Thoughts on the term "biracial"

[Anonymous]

Our baby is aisian/amrerian (spouse/me) but I don't consider her biracial... this may incite a flame war but when I hear the term "biracial" I think black/white although there are so many other options out there... just curious to know if others feel the same way or am I outdated and racist?

[Anonymous]

I'm half Japanese and half white (bunch of northern European ancestors) and consider myself biracial, as I am made up of two races. But really, it only comes up when I have to fill out some form for whatever reason. The rest of the time I just say I'm hapa. Or I check "other."

If you don't want to say your baby is biracial because you don't want him/her to be associated with being part black or are worried that people will think s/he is, then yes, you are racist. If not, then call it whatever you like. No one really cares that much around here. Throw a rock and you'll hit a multiculti kid.

[Anonymous]

Biracial means you are made of two different races. Not to be harsh, but it's not up to you to decide is she's biracial or not. She is, but whether she identifies as such as up to her.

And no, I don't think of biracial as being just black and white.

[Anonymous]

Read Nuture Shock.

Also this, it may help you understand why you're in denial

http://www.askmoxie.org/2010/06/discussion-of-nurtureshock-chapter-3-why-white-parents-dont-talk-about-race.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our baby is aisian/amrerian (spouse/me) but I don't consider her biracial... this may incite a flame war but when I hear the term "biracial" I think black/white although there are so many other options out there... just curious to know if others feel the same way or am I outdated and racist?

I don't understand why you are having an issue with it. It's not an outdated or racist word but an accurate description. I wonder though if you have a prejudice against this word because you think it's only for black/white couples.

[Anonymous]

I hate the term race. It's artificial and ultimately it's just false. I go with ethnicity or culture when describing my family or someone else's.

[zumbamama]

American is not really a race, it's a nationality. Americans can be of any race.

My mother is from the Philippines and my father is German-American. I consider myself biracial, but 100% American.

[Anonymous]

OP here -- thanks for your respectful responses and experiences.

[Anonymous]

Biracial, unfortnuately, has been pigeonholed to mean black/white. But it shouldn't be. Biracial identifies any individual who is of parents of different races. Don't give in to the myopia. Proudly proclaim your child as such so that those who think it is only black/white realize that is not the case.

[Anonymous]

OP, American is not a race anyway so no reason to worry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I hate the term race. It's artificial and ultimately it's just false. I go with ethnicity or culture when describing my family or someone else's.

These are two different things. All people have both a race (externally defined by the society in which they live, regardless of how we feel about it or whether we embrace the definition positively) and an ethnicity. White people have a variety of ethnicities: German, Irish, Iranian, Russian, et cetera. Asian people are Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, et cetera. Black people have different ethnicities as well, but for black Americans the history of slavery (in contrast to immigration) has erased knowledge (for many families) of their national origins and African-American has (in some ways) become an ethnicity in itself. Culture is food, language, rituals of celebration, et cetera: culture plus national origin (usually) make up ethnicity.

As a PP stated, biracial is a definition that is externally imposed, at least in the US where the racial system is relatively rigid and we assume a single category as the norm. Many other countries (especially in South America or the Caribbean) have a racial category of "mixed" into which many people fall, and there is less individual focus on the particular mix of origins that a person might have. Whether or not a person embraces "mixed" or "biracial" as a part of their own cultural identity is up to them, just as the degree to which any other person embraces being German or Ghanian or Chinese as part of their identity.

Okay, taking off my sociologist hat now.

[Anonymous]

I am in the same boat. I am white and husband is Indian. Our child looks completely white...except for a nice tan in summer. Who cares about the term bi-racial. For us, the only time race mattered is when we had to fill out forms for school. I put white on my form (because that is what she looks like), but I don't think it matters. Later on, I might use asian to describe her (for school purposes) if it benefits her. Look at where we live, there are a lot of bi-racial children. Embrace it...don't be embarrassed by it.

[Anonymous]

I am black but would never describe my kids that way. That robs them of one half of their identity.

[Anonymous]

In 100 years, there won't be such an emphasis on pigeon-holing people into races, for the very reasons described in this thread. And hopefully my daughter's grandchildren won't have to fill out all of the damn forms with "check the box to categorize yourself" that DH and I have had to do for her - I think she's listed as white some places, black others, "other" others, and "more than one race" on still others.

[Anonymous]

Since you asked, you're outdated and racist.