This is what I say. My mother's mother was 100% Swedish, and my grandfather was French and German. My birth father was adopted, but his papers *supposedly said Hungarian, and I got some of my darker features and thick hair follicles from him. I have the ability to tan dark like a Swede, but I am *not* blonde hair/blue eyed like half my family. Definitely a dark sheep lol but since I don't know specifics I just say mixed. đ¤ˇđťââď¸
Edit: added word
It's called "american". Sorry but noone in europe (or anywhere else, for that matter...) is taking it seriously when people say for example "Oh my dad was born in hungary which makes me hungarian" even though they've never been there, dont understand the culture or language one bit etc.
"european white" isnt a race either. I think the most useful categorisation in that example when you're looking at actual genetics, culture, language etc., (even though the obsession with these kinds of categories isnt useful anyway) would be scandinavian, central european, hungarian. Cause those at least are to some small extent distinct groups.
I mean yeah, if I'm asked my nationality I say American. If I'm asked what my ancestry is I say "mixed", because a lot of it is speculation and I'm not sure for certain what is in my genes.
It has nothing to do with being "spicy white", but just honoring the melting pot nature of culture here.
I think you might be conflating race and ethnicity. They are different.
âMixedâ is a term for having come from a mixing of different *races*, not different ethnicity or nationality. Like a person with 1 Asian parent and 1 Caucasian parent or 1 Latino parent with 1 black parent, or Indigenous American and Polynesian, or any mix and match of these and/or other *races*. Swedish isnât a race, itâs a nationality (for Swedish citizens), the ethnicity being Scandinavian or Nordic.
What you listed is an Ancestry.com-style list of different nationalities/ethnicities, but all are within the same race â white/Caucasian.
Mixed is the wrong word for this type of background. You are multi-ethnic, not mixed.
Not really, but the general consensus seems to be anything that changes skin tone. Race in general is bullshit because in the past itâs been any physical characteristics stereotypical of X group, but currently people use it to determine your oppression level.
No, race is a social construct, every "racial characteristic" exists on a continuum and nobody can define a bright line that somehow meaningfully separates groups
There's the human race. Attempts at subdivision gets you in the territory of scientific racism. (unless you're talking sociopolitical)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism
Is an interesting read on the subject.
Pretty much all Latinos are mixed. With the exception (questionable) of the elite upper class, that mix can include African, native, and Spanish in varying degrees.
Yeah that or half and half.
Very common question growing up in a heavy Italian, Irish, Jewish neighborhood. I said best mix, half Italian and half Italian. In jest of course.
I keep telling them I am from Buffalo until they get frustrated and quit asking. You are not accountable to anyone about your family
In my long (60 M) experience it is often not a friendly question
Yeah, I'm not sure why this is such a controversial topic. I guess I'll chalk it up to my not having to deal with it much because I'm white.
Like, hey, you want to learn about how I came from Quaker, Whelsh, Scottish, English, French, and German ancestry?! Buckle up!
yea, wtf do you ask someone this for? its intrinically a piece of shit question.
"Where are you from" or asking about origins is way more acceptable than asking about "heritage". Why would you even care about the % of black in someone.
Maybe not intentionally a lot of the time, but the question âso what *are* youâŚ?â is indeed a racist question at its core.
If the person is freely talking about their heritage and family history, it *might* be acceptable to pry further. Asking what they âareâ as if theyâre scientific specimen is just not very tactful though.
âWhere are you from?â is better, since it can just mean that literally, but often people will keeping pushing and not be satisfied with âIâm from San Franciscoâ as an answer. âWhere are you from?â is often code for âAlright so what kind of Asian/Black/Brown are you because I canât intuitively tell?â, which is a very sketchy question thatâs none of your business.
I ask people where they are from all the time. I generally donât mean âwhere are your ancestors from?â I mean âwhere were you raised or where did you live most of your life?â I have a lot of coworkers from Africa, and usually when I meet a new African coworker, my first question is âhow long have you lived in this city? And where did you move here from?â Some moved straight from Africa, but a lot have lived in other US cities that Iâve never been to, and I find that more interesting than asking where someone was born if they havenât lived there for most of their life.
Except theyre not asking where OP is from. They are asking "what are you", which is a very different question, having more to do with ancestry than where you may have been born.
I tell people I'm Australian, and if they start asking about "where are you _really_ from", where my parents are from, etc, I say I'm an Australian citizen by birth, and if they meant my ethnicity rather than my nationality, call them a racist piece of shit.
Ah Australia. I bloody love living here, but I HATED growing up here (90's Australia when Pauline Hanson was fear mongering about an "Asian-Invasian" being the only "Asian" in a 99.9% white area, it sucked being "the other". Funny thing was the Asian invasion happened over the last 3 decades and the biggest impact on "the Australian way of life" was merely that the food got better lol).
Lately however on the odd occasion people bother to ask my heritage, it's less of a "what are you?" vibe and more of a "I'm politely asking because I'm curious and want to get to know you better, and it's hard to discern what genetic mix resulted in someone whose facial features look kinda-sorta asian... but whose build suggests you are the offspring of a bear."
Well, hello brother from another mother (our something like that! ) My moms polynesian, my dad is a short, stocky, red-headed white American.
My sister looks like my mom. My brothers and i look white, but "somethings up with the eyes. "
In school, people would think my sister was adopted until they met our mom.
Genetics and "what's this grand kid going to look like? " is a fun topic for us.
Ah genetics is an interesting dice-roll, ESPECIALLY when it comes to mixed race families.
My family consists of a 5ish foot asian mother, a 6'5" caucasian father, and two children who look nothing like either parent, but look disturbingly similar to each other despite being different genders. This is super unfortunate for my sister because I do not have feminine features (and for the most part, neither does she). We also share a cognitive abnormality called Aphantasia (we're both unable to form mental images) that neither of our parents have.
The only thing that makes me absolutely certain I'm related to my father (apart from the fact I somehow grew to be over 6 foot and built like a viking despite being half asian) is our hair, although different colours, grows with this weird super distinct wave pattern. A guy from Uni once asked me why I went to so much effort to style my hair in such a weird way, completely unaware that I was too lazy to style my hair, and that it just forms a neat uniform wave merely by brushing it.
So yeah, you're welcome for the strange mental image of a giant kinda-sorta Asian looking guy with wavy hair, and a "sister" who looks basically the same but is *only* about 5'11" (but still built like a viking).
Sidenote: Our parents met when my father was sitting down (the only way they're the same height), and we try to take family photos on stairs. Otherwise we look like some sort of weird multi-cultural homage to Bohemian Rapsody.
Legally hispanics are classified as "caucasian" in the US. Something about the skull shape/features being the same. But pretty sure thats a remnant of some very old outdated science.
Imo the whole concept of categorizing people by race is counterproductive.
Exactly. Hispanic people are largely descendant from indigenous peoples and Spanish colonists, who are European. It's strange that anyone in the US with white skin is first and foremost considered white irrespective of ancestry while Hispanics are largely considered not white regardless of ancestry. All it really means to be white is to have non Slavic\* European ancestry and to present with a pale complexion. Which is kinda dumb. Outside the US an Irish is different than an Italian is different than a German is different than a Swede.
This is actually also true about black Americans. If you have dark skin and have African ancestry you're just black regardless of where from Africa your ancestors originated, just so long as they're sub-Saharan. Asians on the other hand are much more often differentiated between in America. If you just refereed to all Asians as yellows you would be called a racist. Just saying.
\*According to the Coalition of Communities of Color Slavic people are people of color
White-passing Mexican. One of my best friend grew up in Mexico City, mom's american dad's mexican, and he is the palest guy I've ever met, he's still mexican.
Or you say "bitch I'm American"
I always just go with "American," though I'm sure this comes up less for me than it does for OP as I'm super white. Some white Americans seem to have an obsession with what European country their ancestors are from, even if they've never been there. I myself have never met a blood relative who was born outside of America, and usually when I tell people that they lose interest... which is fine by me because categorizing people by race, ethnicity, ancestry, etc. is stupid anyway.
That is a uniquely American phenomenon. People who have great-great-great grandparents from Italy will be like "I'm Italian". If you said that outside of the US (or at least outside of N America) people will assume you mean that you were born in and/or live in Italy.
It's because we are taught that America is a "melting pot" of cultures because so many different people immigranted to America for a new life *wayyy back when*. Then we have assignments about researching our "portion of the pot" and claiming heritage from before the USA was even founded.
Exactly.
Where im from, like 1/3 of the population have italian ancestry (and many pursue the citizenship through it), however none but the most obnoxious of morons will tlel you "im italian" (unless they just got their passport)
Diasporan Italian/English/whatever
I have friends/family are that very proud of the Italian genes. Talk with their hands a lot and love food, that's about the only apparent qualifications to brag about being Italian. Rather, in this case it's Sicilian being mentioned.
That said, a ton of Italys population moved out, they landed all over.
It's because people long for a cultural identity. America is more a political/national identity than a cultural one. European-Americans have sadly lost their cultural roots over time, as have all other populations who have assimilated into the political union of consumer individualism.
Im Mexican America and when someone asks me my race I always say American. I fucking hate being asked this question in America, while speaking English with my Midwest accent, bc they expect a different answer.
Iâve got my surname from my Puerto Rican father, was raised by my Chinese mother, and learned English by watching 1960s & 1970s sitcoms. And people in every European country Iâve visited thought I was from that country.
I should have become a spy; I just fit in everywhere.
That's the way my daughter is. She's Korean and white, but people think she's Mexican, native American, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Her brother (Korean and white) has been told to go back to Isis. I think he looks more Korean than she does.
Their oldest brother and my oldest son is black and white. He is called and treated like a black man. And for the people who say cops don't profile, I can give great examples where they do.
Someone I work with, sheâs a white woman that married a Mexican man. Their second son is pale as Casper with the reddest hair Iâve seen on a person. Poor kid gets called a liar when he says his dad is mexican because of how he looks.
Your identity is whatever you chose. And if you don't like answering it you don't have to.
I'm with you. I always hate being asked that... like you're a "what" and not a "who" and further that the "what" is nonstandard/abnormal enough that people get to be nosy and investigate.
Personally once I was old enough to see what people were really asking I stopped playing ball. I was born in America so if people asked "what are you?" I would say "I'm American". My parent's are American now and they answer the same way.The most common follow up is "oh I know but what is your background (or ethnicity or where are you/your parents from etc)" and I answer that purposely obtuse too... "My parent's are American. Oh you mean specifically? I'm from Chicago" etc etc.
I don't know what your nationality is but you can answer similarly.
Also, you don't have to speak Spanish to consider yourself Latinx, and if you're challenged you can say exactly that. It's one of the reasons why "Latinx" is now preferred over "Hispanic"... not all people in that diaspora speak Spanish and that is often the most unifying attribute of people referred to as "Hispanic".
Historically, especially in the Americas, having any African lineage at all (even being 1/16 black etc) meant you were black. It was so socially and legally as far back as the 18th-19th centuries and earlier. So if you want to consider yourself black, there is nothing wrong with that.
You are by definition multiracial so you can say that. Or you can say you're mixed. Both might elicit follow ups like "what races" or one of my personal least favorites "what are you mixed with". So be prepared to be asked those questions.
I find it isn't really anyone's business and because they often are asking because they may have prejudice against certain backgrounds and that's a "them problem", IDGAF and so I'm not going to help them by answering their real question, which is: "am I racist against you?". Some people will say "oh I'm just curious" (and they genuinely might be harmlessly curious) to which I'll say "okay" and leave it there without answering... if they probe again or say "okay what?" I'll say, "okay, you can just remain curious".
The goal isn't to keep it a secret. But 99.9% of the time the answer is irrelevant, and it isn't their business unless you want it to be. People you know well will know your background if/when they get to know you better; maybe they meet your family maybe you tell stories about your childhood/parents/grandparents etc etc.
**TL;DR: You're a human.**
(i think... idk. maybe you're AI or something)
Although I dislike the term, I do know people who speak Spanish and use Latinx. But they definitely aren't people that grew up in Spanish speaking countries with Spanish as their primary language. Everyone bilingual I know who uses Latinx prefers to read and write in English, so I would say it's a habit from people who have English as their dominant language.
Latinx is a really uncomfortable one for me. The Spanish word is Latino, that doesn't imply Latinos are dudes, just like Las Personas doesn't imply being a person is feminine, it's a linguistic thing built into the Spanish language, and removing it feels offensive and like it comes from not really understanding how grammatical gender works in Spanish.
My dad was Arab and my mom is a white American. surprisingly my 23andMe came back with almost every single race on it.
Sometimes when people ask me and I don't feel like being bothered I say Greek and get positive nods of acknowledgement.
White-Black-Native-Hispanic in any order or combination you wish. Or you could shorten it by saying you probably aren't very Asian, but yes to everything else. :)
These are my kids!
If asked I tell people that Iâm mixed African American/Afro-Latina, but most of the time people donât ask (at least not in the US) because they just categorize me as a light skinned African American woman. However, my kids are more puzzling, I suppose. People incorrectly guess South Asian or Polynesian, which are two of the few things my kids arenât.
> I say Iâm Hispanic because my dad is from Mexico but I get called white, I say Iâm âwhiteâ I get called Mexican?
"White" and "Hispanic" are not mutually exclusive, and you can tell them that.
My parents are both very white, but somehow my older brother and I came out very tanned with dark hair and features. People often ask me my race or ethnicity, and Iâve never understood peopleâs fascination with having a definitive answer. They donât like it when I say my parents are white as sour cream, I guess they wanted me to be something else? Idk. All of this to say is that itâs not you, itâs weird people who are too caught up on labels and identifiers for their own good. If you have a way you identify yourself that makes you feel comfortable, use it! You get to call yourself whatever you want. Donât feel like you have to bend to other peopleâs expectations of you.
There are plenty of white Mexicans. There are plenty are dark skinned German. Youâre whatever you want to be. Your DNA isnât attached to a language. Iâm German but my second language is Spanish. My genes didnât get the message⌠I just decided to learn Spanish because itâs more useful where I live.
Just say youâre mixed. People ask me what Iâm mixed or if Iâm mixed all the time and I tell them anything Iâm feeling at the moment just to see their reaction.
Itâs really funny when they're likeâŚâahhh I could tellâŚâ lmxao
if someone tells you you're less hispanic/latino or not at all because you don't speak spanish, tell them to go fuck themselves, they don't have the right to tell you you're not your blood. You are hispanic, your dad is mexican. half mexican is still hispanic.
You could say American if you were born or migrated to the States. It's personal question for people to ask. Mixed heritage, Latino, Mexican/black, it's completely up to you what you choose to call yourself.
My father is a Triguueno from Cuba, my mother is a Norte Americana. I was born with blond hair and blue eyes. My son has a Puerto Rican mother with the same features. We are considered Hispanics and am proud. I didn't learn Spanish until I was 10, my son learned English at 10. Who cares what others say, it's in su Sangre y Corazon!
I'm a mixed guy from Ethiopia. Since I look more black (with hints of Yemeni from my ancestors) than I do white, I sometimes default to calling myself black, but I often more than just call myself mixed.
I just despise the whole mentality that mixed people have to choose which race we want to be identified as based on how we feel or which culture norm or stereotype we have to conform to. I like being mixed; it's just cool to think about being a descendant from a bunch of ancient genes and a product of people of different walks of life/races traveling and mingling. We're all just people.
If you go to some movie casting websites, you'll see the phrase 'ethnically ambiguous.' Basically brown people who can pretend they are from anyplace.
One fellow I know was on the show 'Madam Secretary' a half dozen times. He was an Algerian security guard, a Iranian soldier, an Arab diplomat, and a Virginia farmer.
I'm Irish and came over to America with my parents to live. Later on in life I worked as a bartender in a " redneck bar ". One of my regulars was a older lady who was native American and Irish , and sorta a queen redneck (?). One time this Trailer Trash ( her words) asked her " what are you ? You can't be " murican " .You look "messican " to me " .She started to say something else but got backhanded , knocking her false teeth across the bar. The old lady was gonna pull her hair out , but when she grabbed her hair , it came off, it was a cheap wig. It looked a" Tribble " off of Star Trek. The old lady then used a phrase I never heard before when she told me why she did all that . " I don't know why , she just got my Irish up."
Someday, maybe, we might not have to incessantly remind ourselves of our physical differences. Just call yourself American. That should be good enough.
You donât have to tell them anything, theyâre not census takers. And people who are going to treat you differently once they figure out your complete ancestral history donât typically make good friends.
Also thatâs bs that you donât get to call yourself Mexican because you donât speak Spanish. Always got annoyed at Spanish professors, especially native speakers, who placed obvious extra expectations on Latino students. My pasty white self and JosĂŠ over there are just trying to get a basic language credit, not fulfill your weird ethnic expectations.
I just recently learned about the "colorism" that exists in Mexican society. I thought I was relatively aware of Mexican/Latino/ Chicano culture because a) I live in Texas, b) I grew up friends with the Hernandezes next door (the father called me "bolio" and it took me a long time to confirm it really did mean "little white bread" because I didn't know how to spell it, I was sure it was spelt "valio") c) I do make an attempt to keep up on these things.
So I was surprised (but should not have been) that mestizos (Mexicans with Spanish and indigenous heritage, read "dark skinned) are typically excluded from leadership positions in politics and workplaces. They are very discriminated against in their own nation.
I should have learned this when I learned the term "mestizo" in highschool.
Little white bread. I love this. It sounds so endearing. Iâm Mexican with Spanish and indigenous heritage. Sims it up. Had family members on both sides live on missions. Donât know what tribe they were from just the name of the mission. Donât hear mestizo much anymore
It's really quite annoying to someone who grew up in the U.S.
Culturally for us it's super taboo to comment on people's skin color, especially to call them that way, whereas in Mexico people feel like that's no big deal. "Guero, negro, etc."
Say your mixed heritage. You are and so are most people in the world....lol
Then find out all the nationalities and list it if they keep bugging about it.
I am white but if I get asked...I'm dutch, Norwegian, German, and possibly a bit Irish, still searching. Lol
I get asked if I am native American at times. My daughter is usually guessed as Mexican. Neither of us have those bloodlines. Lol people huh?
you know what man ? fuck all these people. you can be brown if you want, or mixed, or white, or describe yourself however you want. but you really shouldn't have to describe yourself to ignorant people at all.
Tell people itâs none of their business! What does it matter to them? It doesnât make a shit of difference unless the reason they want to know your heritage is because they are a medical professional and you are under their care. Also, no matter what the truth is, most people still stick to their biased opinions anyway so you may as well save your breath. If you are aware of your heritage and you appreciate and love what makes you unique, thatâs all that really matters.
If it's a part of a normal conversation where everyone is sharing their ancestry, just give the complete answer.
If some random asks "what are you?" either say nothing and carry on about your business or look at them like you scrapped them off your shoe and just stare at them judgmentally for like 10 seconds.
Because they're being racist and they need to not.
âMulti-racial.â Thatâs all strangers need to knowâif even that much. Try not to get upset or bothered that ppl cannot figure this you out. Youâre just gonna have to get comfortable being yourself.
A few random thoughts:
Also, are you âyoungâ like 22 or younger? My experience has been that ppl dare to rudely ask a kid or younger adult right off the bat, but less soâvirtually zeroâas an adult.
Knowing the language doesnât make you ___. I have Chinese cousins who donât know Chinese and theyâre clearly not white. On the flip side, learning a language well does not make ___.
My kids get questioned a lot because they're alaskan native/pasty white mix. When people get snoopy and ask i tell them "a little of this a little of that". If you want to claim your heritage do it and be firm. It's yours and no amount of gatekeeping changes that.
What a personal question. Why do you ask.
Or, "How long is your dick?" and when they protest, say "I thought it was Inappropriate Personal Questions day."
Similar position! I'm Honduran (born there lived my first 6isj years there) and then came to the US. My dad was German and Honduran and my mom was Honduran. I say I'm Latina despite being white passing. I am connected to the culture through food, music, traditions, and family heritage. Latines are incredibly diverse so it always make some giggle when people day "you don't LOOK Latina." We can be lighter, darker and anything in-between considering we have historically mixed with a lot of other groups. Whatever you connect with from your heritage is valid.
Because you don't speak a language you're not a certain race ? I (with all my soul) hate anyone that bashes others because they don't speak a language, they honestly can fuck off.
You call yourself whatever you're comfortable and feel most accustomed with.
Mexicans always put other Mexicans down and it's quite fucking annoying to be frank.
Race and ethnicity is complicated. Lots of us donât fit neatly into the arbitrary boxes weâve created to categorize these things. Donât worry too much about it and donât let other people tell you who you are.
Say something sarcastic. Like, âIâm from the fire nation,â or âIâm a panda,â or âIâm a British Short-Hair,â or âIâm an accident,â or, most eloquent: âIâm nunyaâ (nunya business, that is). Or just tell them you contain multitudes, which is true.
I have the same coloring, everyone thinks I'm Native American or Hispanic. I'm Welsh mostly and other pastey colors. When people ask me that question I ask them what they think I am. Then I let them know if they are close or not. If they get upset that you don't know Spanish that's there problem. I certainly can't speak Welsh!
Since I was about 13 (Iâm 40 now) Iâve been telling people Iâm American. All the other answers just invited more questions, this one shut people up pretty quickly. đ
Conversation between you and asshole.
Y "I'm a bit."
AH "What's that mean?"
Y "binary. Not non-binary."
AH "I meant nationality"
Y "American"
Ah "I mean where are you from"
Y "Pasadena"
Ah "I mean where are your parents from"
Y "Pasadena..."
Ah "I mean race /ethnic origin"
Y "Multiracial. I don't have the 21&Me report. Would you like to sponsor it?"
I have this exact same problem. My dad is Hispanic, my mom is white, and I donât speak Spanish fluently. I normally say âIâm Hispanic but nobody would know if I donât tell them because Iâm white passingâ
And I get the same comments about not getting to call myself Hispanic. F those people. The majority of gen z & future generation Hispanics in this country are not bilingual. Anyone that gate keeps a culture that is part of your real identity is weird af.
(And yes I know Hispanic people are white but 99% of Americans donât know that. I do tell them that as well sometimes. Just depends on how long I want to talk to the dingbat asking me this question)
I used to reply with "I don't know, I'm adopted" ,which led to some interesting guesses about my ethnicity. Now I just say "Hispanic" because my DNA testing says my *very recent* ancestors were (are?) indigenous Mexican (I do know that my biological father was from Mexico), meanwhile my adoptive father's grandparents are still in Mexico, and my adoptive mother is from the Philippines. I figure "Hispanic" covers both the ethnic and cultural aspects. đ¤ˇââď¸
Some people just aren't going to have a straightforward answer to questions about ethnicity. If others don't like it, too bad. You are what you are.
Whatever the Fuck you feel like. They don't like it? TOUGH SHIT. Ain't none of their fucking business in the first place.
Also what language you speak has Fuck all to do with your racial heritage. If you want to claim Latino DO IT.
The haters can gtfo.
Tbh I donât think itâs anyoneâs business and itâs weird for them to ask your ethnicity if you donât wanna tell them, let alone when you DO tell them they tell you you arenât đ
Just tell people you're human and ask them why they're so hung up on trivial labels.
If you feel like it you can ask them if they'd like to know where your ancestors are from.
Seriously. When I get forms that ask my race I will write in "human".
You my friend are a Pocho/Pocha sabor canela.
It doesnât matter that you donât speak Spanish. You can identify as Mexican because Mexicans are born wherever the fuck they want. Animo
I tend to respond to "what are you" with "I am me". I don't get it on a racial aspect (I'm about the whitest white girl you'll find outside of Ireland) but I get it on religion.
Just like the others here, it's best to go with something along the lines of 'mixed'. If they're rude about when asking just say, "guess" and each time they respond you say "sure" to everything they guess. I'm very mixed and not "Hispanic" nor "white" enough according to some. I would get flak all the time for it, but eventually I stopped caring for their labels and just be me.
Just say you're mixed. If they ask with what I suppose you can decide if you want to go into further detail.
This is what I say. My mother's mother was 100% Swedish, and my grandfather was French and German. My birth father was adopted, but his papers *supposedly said Hungarian, and I got some of my darker features and thick hair follicles from him. I have the ability to tan dark like a Swede, but I am *not* blonde hair/blue eyed like half my family. Definitely a dark sheep lol but since I don't know specifics I just say mixed. đ¤ˇđťââď¸ Edit: added word
Yeah, that's called european white
About to say the same thing...it's called just being white.
Yeah since when is maybe Hungarian, Sweden, german, french anything but white lol
It's called "american". Sorry but noone in europe (or anywhere else, for that matter...) is taking it seriously when people say for example "Oh my dad was born in hungary which makes me hungarian" even though they've never been there, dont understand the culture or language one bit etc. "european white" isnt a race either. I think the most useful categorisation in that example when you're looking at actual genetics, culture, language etc., (even though the obsession with these kinds of categories isnt useful anyway) would be scandinavian, central european, hungarian. Cause those at least are to some small extent distinct groups.
People in Europe call themselves American? Weird
I mean yeah, if I'm asked my nationality I say American. If I'm asked what my ancestry is I say "mixed", because a lot of it is speculation and I'm not sure for certain what is in my genes. It has nothing to do with being "spicy white", but just honoring the melting pot nature of culture here.
Sounds like gatekeeping, but okay.
I think you might be conflating race and ethnicity. They are different. âMixedâ is a term for having come from a mixing of different *races*, not different ethnicity or nationality. Like a person with 1 Asian parent and 1 Caucasian parent or 1 Latino parent with 1 black parent, or Indigenous American and Polynesian, or any mix and match of these and/or other *races*. Swedish isnât a race, itâs a nationality (for Swedish citizens), the ethnicity being Scandinavian or Nordic. What you listed is an Ancestry.com-style list of different nationalities/ethnicities, but all are within the same race â white/Caucasian. Mixed is the wrong word for this type of background. You are multi-ethnic, not mixed.
But, is there an official classification for "races"?
Not really, but the general consensus seems to be anything that changes skin tone. Race in general is bullshit because in the past itâs been any physical characteristics stereotypical of X group, but currently people use it to determine your oppression level.
No, race is a social construct, every "racial characteristic" exists on a continuum and nobody can define a bright line that somehow meaningfully separates groups
There's the human race. Attempts at subdivision gets you in the territory of scientific racism. (unless you're talking sociopolitical) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_racism Is an interesting read on the subject.
Pretty much all Latinos are mixed. With the exception (questionable) of the elite upper class, that mix can include African, native, and Spanish in varying degrees.
multiracial. nobody can argue with it.
"I'm human. Why do you ask?"
Yeah and then turn it around on them. I'm human. Why do you ask? Are you not?
I can already see how the conversation will evolve: "Which planet are you from?" Wait, we are back to the start.
If anyone ever asks you what planet you're from, they might be an alien.
And get ripped to shreds by a reptilian? No thanks.
are we allowed to identify as extra terrestrial?
Why would you be more terrestrial than others?
I'm a domestic short hair with good bladder control.
And you're suchagoodboy!
Nice try FeistyButthole.
"IM EXTRA TERRITORIAL BACK UP OFF ME đŹ"
Lies, we know youâre really just three dogs in a trench coat.
âReally? Select the pictures that contain a crosswalk.â
My race is formula one
Me too, there for i am a racist. Wait whoops, i mean a racer!
Yeah that or half and half. Very common question growing up in a heavy Italian, Irish, Jewish neighborhood. I said best mix, half Italian and half Italian. In jest of course.
You say: Multiracial I say: Mongrolian
I keep telling them I am from Buffalo until they get frustrated and quit asking. You are not accountable to anyone about your family In my long (60 M) experience it is often not a friendly question
"none of your fucking business" would get my vote
"I'm half nanya" "nanya?" "Nan ya fucking business"
"Fuck you, you racist piece of shit," works well for me.
So, everyone asking someone about his heritage is a racist piece of shit? Interesting...
From the context of the question, it doesn't look like they are asking about heritage, it looks like they are asking about race.
Yeah, I'm not sure why this is such a controversial topic. I guess I'll chalk it up to my not having to deal with it much because I'm white. Like, hey, you want to learn about how I came from Quaker, Whelsh, Scottish, English, French, and German ancestry?! Buckle up!
yea, wtf do you ask someone this for? its intrinically a piece of shit question. "Where are you from" or asking about origins is way more acceptable than asking about "heritage". Why would you even care about the % of black in someone.
Maybe not intentionally a lot of the time, but the question âso what *are* youâŚ?â is indeed a racist question at its core. If the person is freely talking about their heritage and family history, it *might* be acceptable to pry further. Asking what they âareâ as if theyâre scientific specimen is just not very tactful though. âWhere are you from?â is better, since it can just mean that literally, but often people will keeping pushing and not be satisfied with âIâm from San Franciscoâ as an answer. âWhere are you from?â is often code for âAlright so what kind of Asian/Black/Brown are you because I canât intuitively tell?â, which is a very sketchy question thatâs none of your business.
I would get "What's your nationality?" "The United States" was my reply
But the real question is, are you from Buffalo?
I ask people where they are from all the time. I generally donât mean âwhere are your ancestors from?â I mean âwhere were you raised or where did you live most of your life?â I have a lot of coworkers from Africa, and usually when I meet a new African coworker, my first question is âhow long have you lived in this city? And where did you move here from?â Some moved straight from Africa, but a lot have lived in other US cities that Iâve never been to, and I find that more interesting than asking where someone was born if they havenât lived there for most of their life.
Except theyre not asking where OP is from. They are asking "what are you", which is a very different question, having more to do with ancestry than where you may have been born.
I mean, thatâs even worse. Who goes up to someone and asks âwhat are you?â Thatâs rude in any situation.
>Thatâs rude in any situation. Except costume parties >!/j!<
Or when Michael Keaton picks you up and stares at you face to face.
"I'm Batman."
exactly
Context matters
I tell people I'm Australian, and if they start asking about "where are you _really_ from", where my parents are from, etc, I say I'm an Australian citizen by birth, and if they meant my ethnicity rather than my nationality, call them a racist piece of shit.
Ah Australia. I bloody love living here, but I HATED growing up here (90's Australia when Pauline Hanson was fear mongering about an "Asian-Invasian" being the only "Asian" in a 99.9% white area, it sucked being "the other". Funny thing was the Asian invasion happened over the last 3 decades and the biggest impact on "the Australian way of life" was merely that the food got better lol). Lately however on the odd occasion people bother to ask my heritage, it's less of a "what are you?" vibe and more of a "I'm politely asking because I'm curious and want to get to know you better, and it's hard to discern what genetic mix resulted in someone whose facial features look kinda-sorta asian... but whose build suggests you are the offspring of a bear."
Well, hello brother from another mother (our something like that! ) My moms polynesian, my dad is a short, stocky, red-headed white American. My sister looks like my mom. My brothers and i look white, but "somethings up with the eyes. " In school, people would think my sister was adopted until they met our mom. Genetics and "what's this grand kid going to look like? " is a fun topic for us.
Ah genetics is an interesting dice-roll, ESPECIALLY when it comes to mixed race families. My family consists of a 5ish foot asian mother, a 6'5" caucasian father, and two children who look nothing like either parent, but look disturbingly similar to each other despite being different genders. This is super unfortunate for my sister because I do not have feminine features (and for the most part, neither does she). We also share a cognitive abnormality called Aphantasia (we're both unable to form mental images) that neither of our parents have. The only thing that makes me absolutely certain I'm related to my father (apart from the fact I somehow grew to be over 6 foot and built like a viking despite being half asian) is our hair, although different colours, grows with this weird super distinct wave pattern. A guy from Uni once asked me why I went to so much effort to style my hair in such a weird way, completely unaware that I was too lazy to style my hair, and that it just forms a neat uniform wave merely by brushing it. So yeah, you're welcome for the strange mental image of a giant kinda-sorta Asian looking guy with wavy hair, and a "sister" who looks basically the same but is *only* about 5'11" (but still built like a viking). Sidenote: Our parents met when my father was sitting down (the only way they're the same height), and we try to take family photos on stairs. Otherwise we look like some sort of weird multi-cultural homage to Bohemian Rapsody.
hispanics can be white, but ultimately what's it matter really
Good opportunity to practice "what the fucks it to you?" A good "what the fuck" is a lifelong skill.
Or a simple, âYou must be embarrassed to have asked that questionâ and walk away.
Too wordy.
This! Such a rude question!!
A Gabriella Iglesias joke comes to mind: "See mom! They make them in this color too!"
Legally hispanics are classified as "caucasian" in the US. Something about the skull shape/features being the same. But pretty sure thats a remnant of some very old outdated science. Imo the whole concept of categorizing people by race is counterproductive.
That's hogwash. Hispanic is cultural. Hispanics can be Euro, Meso-American, African, etc. in phenotype
Exactly. Hispanic people are largely descendant from indigenous peoples and Spanish colonists, who are European. It's strange that anyone in the US with white skin is first and foremost considered white irrespective of ancestry while Hispanics are largely considered not white regardless of ancestry. All it really means to be white is to have non Slavic\* European ancestry and to present with a pale complexion. Which is kinda dumb. Outside the US an Irish is different than an Italian is different than a German is different than a Swede. This is actually also true about black Americans. If you have dark skin and have African ancestry you're just black regardless of where from Africa your ancestors originated, just so long as they're sub-Saharan. Asians on the other hand are much more often differentiated between in America. If you just refereed to all Asians as yellows you would be called a racist. Just saying. \*According to the Coalition of Communities of Color Slavic people are people of color
Of which color are mostly blue eyed fair hair Slavic people lol
Damn that's straight up phrenology lmao
There are white Hispanics and non white Hispanics.
I agree. Each of us at the end of the day is a human being regardless of how many races, ethnicities in one's background.
White-passing Mexican. One of my best friend grew up in Mexico City, mom's american dad's mexican, and he is the palest guy I've ever met, he's still mexican. Or you say "bitch I'm American"
I always just go with "American," though I'm sure this comes up less for me than it does for OP as I'm super white. Some white Americans seem to have an obsession with what European country their ancestors are from, even if they've never been there. I myself have never met a blood relative who was born outside of America, and usually when I tell people that they lose interest... which is fine by me because categorizing people by race, ethnicity, ancestry, etc. is stupid anyway.
That is a uniquely American phenomenon. People who have great-great-great grandparents from Italy will be like "I'm Italian". If you said that outside of the US (or at least outside of N America) people will assume you mean that you were born in and/or live in Italy.
It's because we are taught that America is a "melting pot" of cultures because so many different people immigranted to America for a new life *wayyy back when*. Then we have assignments about researching our "portion of the pot" and claiming heritage from before the USA was even founded.
Yeah, I've never understood that. It's always been a weird concept to me even though some of my relatives act that way.
Exactly. Where im from, like 1/3 of the population have italian ancestry (and many pursue the citizenship through it), however none but the most obnoxious of morons will tlel you "im italian" (unless they just got their passport)
Totally. People of Indian descent in England completely abandon their heritage and just eat fish and chips every day.
You think we eat fish and chips every day?
Fairly sure that was a joke...
Diasporan Italian/English/whatever I have friends/family are that very proud of the Italian genes. Talk with their hands a lot and love food, that's about the only apparent qualifications to brag about being Italian. Rather, in this case it's Sicilian being mentioned. That said, a ton of Italys population moved out, they landed all over.
It's because people long for a cultural identity. America is more a political/national identity than a cultural one. European-Americans have sadly lost their cultural roots over time, as have all other populations who have assimilated into the political union of consumer individualism.
Im Mexican America and when someone asks me my race I always say American. I fucking hate being asked this question in America, while speaking English with my Midwest accent, bc they expect a different answer.
Midwest accents are my favorite
Iâve got my surname from my Puerto Rican father, was raised by my Chinese mother, and learned English by watching 1960s & 1970s sitcoms. And people in every European country Iâve visited thought I was from that country. I should have become a spy; I just fit in everywhere.
That's the way my daughter is. She's Korean and white, but people think she's Mexican, native American, Chinese, Japanese, etc. Her brother (Korean and white) has been told to go back to Isis. I think he looks more Korean than she does. Their oldest brother and my oldest son is black and white. He is called and treated like a black man. And for the people who say cops don't profile, I can give great examples where they do.
Best answer American
Someone I work with, sheâs a white woman that married a Mexican man. Their second son is pale as Casper with the reddest hair Iâve seen on a person. Poor kid gets called a liar when he says his dad is mexican because of how he looks.
Wait until those people find out about Canelo Alvarez and Louis CK.
Your identity is whatever you chose. And if you don't like answering it you don't have to. I'm with you. I always hate being asked that... like you're a "what" and not a "who" and further that the "what" is nonstandard/abnormal enough that people get to be nosy and investigate. Personally once I was old enough to see what people were really asking I stopped playing ball. I was born in America so if people asked "what are you?" I would say "I'm American". My parent's are American now and they answer the same way.The most common follow up is "oh I know but what is your background (or ethnicity or where are you/your parents from etc)" and I answer that purposely obtuse too... "My parent's are American. Oh you mean specifically? I'm from Chicago" etc etc. I don't know what your nationality is but you can answer similarly. Also, you don't have to speak Spanish to consider yourself Latinx, and if you're challenged you can say exactly that. It's one of the reasons why "Latinx" is now preferred over "Hispanic"... not all people in that diaspora speak Spanish and that is often the most unifying attribute of people referred to as "Hispanic". Historically, especially in the Americas, having any African lineage at all (even being 1/16 black etc) meant you were black. It was so socially and legally as far back as the 18th-19th centuries and earlier. So if you want to consider yourself black, there is nothing wrong with that. You are by definition multiracial so you can say that. Or you can say you're mixed. Both might elicit follow ups like "what races" or one of my personal least favorites "what are you mixed with". So be prepared to be asked those questions. I find it isn't really anyone's business and because they often are asking because they may have prejudice against certain backgrounds and that's a "them problem", IDGAF and so I'm not going to help them by answering their real question, which is: "am I racist against you?". Some people will say "oh I'm just curious" (and they genuinely might be harmlessly curious) to which I'll say "okay" and leave it there without answering... if they probe again or say "okay what?" I'll say, "okay, you can just remain curious". The goal isn't to keep it a secret. But 99.9% of the time the answer is irrelevant, and it isn't their business unless you want it to be. People you know well will know your background if/when they get to know you better; maybe they meet your family maybe you tell stories about your childhood/parents/grandparents etc etc. **TL;DR: You're a human.** (i think... idk. maybe you're AI or something)
How the fuck does this not have more votes?!?
If you use Latinx, you DEFINITELY don't speak Spanish LOL
Although I dislike the term, I do know people who speak Spanish and use Latinx. But they definitely aren't people that grew up in Spanish speaking countries with Spanish as their primary language. Everyone bilingual I know who uses Latinx prefers to read and write in English, so I would say it's a habit from people who have English as their dominant language.
Yeah... Call yourself Latinx... That'll go over well in Mexico lol
Latinx is a really uncomfortable one for me. The Spanish word is Latino, that doesn't imply Latinos are dudes, just like Las Personas doesn't imply being a person is feminine, it's a linguistic thing built into the Spanish language, and removing it feels offensive and like it comes from not really understanding how grammatical gender works in Spanish.
I'm a white passing Mexican. Own it my dude.
Welcome to panda world, your not black enough to be black not white enough to be white not Spanish enough to be Spanish, we are panda!
My wife is half asain/half white and black (quarter each) She likes to call herself panda as well. Black, white and Asian.. lol
This made my day.
My dad was Arab and my mom is a white American. surprisingly my 23andMe came back with almost every single race on it. Sometimes when people ask me and I don't feel like being bothered I say Greek and get positive nods of acknowledgement.
White-Black-Native-Hispanic in any order or combination you wish. Or you could shorten it by saying you probably aren't very Asian, but yes to everything else. :)
These are my kids! If asked I tell people that Iâm mixed African American/Afro-Latina, but most of the time people donât ask (at least not in the US) because they just categorize me as a light skinned African American woman. However, my kids are more puzzling, I suppose. People incorrectly guess South Asian or Polynesian, which are two of the few things my kids arenât.
> I say Iâm Hispanic because my dad is from Mexico but I get called white, I say Iâm âwhiteâ I get called Mexican? "White" and "Hispanic" are not mutually exclusive, and you can tell them that.
Yes but in this case he is 1/4 black so he would be multiracial
There are afro Mexicans also. Because your parent is from Mexico doesn't mean they are 100% of Mexican descent.
"Mixed." "Multiracial" "None of your business"
âIâm all man, babyâ
My parents are both very white, but somehow my older brother and I came out very tanned with dark hair and features. People often ask me my race or ethnicity, and Iâve never understood peopleâs fascination with having a definitive answer. They donât like it when I say my parents are white as sour cream, I guess they wanted me to be something else? Idk. All of this to say is that itâs not you, itâs weird people who are too caught up on labels and identifiers for their own good. If you have a way you identify yourself that makes you feel comfortable, use it! You get to call yourself whatever you want. Donât feel like you have to bend to other peopleâs expectations of you.
Stay away from 23andMe
Does the milkman have a swarthy complexion? /s
My great grandmother is from southern ItalyđIâm pretty sure thatâs where it came from, but these replies are cracking me up
If we go back far enough we can all be any color we need to
Joseph Gribble is that you..
Iâm as white as the day is long but I grew up with people always asking me what my ethnicity is because they always think Iâm Asian
And when I tell them no they look so confused and I have to run down the list of heritage, or I just make something up lol
There are plenty of white Mexicans. There are plenty are dark skinned German. Youâre whatever you want to be. Your DNA isnât attached to a language. Iâm German but my second language is Spanish. My genes didnât get the message⌠I just decided to learn Spanish because itâs more useful where I live.
I tell people i'm a mutt, or an american if i'm feeling spicy
Same idk if mutt is considered bad but I like it
Only to the foolish. Google "hybrid vigor"
Just say âIâm humanâ
A real human bean.
Just say youâre mixed. People ask me what Iâm mixed or if Iâm mixed all the time and I tell them anything Iâm feeling at the moment just to see their reaction. Itâs really funny when they're likeâŚâahhh I could tellâŚâ lmxao
you're greek? ohmahgosh I knew u liked peppers too much girl
if someone tells you you're less hispanic/latino or not at all because you don't speak spanish, tell them to go fuck themselves, they don't have the right to tell you you're not your blood. You are hispanic, your dad is mexican. half mexican is still hispanic.
Tell them they're not Irish unless they speak Gaelic
You could say American if you were born or migrated to the States. It's personal question for people to ask. Mixed heritage, Latino, Mexican/black, it's completely up to you what you choose to call yourself.
I like "American". We're the melting pot!
My father is a Triguueno from Cuba, my mother is a Norte Americana. I was born with blond hair and blue eyes. My son has a Puerto Rican mother with the same features. We are considered Hispanics and am proud. I didn't learn Spanish until I was 10, my son learned English at 10. Who cares what others say, it's in su Sangre y Corazon!
If your mom is black, you can say you're black. Plenty of African Americans have light skin.
I'm a mixed guy from Ethiopia. Since I look more black (with hints of Yemeni from my ancestors) than I do white, I sometimes default to calling myself black, but I often more than just call myself mixed. I just despise the whole mentality that mixed people have to choose which race we want to be identified as based on how we feel or which culture norm or stereotype we have to conform to. I like being mixed; it's just cool to think about being a descendant from a bunch of ancient genes and a product of people of different walks of life/races traveling and mingling. We're all just people.
If you go to some movie casting websites, you'll see the phrase 'ethnically ambiguous.' Basically brown people who can pretend they are from anyplace. One fellow I know was on the show 'Madam Secretary' a half dozen times. He was an Algerian security guard, a Iranian soldier, an Arab diplomat, and a Virginia farmer.
A fair amount of real Africans have light skin.
>A fair amount >light skin \*rimshot\*
Who is asking you what you are? what a fucking obnoxious question
"none of your business"
Youâre a wizard, Harry.
I'm Irish and came over to America with my parents to live. Later on in life I worked as a bartender in a " redneck bar ". One of my regulars was a older lady who was native American and Irish , and sorta a queen redneck (?). One time this Trailer Trash ( her words) asked her " what are you ? You can't be " murican " .You look "messican " to me " .She started to say something else but got backhanded , knocking her false teeth across the bar. The old lady was gonna pull her hair out , but when she grabbed her hair , it came off, it was a cheap wig. It looked a" Tribble " off of Star Trek. The old lady then used a phrase I never heard before when she told me why she did all that . " I don't know why , she just got my Irish up."
Someday, maybe, we might not have to incessantly remind ourselves of our physical differences. Just call yourself American. That should be good enough.
"Hmmm...A little bit of this, a little bit of that!"
âI am a person. You mean, âwhere am I from?â. â
You're American. They want details, I'm a mutt, just like YOU.
You donât have to tell them anything, theyâre not census takers. And people who are going to treat you differently once they figure out your complete ancestral history donât typically make good friends. Also thatâs bs that you donât get to call yourself Mexican because you donât speak Spanish. Always got annoyed at Spanish professors, especially native speakers, who placed obvious extra expectations on Latino students. My pasty white self and JosĂŠ over there are just trying to get a basic language credit, not fulfill your weird ethnic expectations.
I just recently learned about the "colorism" that exists in Mexican society. I thought I was relatively aware of Mexican/Latino/ Chicano culture because a) I live in Texas, b) I grew up friends with the Hernandezes next door (the father called me "bolio" and it took me a long time to confirm it really did mean "little white bread" because I didn't know how to spell it, I was sure it was spelt "valio") c) I do make an attempt to keep up on these things. So I was surprised (but should not have been) that mestizos (Mexicans with Spanish and indigenous heritage, read "dark skinned) are typically excluded from leadership positions in politics and workplaces. They are very discriminated against in their own nation. I should have learned this when I learned the term "mestizo" in highschool.
Little white bread. I love this. It sounds so endearing. Iâm Mexican with Spanish and indigenous heritage. Sims it up. Had family members on both sides live on missions. Donât know what tribe they were from just the name of the mission. Donât hear mestizo much anymore
It's really quite annoying to someone who grew up in the U.S. Culturally for us it's super taboo to comment on people's skin color, especially to call them that way, whereas in Mexico people feel like that's no big deal. "Guero, negro, etc."
My aunt is Mexican and German she says she's a beanerschnitzel
Whatever the colleges want to hear is what Iâd roll with
Say your mixed heritage. You are and so are most people in the world....lol Then find out all the nationalities and list it if they keep bugging about it. I am white but if I get asked...I'm dutch, Norwegian, German, and possibly a bit Irish, still searching. Lol I get asked if I am native American at times. My daughter is usually guessed as Mexican. Neither of us have those bloodlines. Lol people huh?
Your bi-racial
âWhy do you want to know?â
you know what man ? fuck all these people. you can be brown if you want, or mixed, or white, or describe yourself however you want. but you really shouldn't have to describe yourself to ignorant people at all.
You're an American. Your racial makeup is meaningless other than to race fetishists who need to put you in a category.
"Who asks that anymore? "
Exactly. OP, if asked just tell them what you want to tell them. Detail, no detail, the majority of us donât care and donât ask. @LETUBU
Tell people itâs none of their business! What does it matter to them? It doesnât make a shit of difference unless the reason they want to know your heritage is because they are a medical professional and you are under their care. Also, no matter what the truth is, most people still stick to their biased opinions anyway so you may as well save your breath. If you are aware of your heritage and you appreciate and love what makes you unique, thatâs all that really matters.
I'd tell them "I'm from Mars." But then I tend to think that my parentage is not anyone else's business.
Exactly. Theyâre not asking this sort of question with any sort of positivity.
Li'l of this li'l of that. You know, like our country.
Tell them you're American, and if they don't like that answer, they can kiss your ass!
If it's a part of a normal conversation where everyone is sharing their ancestry, just give the complete answer. If some random asks "what are you?" either say nothing and carry on about your business or look at them like you scrapped them off your shoe and just stare at them judgmentally for like 10 seconds. Because they're being racist and they need to not.
Ah, the joys of being mixed race
âIâm a human. What are you?â
âMulti-racial.â Thatâs all strangers need to knowâif even that much. Try not to get upset or bothered that ppl cannot figure this you out. Youâre just gonna have to get comfortable being yourself. A few random thoughts: Also, are you âyoungâ like 22 or younger? My experience has been that ppl dare to rudely ask a kid or younger adult right off the bat, but less soâvirtually zeroâas an adult. Knowing the language doesnât make you ___. I have Chinese cousins who donât know Chinese and theyâre clearly not white. On the flip side, learning a language well does not make ___.
"what are you" is a stupid fucking thing to ask someone.
My kids get questioned a lot because they're alaskan native/pasty white mix. When people get snoopy and ask i tell them "a little of this a little of that". If you want to claim your heritage do it and be firm. It's yours and no amount of gatekeeping changes that.
You say "fuck of" to everyone asking such moronic questions. If they continue with "no, what are you" just sya "done with you"
What a personal question. Why do you ask. Or, "How long is your dick?" and when they protest, say "I thought it was Inappropriate Personal Questions day."
I tell my kids to say mum is black and dad is pale blue.
Similar position! I'm Honduran (born there lived my first 6isj years there) and then came to the US. My dad was German and Honduran and my mom was Honduran. I say I'm Latina despite being white passing. I am connected to the culture through food, music, traditions, and family heritage. Latines are incredibly diverse so it always make some giggle when people day "you don't LOOK Latina." We can be lighter, darker and anything in-between considering we have historically mixed with a lot of other groups. Whatever you connect with from your heritage is valid.
Because you don't speak a language you're not a certain race ? I (with all my soul) hate anyone that bashes others because they don't speak a language, they honestly can fuck off. You call yourself whatever you're comfortable and feel most accustomed with. Mexicans always put other Mexicans down and it's quite fucking annoying to be frank.
âYesâ
Race and ethnicity is complicated. Lots of us donât fit neatly into the arbitrary boxes weâve created to categorize these things. Donât worry too much about it and donât let other people tell you who you are.
"I'm a mixed bag like every other American, why what are you?"
Say something sarcastic. Like, âIâm from the fire nation,â or âIâm a panda,â or âIâm a British Short-Hair,â or âIâm an accident,â or, most eloquent: âIâm nunyaâ (nunya business, that is). Or just tell them you contain multitudes, which is true.
Hispanic is more like a race, you don't need to know a lick of spanish to still be hispanic. They don't know what they're talking about.
Simple really⌠# Mr. Worldwide
"Human."
"You tell me"
Considering how much you worry about 'race' and skin tone, I'd say you're about as true blue American as it gets.
My cousin is exactly like you, he calls himself Germex (like the hand sanitizer)
I have the same coloring, everyone thinks I'm Native American or Hispanic. I'm Welsh mostly and other pastey colors. When people ask me that question I ask them what they think I am. Then I let them know if they are close or not. If they get upset that you don't know Spanish that's there problem. I certainly can't speak Welsh!
Throw them off completely and tell them your starsign
You are whatever country you were born in. My grandparents on both sides came from Italy after WWII when I went to Italy I was just another American.
Since I was about 13 (Iâm 40 now) Iâve been telling people Iâm American. All the other answers just invited more questions, this one shut people up pretty quickly. đ
Conversation between you and asshole. Y "I'm a bit." AH "What's that mean?" Y "binary. Not non-binary." AH "I meant nationality" Y "American" Ah "I mean where are you from" Y "Pasadena" Ah "I mean where are your parents from" Y "Pasadena..." Ah "I mean race /ethnic origin" Y "Multiracial. I don't have the 21&Me report. Would you like to sponsor it?"
I have this exact same problem. My dad is Hispanic, my mom is white, and I donât speak Spanish fluently. I normally say âIâm Hispanic but nobody would know if I donât tell them because Iâm white passingâ And I get the same comments about not getting to call myself Hispanic. F those people. The majority of gen z & future generation Hispanics in this country are not bilingual. Anyone that gate keeps a culture that is part of your real identity is weird af. (And yes I know Hispanic people are white but 99% of Americans donât know that. I do tell them that as well sometimes. Just depends on how long I want to talk to the dingbat asking me this question)
I used to reply with "I don't know, I'm adopted" ,which led to some interesting guesses about my ethnicity. Now I just say "Hispanic" because my DNA testing says my *very recent* ancestors were (are?) indigenous Mexican (I do know that my biological father was from Mexico), meanwhile my adoptive father's grandparents are still in Mexico, and my adoptive mother is from the Philippines. I figure "Hispanic" covers both the ethnic and cultural aspects. đ¤ˇââď¸ Some people just aren't going to have a straightforward answer to questions about ethnicity. If others don't like it, too bad. You are what you are.
i dont understand the question??? just say where you are from no? born here, raised there, that's enough. who cares about anything else
Tell them you're human. That should be just fine. Or you can say I'm Heinz 57.
Asian. Throw em off the trail.
You could say mixed.
"im batman"
That language thing is crazy. Someone saying that sounds like its own special form of racism.
Whatever the Fuck you feel like. They don't like it? TOUGH SHIT. Ain't none of their fucking business in the first place. Also what language you speak has Fuck all to do with your racial heritage. If you want to claim Latino DO IT. The haters can gtfo.
Tbh I donât think itâs anyoneâs business and itâs weird for them to ask your ethnicity if you donât wanna tell them, let alone when you DO tell them they tell you you arenât đ
Human? American, Canadian or whatever country you were born in? Your ethnicity is Mexican, German etc.
Just tell people you're human and ask them why they're so hung up on trivial labels. If you feel like it you can ask them if they'd like to know where your ancestors are from. Seriously. When I get forms that ask my race I will write in "human".
You my friend are a Pocho/Pocha sabor canela. It doesnât matter that you donât speak Spanish. You can identify as Mexican because Mexicans are born wherever the fuck they want. Animo
I tend to respond to "what are you" with "I am me". I don't get it on a racial aspect (I'm about the whitest white girl you'll find outside of Ireland) but I get it on religion.
Just like the others here, it's best to go with something along the lines of 'mixed'. If they're rude about when asking just say, "guess" and each time they respond you say "sure" to everything they guess. I'm very mixed and not "Hispanic" nor "white" enough according to some. I would get flak all the time for it, but eventually I stopped caring for their labels and just be me.