do interracial couples face stigma where you live

[Sunnyzwei1989]

I grew up on a military base in Germany and IR couples were the norm. I’m black and my first boy friend was white & Mexican.  Black woken with other races wasn’t huge back then but we didn’t face any major issues.

 

I live in GA now and I thought that IR wouldn’t be common but I actually see many of them especially of my daughters generation (early- mid twenties).    I think if any of them face issues it’s usually within the family and less with the public.

[Prudence V]

On 10/15/2020 at 4:46 PM, TheFront said:

Indian is not a race its a nationality 

That didn’t stop it being used in “racial” classification systems.  In South Africa, it was one of four choices: white, African, coloured, or Indian. 
 

In the U.K., ethnicity classification systems are just as bonkers. You have white british, and then a mix of colour, geographic origin, and culture (e.g. white Irish, black African, Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, other Asian, other white (includes GRT), black Caribbean, other black, other ethnic group (includes Arab), mixed ethnicity.) 
 

Race is a social, not a biological, construct - which doesn’t mean it’s not real, just that it’s based on perception rather than biology. It’s effect are very, very real. 

[major_merrick]

On ‎10‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 12:50 PM, mark clemson said:

"Slavic" isn't a race either, but I've seen people who felt there was prejudice against them for being of slavic origin.

Yep.  I'm a Slavic girl, and my MIL never fails to point that out.  And my last name sounds foreign, so that mean's I'm just not WASP enough to be accepted even though I'm pale and blonde.  Whatever.  Just goes to show how much of a social construct it all is. 

@Prudence VThe "classification" system in the UK sounds even worse than the USA.  Here we've got this weird thing on government paperwork about Hispanic vs. Non-Hispanic whites.  What that means varies dramatically from person to person.  Sometimes, people from the Pacific Islands are considered Asians.  Sometimes they are a category by themselves.  Native Americans often get forgotten, and if you're not a registered part of a tribe, it is unclear if you can claim to be Native American on your paperwork.  I don't get why the government even bothers to classify people anymore - it is increasingly outdated.  I've seen more employers beginning to add categories such as "Two or More Races" or "Do Not Wish to Identify" on their paperwork. 

 

[Millennial]

Interesting thread and a good read.

I'm half Roma, which is much more well known by the pejorative term "gypsy" (I'm not so bothered, but don't ever say that word around them! Not good lol). So my parents are mixed, and I've never been with a Romani girl so every relationship I've had there's been some small cultural complications.

People can have very funny ideas of Romani people. Because I only look a little like it and it takes an experienced eye to spot it anyway, a couple of times people have said weird thing to me with their defences down. Like one guy said that I need to watch out for gypsies because they attack people, steal jewellery and then they bury it in the ground for years as some sort of mystical thing. I'm like "is that right?" lol

Some people seem to still see us as these supernatural beings and stuff like that. Most of it is good-spirited though, and I like to joke about my racial resistances to the paranormal.

Being mixed you do see from both sides. Any guy looking to date one of the women in particular has his work cut out. On the subject of whether that is reversed-racism or not, I'll say that I've never seen any reversed racism in that sense. It's more a thing about respect and decency. If nobody can vouch for you, then that takes time to be certain of. I can seriously say that there's not a single person in the family that has ever had any problem with my dad being a "gorger" as they say in the language (means non-Romani, not an insult), nor with me or my brother. Literally not even the smallest trace of it.

Only person with any problems was my aunt on my dad's side who has always been offish with my mum, yet she's one to go on about things like racism on Facebook. None of us have anything to do with her including my dad.

Personally, I've never dealt with any sort of hate, just some complications based on cultural differences. Romani women are great but it's quite normal to meddle in the male family member's business. I have a very big family with a lot of cousins, aunts, etc. I've had some boundaries since I was in any way sexually active at 15 years old and I admit that I have some touchy issues regarding my independence. That's caused a lot of arguments in some relationships, because women think that you don't properly care about them if you aren't super into the family stuff, which isn't true at all. But if you've grown up in a crazy house with people everywhere all the time, you want something different when you become an adult.

[DKT3]

Race and ethnic groups are two different things.  Two white people can't have an interracial relationship because one is a gypsy.  There are only three..White, Black and Asian every thing else is a combination of the three.

[Prudence V]

22 hours ago, DKT3 said:

Race and ethnic groups are two different things.  Two white people can't have an interracial relationship because one is a gypsy.  There are only three..White, Black and Asian every thing else is a combination of the three.

I’m guessing you’re claiming race as biology, and ethnicity as culture? Do you seriously believe that? 

Then how would you classify:

Inuit

San

Mapuche

Native American

Melanesian

Nama

Polynesian

Kamissa

Quechua

etc.? They are all “first peoples” and are not “combinations.”

 

[DKT3]

23 minutes ago, Prudence V said:

I’m guessing you’re claiming race as biology, and ethnicity as culture? Do you seriously believe that? 

Then how would you classify:

Inuit

San

Mapuche

Native American

Melanesian

Nama

Polynesian

Kamissa

Quechua

etc.? They are all “first peoples” and are not “combinations.”

 

First people came from Africa.  As they migrated to different parts of the world they changed accordingly to better fit their environment.  Indigenous people are still from the same origin. Example,  American Indians migrated from Euro Asia what is now Russia.  The human race didn't spontaneously pop up all over the world. 

[Prudence V]

21 minutes ago, DKT3 said:

First people came from Africa.  As they migrated to different parts of the world they changed accordingly to better fit their environment.  Indigenous people are still from the same origin. Example,  American Indians migrated from Euro Asia what is now Russia.  The human race didn't spontaneously pop up all over the world. 

I don’t disagree with what you posted here, but how do you square that with your earlier post which claimed that there are 

 

On 12/13/2020 at 10:59 PM, DKT3 said:

only three [races]..White, Black and Asian every thing else is a combination of the three.

?

[pepperbird2]

With respect to interracial couples...

A friend of my daughters is staying with us, as she is in university and working here. She;s from Jamaica, and is dating a white guy she goes to school with here.

Up until the past few months, nobody cared. Recently, she's been getting some flack, including being called a "race traitor" .
I felt sick when I heard that, as I've heard it before, but from groups like the KKK.
 

[DKT3]

I've been in an interracial relationship since 1992 when I met my wife at 17.  We have lived on the West coast,  East coast,  Southeast,  Southwest and Midwest.  We have never faced any significant issues.  When we were in Georgia in the mid 1990s sometimes older white women would give us dirty looks. 

The worse I can recall was a high school teacher telling my wife that she would never be able to depend on me....but that may have been because I was troublesome in her class.  IDK?

[Shining One]

On 12/15/2020 at 1:32 PM, pepperbird2 said:

I felt sick when I heard that, as I've heard it before, but from groups like the KKK.

You should hear what traditional older Indian women say when they find out I've dated black women.

[sothereiwas]

I'm half of an interracial couple. Other than a few middle-aged white ladies giving my wife the stink-eye when we were in LA (for her claim jumping I'm told) it's not been an issue. Both families are happy for us. But then I have two brothers and I guess technically we've all gone interracial so maybe it's just us. 

[stillafool]

I live in southwest VA and no one cares one way or the other about who is dating who.  They have too many other important issues to worry about.

[pepperbird2]

On 12/15/2020 at 2:32 PM, pepperbird2 said:

With respect to interracial couples...

A friend of my daughters is staying with us, as she is in university and working here. She;s from Jamaica, and is dating a white guy she goes to school with here.

Up until the past few months, nobody cared. Recently, she's been getting some flack, including being called a "race traitor" .
I felt sick when I heard that, as I've heard it before, but from groups like the KKK.
 

It's not her Jamaican friends and family that are upset. they're just happy she finally found a guy who treats her well and makes her happy. It's more people here, which I don't understand. Why should it matter?

[elaine567]

1 hour ago, pepperbird2 said:

It's not her Jamaican friends and family that are upset. they're just happy she finally found a guy who treats her well and makes her happy. It's more people here, which I don't understand. Why should it matter?

Has this been happening since the BLM protests maybe?
Just a thought.

[pepperbird2]

1 hour ago, elaine567 said:

Has this been happening since the BLM protests maybe?
Just a thought.

It's hard to tell. Those got a bit of traction here, but we were more focused on First Nation's issues.

[Foxhall]

I suppose my relationship would be considered interracial - she is mexican,

No stigmas here really apart from people might say she was after my assets- lol not that Ive that much- few inheritances maybe,

Anyway I dont see it like that and am happy to give her anything I have ,

all nationalities are welcome in my small country , I suppose it was always emigration was the thing here, its only in the last 30 years that other nationalities  have started to come here since the country became wealthier.

so I think most of us appreciate these new cultural influences.

[StrongHands]

On 12/22/2020 at 7:25 AM, elaine567 said:

Has this been happening since the BLM protests maybe?
Just a thought.

That's a good question Elaine.  It should not even matter in today's society.  Racism is UGLY whomever it is pointed at.  

Here's a great quote from Thomas Sowell (incredibly intelligent economist)

"Racism does not have a good track record. It's been tried out for a long time and you'd think by now we'd want to put an end to it instead of putting it under new management."

[StrongHands]

On 12/25/2020 at 9:36 AM, Foxhall said:

I suppose my relationship would be considered interracial - she is mexican,

No stigmas here really apart from people might say she was after my assets- lol not that Ive that much- few inheritances maybe,

Anyway I dont see it like that and am happy to give her anything I have ,

all nationalities are welcome in my small country , I suppose it was always emigration was the thing here, its only in the last 30 years that other nationalities  have started to come here since the country became wealthier.

so I think most of us appreciate these new cultural influences.

That's the way it should be Fox.  It sounds like you have found someone awesome.  

[Prudence V]

On 12/25/2020 at 3:36 PM, Foxhall said:

its only in the last 30 years that other nationalities  have started to come here since the country became wealthier.

...and all the Brits now that Brexit is hitting home 🤣🤣🤣

[Prudence V]

On 8/27/2020 at 3:11 PM, GorillaTheater said:

Is there a more preferred term among the mixed race community in SA? 

This is a very political issue in SA. Some people proudly embrace the name “Coloured”, others prefer the inclusive term “black” (different from African) which is everyone who isn’t white, and other prefer terms indicating their historic origins eg Khoi, Camissa, Cape Malay, etc. In reality, apartheid classified so many different ethnicities as “coloured” that it isn’t one cohesive group. There are divisions by ethnicity (mixed race, Khoi, Camissa, Cape Malay, San / Bushman / first people, etc) by language (English, Afrikaans, Afrikaaps, Arabic, Malay, etc)  by religion (Christian, Muslim, traditional, etc) and by region (Cape vs other provinces, urban vs rural, etc) Also age makes a difference - people who are “born frees” are much more likely to go with “Coloured” while those who lived through (and fought in) the Struggle prefer “black”.... except for the conservative ones who think “apartheid wasn’t so bad” and are more likely to prefer “coloured” because they have their own racism issues toward African and Indian people. So always safest to ask.