Multi ethnic..anyone??

WendyK

So I have always struggled with the who am I. My mom is Hispanic (Spanish father and Mexican Mother), my dad is white (German). I have always had issues identifying myself on forms, the census just drove that issue home. I realize so many of us come from different backgrounds but I feel like neither community has accepted me. Ok enough of  my pity party.

Rebekah1021

My mom is mexican and my dad is hungarian/polish. I tend to put Hispanic for myself, but I do put white for DD.

WendyK

The thing that is so funny no one would ever believe that this is DS background. He is very pale, blonde hair and blue eyes.

soontobemomma

On the census form I had, you could check as many races as applied to you and your family members.  So I just checked 2 for me and for my kids as well.

 

femmegem

I'm 25% Italian, 25% English, and then the other 50% is pretty much a little of everything in Europe (German, Russian, Scottish, and lord only knows what else). I always identify myself as Italian because of my last name, but for me it doesn't matter quite so much because I'm all white.

DS is half Korean. I hope he doesn't struggle too much with it as he grows up.

jettagurl

I'm sorry you feel that way.  My kids are that....My family mainly from Ireland/Holland, and DH is African-American and Native American.  i didn't pay much attention to the Hispanic portion on the census, but I realized that you can mark as many of the ethnicity options as you wanted.  

DH and I had a discussion not too long ago about our kids being identified as 'black' despite the fact that it's not even 50% of their ethnicity.  To society, I guess that minorities trump, which I think is awful.  I hate that if my kids were forced to choose (or someone did it for them) they would automatically be abandoning my side.  I know this doesn't pertain to you totally, but I take comfort in knowing the majority of kids nowadays are of some sort of mixed ethnicity...so hopefully as they grow it will be less of a stigma.  DH and I have been together nearly 10 years now and the stigma of our relationship has greatly diminished.  

 

breezee_bean

 I am so sorry you feel that way=(

My mom was mostly English and my father was Hispanic.  I was also raised in a very southern culture (food, accents etc.)  I never knew my father, so my Hispanic side is just in skin color   I remember I would get comments about being Hispanic and having cornbread and black eyed peas in my lunch in high school. 

breezee_bean

jettagurl:

I'm sorry you feel that way.  My kids are that....My family mainly from Ireland/Holland, and DH is African-American and Native American.  i didn't pay much attention to the Hispanic portion on the census, but I realized that you can mark as many of the ethnicity options as you wanted.  

DH and I had a discussion not too long ago about our kids being identified as 'black' despite the fact that it's not even 50% of their ethnicity.  To society, I guess that minorities trump, which I think is awful.  I hate that if my kids were forced to choose (or someone did it for them) they would automatically be abandoning my side.  I know this doesn't pertain to you totally, but I take comfort in knowing the majority of kids nowadays are of some sort of mixed ethnicity...so hopefully as they grow it will be less of a stigma.  DH and I have been together nearly 10 years now and the stigma of our relationship has greatly diminished.  

 

I am so glad you feel like the stigma of your relationship has diminished=) 

Like I mentioned below, I am 1/2 Hispanic and 1/2 Caucasian.  I guess it's because I didn't grow up around my Hispanic dad.  I have never identified myself at Spanish. I usually only mention it because I am darker than my kids and people always ask about my blonde haired, light eyed kids.  

jettagurl

And this whole thing about the kids being identified as black (or AA) is even more crazy.....will Eli get labeled as white and the other three as black?  Will they all get labeled as black even though Eli will likely never get darker than me? (although he may tan well!).  

I really just wish they would throw all this labeling out.  Our race?  HUMAN.

Do ppl in other countries have to describe their ethnicities like this?  There are lots of black people in Europe...are those countries as hooked on this as the US is?  

Dimplz

jettagurl:

And this whole thing about the kids being identified as black (or AA) is even more crazy.....will Eli get labeled as white and the other three as black?  Will they all get labeled as black even though Eli will likely never get darker than me? (although he may tan well!).  

I often wonder this about DS. He is very fair skinned and many people are shocked to find out I'm his mom (I'm black). 

Will our children get labeled as black even though they are of mixed race? I guess it depends on how much hold the One Drop Rule has when they get older.

bubu

My kids are half black and half white and I have never really given it much thought about how they would identify themselves or how others would identify them.  I am black and had a hard time being accepted by other blacks because I "talked like a white girl" so I just don't put much thought into the race thing.  People either like you or they don't regardless of your race.  So many people are mixed now it think it will be easier for people to accept it.

Lantaria

My husband and I are both white.  I was born in the US and my husband was born and raised in South Africa.  He is still a South African citizen.  Our children are African American according to ethnicity.  Our little pale skinned, freckled, blue eyed, red-headed, son is African American.  They are white according to race.  

WendyK

Gals thanks so much for the lively discussion. I thought it was interesting when I visited the Holocaust museum to see what Hitler thought to be "pure," it looked just like my son (who is far from being all white). I have to admit it is getting easier but I feel so often like my Hispanic side is thrown to the side. I am trying my best to educate my son on his rich heritage and how we should never see someone's race but the person.