How do you approach the mixed race question?

Question

I am brown skinned, with long straight black hair and light blue eyes. (I look black except for my eyes and straight hair) Anyone asks me what are you? I tell them I am Black, both my parents are black. My sister who is darker than I am has green eyes, and goldish hair and she is the afro-centric?? type of female. Who gets offended when asked the question "What are you"... I know my roots. I know I am black I don't need to sugarcoat anything. Yeah maybe there is mixed blood there, but aren't we all....?

So... Im wondering, for those who are mixed. When asked that question. How do you respond?

& In general, for someone who is mixed, is it wrong for them to claim just on race? Or should both or all cultures be embraced?

Open topic though! ....

Answer 1

WHY should I make race an issue, as it has only something to do with pigments in the skin.
it's the wonwerful person within that matters,
ps I am colour blind.

Answer 2

I think you're generalizing a bit too much. I know tons of white guys that date black girls (I like black girls as well ;D) and of course in order to date someone, approaching them will be the first step. Everyone can be compatible when it comes to dating, too. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, anything. Anyone can be compatible. Their ethnicity hardly matters and doesn't change the fact that they could be compatible or might not be compatible together. If you ask me, ethnicity hardly plays a part in it. It's just a matter whether or not the person is attracted to you. You and your friend have been friends for a very long time too so that plays a part in your relationship with him specifically and you already said that you didn't want to date him so obviously that plays a part in your relationship with him. As for all of these guys looking at you but not approaching you, it's probably just because they didn't want to (not saying that to insult you). Race probably didn't really matter to them. They probably just didn't want to approach you for whatever reason or maybe felt too nervous to or something. They also could've been shy. You're generalizing way too much with this, honestly. You're also jumping to conclusions a bit. Interracial relationships have actually started becoming much more common as well so that further proves my point. It could just be your city too and the people there while in other cities, it could be much different and you'd see tons of white men going out with black women.

Answer 3

Well, I am not mixed, but had a friend in High School who was mixed. She was beautiful, I had no clue she was mixed until our last year together in school. I had always thought she was possibly Hawaiian. Either way it did not change my opinion of her and I cared a lot for her. Surprising though. I sure wasn't going to ask her "what she was" it seemed(s) rude to me. I knew what she was, she was a human being just like me. But I do think that you should embrace both cultures, we all should. We are all a part of each others lives wheather in the past, present or future, wheather anyone likes it or not. The question did come about to her that day, needles to say, I wasn't the only one to find out. "What do you choose in the race column of tests and forms?" She said other... It was quite intersting and a day I'll never forget.

Answer 4

I am black but people sometimes have asked me if I'm part Native American, Asian, or Mexican because I have naturally straight hair (which I pincurl by the way-you always want what you don't have) and a small nose. That doesn't make them racist, just curious. It doesn't bother me even though it gets annoying repeating the same answer to the same friggin question asked over and over. Even though I'm open to the possibilty of me having Indian blood, I still consider myself black. A distant drop of another blood doesn't make your identity "mixed". But we're all American here so that's what counts in the long run.

Answer 5

Everyone's mixed to some degree. There's no such thing as a
"pure" race except maybe people who have been isolated for milleniums like the Polynesians and Australian Aborigines. The British have Roman, Cetlic, Germanic Saxon, and Viking ancestry. The Irish like to celebrate their celtic heritage but many of them have Viking ancestry which is why they have red and blonde hair over there. (The original Celts were dark haired.) The Italians are mixed indigenous ancient Italian groups, Carthaginian, Greek, German, and Celtic ancestry. Some of the Arabs from the southern Arabian peninsula are mixed Semetic and East African ancestry. The Chinese have like over 50 different ethnic groups because their country was a great empire that attracted lots of people (merchants, immigrants, and invaders). Some of the Japanese have distant Ainu ancestry which is why some of them might have natural brown hair and long caucasoid nose not jet black hair that are common in Asian groups and Native American Indian groups. Many white and black americans whose family has been here since British Colonial times have Native American Indian blood to some degree.
http://www.sitesled.com/members/racialreality/americans.html
If a group of people were "pure" blooded, they would be retards like this family or be prone to genetic diseases:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/allfours/
Their parents are first cousins and therefore their kids are genetically "pure."

Answer 6

I think lots of people are just curious. After all, most African/American's do not have blue eyes. My son is biracial & people ask - but not in a rude way. To complicate matters, he has an Irish name! I do answer, when people ask, at least briefly. Then often I end up meeting people who have a similar background as he does (Hawiian/Japanese) or who know someone of a similar background. 98% of the time I think it's just friendly curiosity. The other 2% are pretty easy to identify.

Claim whatever you want - but it may be an opportunity to educate people. Maybe for close friends you might want to explain more, but it is still your choice. Do whatever feels right to you.

Answer 7

That's an interesting question ... actually I wouldn't think of it as a question, myself, not any more. Mind you, I don't LOOK mixed, I look typical Irish (pale skin, red hair, green eyes), but I do know that I have Spanish, Jewish and Moroccan ancestors, as do most Irish people with relatives from the West of Ireland. I suppose in my own case it's not obvious - or else people only see what they want to see. My own parents had dark hair, both of them. Red hair tends to be a recessive gene that pops up in one or two children per generation in many families.

I think it's up to you, really, what you choose to do. I personally think that mixed race people are very attractive. You and your sister sound gorgeous! However I can see why this could be a bone of contention between the two of you ;-). You should decide for yourself what you want to do, discuss it with your sister, and ultimately you may have to agree to disagree ...

Answer 8

Ask them back "what do you think I am?"
I don't get people asking abou my race too much so I don't get offended easily, but that's what I do.
Perhaps you should lie a little bit like "I'm part black, part Italian, part Portugese, etc etc..". Or maybe you're not African. You're just black, meaning there are other race in this world with dark skin color.

Answer 9

My husband is of mixed heritage - his father is from pakistan and his Mum is a white English woman - he has dark olive skin and light blue eyes. He's been called all sorts of things in his time and people insult asians (and 'pakis') to his face because they have no idea of his background and the feel he's in on the joke because he doesn't look conventionally 'asian'. However, thanks to his upbringing and the self-confidence his parents tried to instill in him, by virtue of their love, he doensn't have a problem with what people care to think of him. He knows who he is and if anyone doesn't like it, that's their problem, not his!

Answer 10

race by appearance is a disease. It overlooks the behavioural aspects. According to my definition, there are only three types of human:

Extremists: who need only a petty thing or a small reason to fight or quarrel,
Harmonisers: who try to build rapport among people, preach and teach harmony among them and finally

The seekers in the middle layer between harmonisers and extremists: who ask questions, observe and then prefers to follow one of the layer above or below them.

Answer 11

Dude,I am part Native American and am asked if I'm Mexican or Mexican-asian mix.
Bottom line,I let people know I'm an American.