IS THE TERM ‘BIRACIAL’ OFFENSIVE?
THE FACTS
In her interview with Women’s Health magazine, Paula Patton dismisses the term “biracial” as “offensive.”
THE SPIN
Not every PC-term is widely accepted and if you want proof of that look no further than Precious’ Paula Patton’s thoughts on the word “biracial.”
It seems Mrs. Robin Thicke thinks it’s just a cute lil’ way for people to deflect from how the country really sees anyone with an ounce of color in them: Black.
As she explained:
“I find [the term biracial] offensive. It’s a way for people to separate themselves from ‘African-Americans’ — a way of saying ‘I’m better than that.’
I’m black because that’s the way the world sees me. People aren’t calling Barack Obama biracial. Most people think there’s a black president.”
I absolutely understand what she’s trying to say, but I don’t doubt for a second that she has likely pissed off a lot of biracial butterflies with her statement.
Some people very much do try to distance themselves from “blackness” by denoting every racial group in their genetic makeup while others simply want to acknowledge all parts of themselves.
Yet in America the one-drop rule really hasn’t left this country and it’s evident in people calling President Obama a “half racist.” Yes, I’ve really heard that accusation leveled against him by members of the Tea Party Movement.
We’ve heard with Paula has to say, but I’d love to know your thoughts on this.
YOUR SPIN: Where do you stand on the term “biracial?” Tell us here.
Image courtesy of google.com
(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)
I understand why biracial people identify themselves as black, especially when their blackness is readily apparent. Why fight it?
If Paula Patton’s mother understands her reasoning and doesn’t take offense at it, then that’s the only opinion she should consider in this. Even her husband respects her wishes because I’ve heard him refer to her as black.
She is black. It’s very obvious.
Who cares about the term? Would multi-racial be any better? Whatever these “mixed” human beings identify with is their choice. It’s not hard to tell in the first place with any of it! Personally I am sick and tired of the imbalance and unstableness that this causes for everbody….It is SAD that one has to choose one or the other in this life. Either way it is pure denial and self-hatred!
IN HONORED REMEMBRANCE OF
THE GREAT MR. JAMES BROWN
BLACK IS STILL BEAUTIFUL, AND IF ONE IS BLACK AND PROUD(DARK, LIGHT, AND ALL IN BETWEEN), THEN ALL CAN STILL BE MADE WELL WITH THE BLACK Man AND GOD’S NEGROID PEOPLE IN AMERICA…
“DUN…â€
“DUN…DUN…DUN-NA,”
“DUN…DUN…DUN-NA,”
“DUN…DUN…DUN-NA,”
“SAY IT LOUD…”
“I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!”
“SAY IT LOUD…”
“I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!”
“SAY IT LOUD…”
“I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!”
“SAY IT LOUD…”
“I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD!!!”
“D-UN-D-UN,DUN,DUN,DUN,D-UN-DUN…HORNS”
“D-UN-D-UN,DUN,DUN,DUN,D-UN-DUN…HORNS”
…YOUR TURN…ARE YOU?…
BECAUSE, I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT
I LOVE MY CULTURE OF BLACKNESS!!!
To me it’s a derogatory label and it’s just raised confusion for the people who are of mixed races and they spend most of their life trying to fit in somwhere based on this societal labeling. I’m sure if any one of us was to do some researching in our family trees we will find out that none of us are all “black” and that we are all mixed with something!! Shaun D said it best “Who cares about the term”?
I am very much in agreement with Caramel, there is no one of any one pure race, just because they don’t show up for family reunions you still have white distant relatives. It’s time to drop the labels because those born in America or just Americans, not African American, Irish American, Asian American etc. Other countries that I have visited don’t place such language on their citizens and I don’t believe Heaven is going to be segregated. Why not celebrate different cultures without division.
By the way if we are no longer considered Colored, do they plan to change the name for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People? (NAACP) or should the organization wait to find out what label they will place on us next?
I am comfortable with any way a person wants to self identify. I know people who have parents of different races that look mostly like one of their parents and little or none of the other. If that person says that they are biracial whats the big deal. If someone has a complex, they may equate the term Biracial with better, then thats their problem. Who are we to tell people of obvious racial mixture how to self identify?
My grandchildren are Asian/Black…their mother passed away they honor her by remembering that they are both…they are still young children but they do not deny their Asian heritage nor the black heritage so I disagree with a lot of these postings. The should identify themselves as both. Why dismiss their mother and her Asian culture?
SOCIETY SEEMS TO ALWAYS DICTATE HOW WE
LOOK AT EACH OTHER IN TERMS OF COLOR.
IT ALL STEMS FROM SLAVERY WHERE LIGHTER
BLACKS WERE TREATED BETTER BECAUSE OF
THEIR COLOR BUT HOW WE TREAT EACH OTHER
IS A PERSONAL CHOICE. WE ALL HAVE TO
LIVE WITH THE UNIFORM WE ARE ISSUED. WE
SO NEED TO GET PAST COLOR ALREADY. IF
SOMEONE HAS A PROBLEM WITH YOU BASED ON
COLOR PRAY FOR THEM AND LET IT BE THEIR
PROBLEM. SOME MIXED RACE PEOPLE DON’T
SEEM TO RELATE TO THEIR BLACKNESS AT ALL, WHICH IS SAD.
Wow, in the twenty-first century we are still identifying ourselves with a colonial lens. The concept of “race” was placed upon us to separate us from the colonial. The concept is used based upon the dissimilar appearances of the African and the Colonial. The tone of skin was the basis for this social misinformation. The term even more offensive is bi-racial but its more intelligent to use bi-cultural which denotes she is of two cultures. The term race is contrived, made up it does not exist. Please do research I beg you to. Jordan, “White Man’s Burden,” please read. I expect this site to know better.
What business does society have telling someone how to identify themselves?? Why should someone deny any part of who they are? If your mother is black and father is white, why would you only say you are black?? or that you are only white?? You are BOTH!! Just because society views you as being one or the other, based on you skin tone, doesn’t mean you should deny your true self. If you loved both of your parents and someone told you to deny loving your father because you look more like your mother, would you deny him??? Puh-lease..not one African-American in the US, is 100% African…do your research..remember the slave trade??And no race is 100% pure..stop it people this is 2010..If I had a mixed child, no way would I make them deny one side of them, because of their skintone!!!
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I think all this “biracial” stuff and taking offense, no, projecting that everyone is a racist get real old. Who cares who is what. It’s ironic that most of the bi racial people who have “one drop” seem to always IDENTIFY as black but never white. How offensive is that? Do you ever hear a bi racial person say ” I’m a proud white woman/white man”…no. They will not identify with their white and or european heritage – it is always about the “one drop”…so again, Mrs. Thicke, seems to be projecting something here and again, it gets real old. When will we just be proud to be good decent human beings and stop referencing what denotes our skin color? It’s sickening.
I don’t thinks its offensive. The way I see it is people shouldn’t be called black because their half black and half white. They have just as much white in them as black. So I consider them mixed. Not black not white. But if they want to go by white or go by black that’s their perogative cuz I’M BLACK AND I’M PROUD TOO. And I’m not mixed
I liked this article but I feel that the term Biracial is silly meaning that people of diffrent ethnic backgrounds come from diffrent Race ,there is only One RACE human the word Race is a Way to separated Human being & we shoulds not use it any more also I think the term biracial is a way for mixed people that dont look black or white or somewhere in the middle explain what they are & why they look the way they do