BlogHer Comments

As a Carribean Canadian, I

Kingler — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:07:14 +0000

As a Carribean Canadian, I say I am "black" insofar as my racial heritage is concerned but I am not African American. Culturally I am Canadian/Carribean. You can say you are racially mixed with White, Black and Asian ancestry and are culturally Dominican. I would shy away from merely "Latina" as that category is too broad. Mexicans are not the same as Brazilians or Peruvians or Cubans. By the way, there is no contradiction in being black AND Latina. As a mixed person you are fully entitled to see yourself as mixed heritage but you shouldn't expect Americans to change racially dichotomous cultural norms to suit evolving norms. In the American mind, one is either white, black or Hispanic (in which case they will look Mexican). This may not suit reality but it's not unusual to the norms of other countries. In Brazil for example, anyone who looks not-black at all, despite having black ancestry, will be considered something else entirely and treated differently on that note. So race and culture classification are localized and self-perpetuating to an extent.

Really interesting post. I

Al_Pal — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:46:36 +0000

Really interesting post. I studied Anthropology in college and construction of identities is a topic that I find fascinating. My husband's brother is half-Zulu and grew up with their white mom and surrounded by her family, in a largely-white county. I believe he identifies as Brown. ;p One of my best friends from college is Filipina, and your photo reminded me of her skin tone. I've seen billboards here in San Francisco letting people know how wide the range of appearances is, within the Filipino community. (Which I knew, having taken an Anthro class on South East Asia.) Being peach-skinned, and with my education, I feel a great responsibility to be tactful in discussions of race. (& While I have a bit of Cherokee blood, I don't have the culture or community to go with it!) I notice that not a lot of commenters are pale, especially compared to a lot of other BlogHer articles I've read. I suspect that people are afraid of saying the wrong thing, or not having something relevant to say. I had those thoughts, too, but figured that a well-meaning comment would be, hopefully, well-received. ;-)

Very nice poem! Are you sure

souschef — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:45:40 +0000

Very nice poem! Are you sure you got everybody?

As a Carribean Canadian, I

Kingler — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:42:13 +0000

As a Carribean Canadian, I

Kingler — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:41:03 +0000

@victorias_view Yippeee! Let

HomeRearedChef — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:36:12 +0000

@victorias_view Yippeee! Let the good times roll. :)

@Queen in Heels You can

Kingler — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:35:02 +0000

@Queen in Heels You can identify as what you want but biracial people are not technically black, though this does not preclude them from being called African American as African Americans are not completely black either.

@tennismama Thank you for the

HomeRearedChef — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:34:28 +0000

@tennismama Thank you for the link. That is very sweet of you...such a cool gesture! :) I am following the link the minute I finish typing my comment to you. Big hugs my dear friend! ~Virginia

One can be Latina/Latino and

Kingler — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:34:02 +0000

One can be Latina/Latino and be of any race. There are almost 100% white Latinas and almost 100% black Latinas. Genetically unique races can even comprise Hispanic people as in the case of Mexico but Hispanics as a whole are not racially homogeneous. You have set up a false dichotomy between black and Latina, parsing your argument as though the two are mutually exclusive when they are not. So to start, I'd like to just make clear that it is perfectly reconcilable for one to identify as black and Latina. In addition, you should be mindful of the fact all African Americans may consider themselves black (though many are mixed) but not all blacks are African American. The overwhelming majority of blacks in the world are not African American. That said, insofar as one is of mixed heritage and recognizes this classification as a divider, the rationale behind racially identifying as mixed on one hand and culturally Latina as the other is sound. African Americans tend to allow some darkly mixed people to classify themselves as African American because historically white Americans mandated, institutionalized and enforced this trend. I am often bemused when foreigners come to America and expect the wheel to be reinvented just for them. In Brazil some African Americans might not be considered black but in America most Brazilians with darker skin would be black. Different places have different rules. It's always funny when Hispanics from countries like the Dominican Republic try to defend Latinos as a group or something, as if Mexicans are genetically the same as Dominicans (they are not).

You've got me cracking up.

HomeRearedChef — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:31:12 +0000

You've got me cracking up. OMG! You've reminded me that I need to weigh myself tomorrow, see where I'm at, and then chart a course for my losing weight. I haven't worked out or tried to diet in about 4 months. Geez! I can't wait to see what I weigh tomorrow. Sigh! Maybe we can talk to each other about it, here on BlogHer. Or maybe I'll be too embarrassed to do so. lol! Oh, heck, I'm not sure how to give me "First Priority." I'm too busy worrying about everyone else, and doing for everybody else. Do I sound menopausal to you? Well, I am. :) By the way, thank you very much for visiting my blog. Nice to meet you! ~Virginia