soul_walker
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- Posted: Fri, 11 Jan 2013 05:50:19 +0000
Metheshrew
My parents taught me from a very young age that I am neither white nor black but both. Under my parents's roof I was always biracial, but when I went to school or any social gathering outside of the house there was always probably a 9/10 chance I would be labeled as black if the subject came up. It doesn't matter if some of my facial features are features that our society commonly associates with white, because my dark skin always makes me black. Now, mind you, I don't mind being identified or described as a black woman and I certainly am not offended by it. It's just something that always made me curious.
This is just not a personal experience, either. I've noticed it with public figures and entertainment. President Barack Obama is half white, but he is most often identified as black. Halle Berry is half white as well, but she is often labeled as black too. I haven't noticed this happening with any other ethnicity besides black, but if you guys know of any please let me know. It seems it doesn't matter if a person is Black and White, Black and Asian, Black and Mexican, or any other ethnic mixture with black. It seems that no matter what kind of features that person has that they will always be seen first as black and only black.
I'm just curious for different ideas as to why this is. I'm going to take a few people who've been on my block list for a while with hopes they can discuss this civilly without name calling, but the minute I see any of that behavior from them I will block them again.
This is just not a personal experience, either. I've noticed it with public figures and entertainment. President Barack Obama is half white, but he is most often identified as black. Halle Berry is half white as well, but she is often labeled as black too. I haven't noticed this happening with any other ethnicity besides black, but if you guys know of any please let me know. It seems it doesn't matter if a person is Black and White, Black and Asian, Black and Mexican, or any other ethnic mixture with black. It seems that no matter what kind of features that person has that they will always be seen first as black and only black.
I'm just curious for different ideas as to why this is. I'm going to take a few people who've been on my block list for a while with hopes they can discuss this civilly without name calling, but the minute I see any of that behavior from them I will block them again.
I think it's really just a visual thing. I have a friend who's half-and-half, but when I describe her to people who don't know her, I describe her as my black friend. The first thing people will notice is that the skin is dark; let's face it, it's pretty obvious. I think it's easier in our minds to just label such people as "black", most especially if we don't know their heritage. If I didn't know my friend's mom was white, I'd say she was black and just be done with it. I don't think the assumption does any harm, really.