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Multicultural families

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Original poster

Half caste

217 replies

Pam70 · 11/10/2005 12:01

This has been troubling me for over a week. A colleague and I were discussing Wife Swap last week and she referred to one of the wives as being half caste.

I hate the term half caste and would never refer to DS or DD as such nor would I ever want them to hear someone call them such.

I didn't say anything to my colleague then and am now wondering if I should. Bear in mind that we live in Northern Ireland which is still relatively new to the idea of multiculturalism.

I don't think she said it in malice or in a derogatory way, it just rolled off her tongue presumably because she has no other term for mixed race?

But if she's using it and she's in her 30s, what hope have I that DS won't be referred to or called such at school by other kids or other parents?

OP posts:
Love2dance · 05/11/2006 18:59

Whoops! Ignore the last line. I was going to say if you use the term in certain areas of my city I suspect that the response would not be a measured one!

cooperflykiller · 09/11/2006 11:30

(Quietly applauds!!)

twoboysmom · 09/11/2006 13:08

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

twoboysmom · 09/11/2006 13:10

by the way, dissing black women or any colour woman is NOT okay with me. In case you were wondering.

chocabloc · 18/11/2006 23:46

dual parentage or mixed race is more contemporay, only half way reading thru this thread! half caste was used, evn by me, but it isnt as muc now, mayb by a few! has got some stigma, for sum stupid reason! im balck and my ds i white irish, and half me!

Donkeyswife · 24/11/2006 01:09

Just come very late to this thread and am pretty new to mums net, so hope i don't offend anyone here!

As a mixed race person myself, i would be very offended if anyone called me half caste (i see it as referring to the Hindu caste system). My siblings and I were regularly referred to as half caste whilst at school and alhtough it never bothered me then, as i've got older, i see it is for me personally a very offensive term and i would never use it nor like it used to describe myself. And, as for mixed heritage, I would think someone was taking the piss out of me if they called me that.

As my ds is also mixed race making his ethnicity very mixed indeed, our preferred term is mixed race. But i guess it's a personal issue.

Monkeytrousers · 24/11/2006 01:35

It's a cultural term - of ignorance. I (in my 30s) heard it used in my youth. I don't think it's a racist term; if someone wanted to insult someone because of their race, there's a much nastier vernactuar to choose from, also based on ignorance.

Say something to her, it sounds like she was probably trying to be respectful but wasn't aware of how much things had moved on. Don't call her racist though; on what you've said, she isn't and it will only make her defensive to raise the issue in those terms.

Monkeytrousers · 24/11/2006 01:36

vernacular soz

boo64 · 24/11/2006 21:36

dual heritage is a stupid description as more and more children have more than 2 ethnicities in their background. My ds has 3 for example so dual heritage isn't going to work for him!

Donkeyswife · 24/11/2006 23:56

Boo64, I agree. Dual Heritage sounds so patronising to me and it can be factually incorrect.

alismummy · 02/12/2006 19:55

Why do we even need to define ourselves and each other in terms of colour. I dont say 'oh that nice white woman said....' nor do i say 'oh hes a lovely bi-racial man'.

I am brown. Thats my actual colour. Same as white people are 'white'. One day i believe society wont be so afraid of taking people for who they are, not what they look like or what place they come from. And don't get me started on those bloody tick boxes to say where you come from, that come with job application forms. Dont give me a job because you need to fill the 20% minority group quotient, give me a job because iam good enough!

7swansaswimmingup · 02/12/2006 20:01

ive always used the word half caste. i would never think of it being racist or rude but as the years have gone on i dont feel as comfortable saying it

i have to say i find "people with olive skin or partially dark skin" very beautiful, much better looking than us whiteys

alismummy · 02/12/2006 20:17

i dont find 'half caste', duel heritage' or even 'blackie' offensive. (racism is just ignorance after all). i find the need to mention it unnecessary. my mum is asian, dad is european and when i am asked where i'm from i say my parents were from different countries. i dont want to say i'm mixed race or whatever. it doesnt flow.

pedilia · 02/12/2006 20:19

I don't find it offensive but I am not a fan, I prefer to be referred to as mixed race, besides which I am mixed race but not half-caste if you take it by it's true meaning.

alismummy · 02/12/2006 20:29

Got this from wikipedia, searching 'race'.

'The English word "race", along with many of the ideas now associated with the term, were products of the European era of exploration (Smedley 1999). As Europeans encountered people from different parts of the world, they speculated about the physical, social, and cultural differences among human groups. The rise of the African slave trade created a further incentive to categorize human groups to justify the barbarous treatment of African slaves'.

(So i think i prefer half caste)

halogen · 18/05/2007 21:53

I really dislike the term mixed race, although I use it myself as it's easy and people understand what you mean. Mixed race sounds like we really are different from one another and we're not - it's only the colour of our skins.

I am sort of yellowish brown but would probably prefer brown as shorthand, not least because it sounds nicer!

LoveAngel · 21/05/2007 10:00

I think 'mixed race' is a slightly unsatisfactory term (aren't all racial descriptions?), but definitely seems to be the most widely accepted and least jarring. Half caste seems dreadfully out of date (although admittedly, it didn't during my 1970s/80s upbringing), and 'dual heritage' just sounds ridiculously poncy. In our family, we are using the term 'mixed race' but we will follow my childrens lead as they get older and more aware of these things. I have mixed race friends who prefer to call themselves simply 'black' and others who are very definitely 'mixed-race' or 'just 'mixed'. Guess it is up to the individual.

xxx

crumpet · 21/05/2007 10:34

Don't know if this has already been mentioned below, but could it be that in this case "caste" doesn't necessarily derive from the indian caste system?

I had always thought this use fo the word derived from "make" - e.g. the phrase "cast in stone", or to cast a bronze sculpture - so for me the term "half-caste" has always meant "half cast in one (race) and half in another".

I grew up in a mixed race area, and I do remember that the first time I heard the term was from a mixed race in tis way. But this was 20 years ago

OtterInnit · 21/05/2007 10:46

yeah mixed-race sounds 'trying too hard' imo...we all are!

crumpet · 21/05/2007 11:01

sorry, it should read "a mixed race schoolfriend in this way".

Thinking about it though, I don't ever recall using this phrase. I'd be more likely to say "half African" or "half Indian". but would this be offensive? I'd be equally likely to say "half French"

boo64 · 23/05/2007 14:02

The problem I have with someone saying 'half Indian' is that it totally ignores the other half of ds. That said I do use that phrase to refer to ds's heritage for want of anything better and because people udnerstand.

It's such a tricky one - if someone comes up with a good term let me know!

Mixed race also seems to be used a little more to refer to half African/ Caribbean and half 'white' people, so I don't always feel it quite fits for ds? Does anyone else think that's the case?

LoveAngel · 23/05/2007 18:50

I'm interested in where you all live? In London (well, my fairly working class area of London, at least) nobody would use anyting BUT 'mixed race' or 'mixed'. Half caste would probably get you stoned out of the area lollll. 'Half Indian / African' etc is like saying 'half not white' surely?

NKF · 23/05/2007 18:53

When I hear the term "half caste" I wouldn't think people meant the term in a negative fashion. But I would think they were a bit old fashioned. It's like the term "coloured." It sounds odd, like they've been living on a remote island for the last 409 years or something.

MRM · 23/05/2007 22:55

Half-caste is a very old name used by white people who were not racist..it was a name given to half white/half black children back in the day. I am half white/black caribbean and in this multi-cultural society we now live in, it is all PC! Everywhere you go it's all PC. Just keep up with PC and you will know the term to use is...'mixed heritage'

I will agree with certain posters on this thread who relate to the term mixed race does mean being half human! That is why that term is now known to be derogatory.

I know that black people do not like being called coloured, this is also an old name given to black people in the 1950's.
Believe me you call black people 'black'
this is not racist.

A heavy subject, hopefully I've cleared a few things up!

LoveAngel · 23/05/2007 23:07

Not everyone agrees with you, NRM.