Is it rude to ask someone their race?

Question

I've always thought this was an incredibly rude thing to ask someone? If you have to ask, can it really be that important?

I'm not blind. I wasn't referring to individual of obvious African or European descent.

I am asking about people with whom you can't tell. I have a friend who I thought was Arab. He had white skin and hazel eyes and thick dark curly hair. I asked what he was. He's Indian. To him, it was a very f*cked thing to ask.

I'm not referring to nationality. I mean is it rude to ask someone if they are black or white or Latino, Asian, or my personal favorite "do you have some other blood in you"?

Answer 1

YES I AM MULTIRACIAL AND MY ANSWER NOW IS I'M HUMAN....

Answer 2

For me is never rude to ask about where you come from or something related to that. It depends how you ask it . This is just part of exchanging information with somebody you just met and means you're interested. I never guess other people's background by asking for example... Are you Japanese, or Russian? That is rude. You just can ask ..Where are you from? and that's it. From that question you and the other person can develop a very interesting talk. In my experience I never have a problem asking it and people never get offended. In the contrary this is a very good way to start a conversation. Now, if the other person feel offended or mad, just apologize, and change the topic, but don't feel that you did something wrong. At my job many people have asked me that question and I never feel bad for that. I have got great friends who's first question to me was. Hey.. where are you from..? Are you Latina? and I love to answer... that question can be the start of a good friendship or who knows.?? other kind of relationship if the asker is a cute guy...

Answer 3

If you are good friends with the person you are asking and are just curious then I don't think it's rude, but you'd probably already know if you were good friends. but if you were to walk up to someone on the street and ask then it would be rude.

A better question is why are white people listed as Caucasian and not European American? I never understood this.. the listings are always Hispanic, African American, Asian, Caucasian or white.. does that mean they did not originate from anywhere?

Answer 4

People have too many chips on their shoulders. So what. I have an accent and people ask me all the time where I'm from, even though I've been in Canada for 20 years. Sometimes they guess (French, Scottish, Dutch, German..), sometimes they ask. Doesn't disturb me if it's done in a friendly manner. I'm also curious and ask people regarding their heritage et al. Most of the time I can figure out the race by looking, but if not, I'd ask. Sue me.

Answer 5

Yeah, it's rude. Unless the person is paying you a compliment and making a guess and it's innocent, I'd be offended. If someone was just like, "are you___???" I'd probably just pimp slap them. When I was little, people would always ask me if I was Chinese or Japanese. I'm Caucasian and not even remotely Asian (black hair and almond eyes apparently mean Asian), so I'd just correct them and ask what they were (especially good if it's obvious).

Answer 6

I think most people who ask are just curious. I work at a company with a lot of employees of different races, and people ask it as a way of getting to know each other, the way they might ask "Where are you from?" But personally, I would never ask someone unless they were my friend, because I know some people would be offended by it.

Answer 7

Personally, I don't think so

This is a question I get a lot. I'm a Pacific Islander and I have brown curly hair and supposedly some "caucasian" features so people are sometimes curious and ask. They always start with "Can I ask you a personal question?"

I don't see what's wrong with it at all. I think I'll only find it offensive if they treat me differently after they find out what my race is.

Answer 8

Well, I'm like a camilian. I can look like I am Native American; Hispanic, Italian, a little bit Asian-you name it, and I like it, because it's like a guessing game, and I take as a compliment (sometimes), because they are that intrigued on my looks and want to know what my origins are and where I'm from. Although when people are biased and just assumed I'm from this culture or race because of this/that, without even asking me and making sure that it's true-then I get livid, because they are being arrogant with really ignorant reasons.

Answer 9

I grew up in New York around many cultures. I think asking someone about their ethnicity gives people a chance to learn more about each other. I know, you wanna tell me to "go back to Oprah" with such a mushy comment. But I am interested in others' cultures and customs. That's the only way we can get along----if we have an open enough mind to accept differences.

Answer 10

The Government does so you have to ask whether they would be deliberately rude. You might think that they would but they have to uphold laws which protect all races. So if the Government doesn't think its rude then, at least legally, it isn't. I couldn't care less about giving details of my race unless it was for a purpose which would harm me in some way.

Answer 11

I would not thought it was rude. When I do it, its b/c I want to compliment them on something or tell them why..eg are ua Pakistani....coz u sound exactly like my b/f...or are u a Paki coz my b/f has the same name..... or what nationality are u b/c u have the voice of an angle or an angel????
If I want to be rude.......I just say I wanna speak to someone with an Australian birth certificate..I'm sorta racist but only when I'm angry witha foreigner