I don't find it insulting. Many times I've heard people say that its rude to ask people what ethnic/race a person is......Im a African-American female. Yes I am light skin. Do you find it insulting when people guess your ethnic/race? I've been mistaken for being half black and half white.
Please no rude answers:
Thank you.
2007-06-26 10:47:36 · 25 answers · asked by Incredible 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Other - Cultures & Groups
Perhaps the links listed below
will be of help for / interest to you.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/991
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1399
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1034
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1570
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1573
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Generation-Mixed/message/1032
Have a great day. :D
.
2007-06-30 09:59:13 · answer #1 · answered by mixedraceperson 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all depends on a person's outlook, really. If a person is secure with herself, then another person's innocent assumption isn't too big a deal. That you are not offended says a lot about you:)
I don't get offended when people incorrectly guess my race, either. (People think I'm half Asian--usually either Chinese or Japanese. Yeah, there's some in my background, but it's so far back along the line that it's not enough to qualify for being bi-racial.) They're just curious and there's nothing wrong with asking a harmless question.
People have been mixing it up quite a bit in the past several generations, so it's getting increasingly hard to tell a person's ethnicity just by looking at them these days.
2007-06-26 17:59:00 · answer #2 · answered by Avie 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't think this comment is inherently rude, or even intended to be rude - it's just stating an observation. *HOW* the person says it, and how you choose to interpret it, is what could make it rude (ie, if its meant to imply that one race is better than another).
Yes, it can be insulting if people try to guess your race, because they seem to take it as your dominant characteristic, your defining feature, the most important thing about you. But some people use it as simply an introductory topic, a way to say "Hey, I'm interested in getting to know more about you, and this is the only thing I know about you so far, so please tell me more..."
2007-06-26 17:57:40 · answer #3 · answered by teresathegreat 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
On the outside, no it is a mere observation.
But if you are not a person that is secure with there identity this can pose a different issue. Some people who are mixed have the responsibility of two cultures, and that is a heavy burden for anyone. Usually from my experience the culture that you are around the most is what take root. Human nature to want and feel accepted.
2007-06-26 17:58:47 · answer #4 · answered by Food For Thought 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes people mistake you for another race/ethnicity in honesty, and sometimes they do it to bother you and belittle you.
I have been mistaken for Italian, Eskimo, Native American but I am Mexican- American.
I understand why people would mistake me for an Italian or Native American, but Eskimo was insulting, especially because I was wearing a winter coat with fluffy accents on the hood.
2007-06-26 18:11:03 · answer #5 · answered by Primadonna 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I dont think its all that bad. I mean I'm half Mexican and half White and I've been told that I'm not even tan for a white girl!!! so whatever. It's nothing big
My cousin is 3/4 black and 1/4 Mexican and some people think he is from Mexico
2007-06-26 17:53:15 · answer #6 · answered by Toria 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I think people shouldn't worry about what race a person is but hey don't intend to be rude most of the time.My friend is black medium complected but has been asked if she had asian in her alot she looked even more like she could have asian in her when she was younger and she's gorgeous.I am sicilian but been asked if i'm mexican
2007-06-26 18:09:48 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually no. I look like alight skinned hispanic and sometimes pass for one. When I got a ticket in a town here close to the border, the cop put "Hispanic" rather than white- even though my driver's license shows I'm obviously white lol
It can work to your advantage really. I don't mean that in a cruel way.
2007-06-26 17:51:48 · answer #8 · answered by Chick-a-Dee 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most people think it's Okay to use racial terms that are vague or seemingly harmless like "passable" or "octarune." Since they feel that way, those terms are used overtly.
Other terms like "oreo" and "zebra" are often used more covertly because people can recognize them for being slurs.
But the fact is any prejudice of any person based on their race is racism. People should be judged on their qualities, not on their features.
2007-06-26 17:53:42 · answer #9 · answered by Dominus 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No I don't think it's insulting. Well, maybe. My godsis is half white half black and when she went to the hospital to deliver her son, they gave her all the information packets in Spanish! We just thought it was funny though, not insulting. She was like, "Uh, Nurse, I'm not Hispanic." I still laugh about it today.
2007-06-26 18:02:34 · answer #10 · answered by PrettySeaShell 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I've been mistaken for Hispanic. Seriously. My SN is Spanish, I know, but really, I have no known Hispanic heritage, other than my stepgrandmother being Puerto Rican and my uncle is Puerto Rican and white...but that's not MY lineage. That's his. BUT I have dark brown eyes. I know enough Spanish to carry on a decent conversation.
And no...
It doesn't bother me one little bit.
My kids are black/white and I've been asked if they are Puerto Rican...I'm not insulted by that either.
2007-06-26 17:59:51 · answer #11 · answered by MamiZorro2 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋