he is Welsh in that respect.

the JL example - if she is officially recognised in India as a national, she can say she is Indian. She can also say she is English or British. Culturally though, i expect she would say she is English.

they are two different things

No it is not about being white. If you put a black Welsh person and a white English person in the same room, I wouldn't be able to tell you which was which. We are not talking about skin colour, here.

Good for you. Other people belong to just one ethnic group. And that's also ok.

If he doesn't identify with being British, then he's English.

No, he's still British, whether he identifies with it or not. That is his objective, verifiable, legal nationality.

Eh? You can easily learn about Cornish history yourself. Or you can come here and talk to people and get their anecdotal evidence of their family migration. Or you can look at my heritage and my husbands (and our families) via our DNA results.

But you stick with your Google.

Nobody is 100% something. Even in homogeneous countries like South Korea, I am sure some of them will be of Han descent.

I don't know where I am originally from so might do it too.

It doesn't? Just you are not distinct ethnically from (apologies if you aren't white) me in the same way the Kurdish men in my community are. You wouldn't be different. The presumption that English people are 100% Anglo Saxon is not true. If I remember reading correctly neither the Anglo Saxons or Vikings left too much of a mark except in certain areas. People also migrate from area to area. I imagine parts of Wales probably have DNA that plenty of English do.

No it is not about being white. If you put a black Welsh person and a white English person in the same room, I wouldn't be able to tell you which was which. We are not talking about skin colour, here.

But we ARE. People are talking about ethnicity and nationality and entirely mixing up the two, and dancing around the fact that they absolute have different opinions depending on what people look like.

It has nothing to do with being white. I am typical of what people would think of when I speak of my Nordic heritage (yes, white, blonde, blue eyes). There are also people going way back who are most definitely not white, maybe quite dark skinned, and they are every bit as much of that heritage as I am. They were always a minority when I was younger but the whole world has become so much more multicultural and blended now.

Even though my ancestors have all come from the same country for hundreds of years, as far back as I've been able to go, I didn't marry someone of that citizenship. My children consider themselves half of what I am and half of what their father is, though it's interesting that they tend to identify more strongly with one side or other themselves.