How do you identify on ethnicity tickboxes?

[Mamabear04]

I hope this isn't an insensitive topic to anyone but I'm very curious about how you identify when it comes to ethnicity tick boxes? I've never really thought about it and would always tick "white" but then when I had my first baby I explained my background and she almost apologised (which I was a bit taken aback by) and said she would tick "white other" for my baby. I guess I've never really thought about it but I'm curious now about what other people would tick?

Always confused me - white or white other. Depending on what it was for.

Interesting question. I’m not religiously Jewish, so I don’t tick the Jewish box under religion. I’m a bit conflicted about ethnicity. I usually go for white British. Of course there’s not a ‘Jewish’ box under ethnicity (I’ve never seen one) and considering Jewish people are a minority, I always wondered if that was a bit of an oversight as you can’t effectively monitor how you’re doing on diversity and equalities if you’re not asking the right questions.

Really hope I didn’t say anything offensive there. I have Jewish ancestry and I’m very proud of it.

I always did “middle east - other” but then I got told I have to tick “white - eastern europe” even though I’m not! just ignorance, they should have a Jewish option

nothing offensive there @saturnspinkhoop 😊
i don’t think it’s even a uniquely Jewish issue- so many people have very mixed ethnic backgrounds, how do you choose which one is the one to tick?!

im not at all offended there is no Jewish ethnicity box, I just think it might be helpful because medically there are diseases that are more common to certain branches of Jews, factor clotting disorders for example. So in a medical form where presumably they are screening using ethnicity for likelihood of certain diseases, it might be useful.

I always tick “white other”, which I assume covers both Jewish and American (me)

This has always bugged me. I veer between white/ white European/ other depending on my mood!

White - other.

DH is Israeli with Turkish/Greek and Ukrainian/Hungarian ancestry. He puts Mixed - other.

For the DCs, I put Mixed - other, which raises eyebrows for DS, as he seems to have completely missed out on any of DH's genes and is as white as actual snow with reddish hair 😑

I go for White - Other. Mostly because I'm a naturalised Ashkenazi immigrant, so White - British doesn't actually make sense, even though I am technically British. If my background was Sephardi I would choose a Middle East option.

I have Ashkenazi friends who also choose Middle East options, and will choose BAME option if ME is not listed. It does make sense, both genetically and because we experience specific racism that gets hidden by White - Other.

I write in ashkenazi Jewish in medical forms.

"White other" or just "other" where available.

I think we should have our own box(es). It’s really unfair we don’t. Especially as Jews are so diverse.

I put White (other), and often specify "Ashkenazi Jewish" for medical forms and other ethnicity forms. For religion, I flit between Jewish and Agnostic depending on the day.

This is my approach. I'm never consistent and flit between white British/white other/white European/European/mixed. More consistent with religion and always atheist with the very occasional 'mind your own business' option.

Agree there should be specific Jewish ethnicity/ethnicities option.

White - other
Or just other if it's an option to specify and write Ashkenazi

Technically I should probably put mixed as my DF is white - british but the lack of a Jewish option annoys me and it doesn't need complicating more.

I was submitting a medical article via the Elsevier online platform yesterday, and chose to describe myself as a carbon-based life form and a human.

😁

I have on occasion depending on who the form is for drawn my own box on a form to tick for ethnicity

My father always told me to never say on any government/ official forms that I am Jewish. I have mostly ignored this advice but depending on the organisation it sometimes feels worrisome or something to me. Apparently generational trauma is a thing and I also know how often Jewish history has repeated itself.

I never tick Jewish under religion. But always choose white other because I am not British.

It was always drummed into me by my father and my grandmother; 'Never tell....'. Never to mark yourself out.

Terrible that we have been taught this. That our relatives felt this was necessary.

It must be that Jewish privilege some people talk about.

It depends entirely on my mood that particular day! I'm white (very white 😂 I look like I've never even glimpsed the sun) but one of my parents is of Iraqi heritage but born in India. I was also not born in the UK. So I sometimes tick white, other. Sometimes mixed. But when it comes to narrowing down what kind of mix I choose different options every time, depending on what the options are! I was once told off for choosing mixed Arab and white but that's the one that felt the most right 🤷🏻‍♀️ apparently because I don't look Arab and don't speak Arabic that wasn't a suitable option.

I often wonder what my relatives who are technically both Jewish and Muslim (Jewish mother, Muslim father) say. They were brought up Muslim so I assume they don't tick any Jewish options, but who knows! They also have the added complication of being born in India to a mother born in India but her parents were from Iraq, a father from East Pakistan, which then became Bangladesh. Maybe there should be an "all of the above" option on the forms 🤪

I’m glad you started this thread. I’m never sure what to tick but usually go for white other and like WibbleWobble put Ashkenazi Jewish on medical info forms.

Like others, I always got the message from my DPs not to draw attention to my Jewishness. My DF was told by his DF he must put CofE on his Navy call up-papers in the war

I usually tick the ‘white other’ box but if there is a question on religion I always tick Jewish without any hesitation.

David Schwimmer recently said that as a Jew he doesn’t feel white because to him white means ‘safe’. And as we know Jewish people are not safe. But I tick ‘white other’ and always tick Judaism.

I feel so sad that it’s in our traditions to ‘never tell’. For me personally right now is by far the hardest time I found to be Jewish. But I still shout it from the rooftops and so do my kids. No matter how hard it gets I promised myself I wouldn’t stay quiet