8/17/2023 0 Comments Free episode backgrounds![]() ![]() In 1850, things got a little more explicit. ![]() Some people who weren't considered monoracial may have been marked under "other free persons," but there's no way of knowing how many, or what their makeup was. ![]() Census survey asked each head of household to enumerate the free white males, free white females, "other free persons," and slaves living on his property. In the United States, when it comes to describing - or even acknowledging - people who identify with more than one race or ethnicity, the official track record is spotty. In Brazil, where multiraciality is assumed, the options are colorful: cor de canela, cor de rosa, cor de crema, cor de burro quando foge (the color of a donkey as it runs away). In South Africa, we are coloured, officially, and unofficial " bushies," a slang term that comes from the idea that multiracial children are conceived in the bush. So what makes one term fall out of favor, and another take off? In a country where the share of multiracial children has multiplied tenfold in the past 50 years, it may be a good time to take stock of our shared vocabulary when it comes to describing Americans like me. More broadly, who gets to decide which words work and which are verboten? There are very few spaces left in America where calling someone a "mulatto" wouldn't elicit some serious side-eye, but for a long time, the word mulatto, like Negro or Oriental, was largely a nonissue. Is "mixed" a slur, or what? Where does it come from? Who is it for? I don't want to start throwing around pejoratives willy-nilly, but it would be nice to have a single-syllable answer the next time someone asks, "What are you?"īut first, I need answers. I come across a line of hair-care products at Target called Mixed Chicks, and even I have to admit it's a catchier name than "shampoo for women with ancestry from multiple parts of the world whose hair isn't traditionally catered to in mainstream beauty products." A multiracial friend posts an article about dating as a "mixed" girl on Tinder. A co-worker talks about the adorableness of "mixed" babies. I'm shocked to see that word in big crayon letters scrawled across the cover of a kids' book. It's by dreamboat actor Taye Diggs, who is black and had a kid with Idina Menzel (aka Queen Elsa from Frozen), who is white. But at work one day, I see a copy of a book called Mixed Me! floating around. I get through grade school and college assuming polite society agrees with my mom, that calling someone "mixed" is dehumanizing and intrusive. I'm thrilled to pieces when my little boo from Degrassi makes it big and I can finally say, "You know Drake? I'm like him." from what would now be called Ukraine," I begin, to the dismay of everyone involved. "Well, my mother's paternal grandmother emigrated to the U.S. When "What are you?" does come up - via strangers at the gym, on the bus, in Taco Bell - I take a deep breath and dive in. ![]() I hear it in passing, but shrug it off like any casual slur. When I get to college, I tack up a photo of Mom and Dad in my dorm room, show up to Office of Black Student Affairs and Hillel events in equal measure, and let my friends do the math. Dad is the bearded black guy who speaks softly and coaches Little League, and Mom is the bespectacled white lady who explains things passionately and organizes the Hebrew school carpool. Fortunately, my hometown is small enough that I almost never have to explain my background - everyone knows my parents. Dad was the bearded black guy who coached our basketball teams growing up.įor the next decade or so, I proceed to not think of myself as mixed. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |