mixed parentage

[cliffsweb]

if a person has a jamaican father and a white english mother, would that person be clased as half caste jamaican. thanks

[saxy_jag]

Not a nice term to use these days. You'd say that he or she is of mixed race, usually white british / black caribbean (assuming he's black) for the purposes of statistics.

[Octavius]

Tiger Woods has said that he is mixed-race and not black. He rejected such polarisation of ethnic background. His heritage is Caucasian, Black, Native American and Asian and he has invented a word to describe himself: Cablinasian. Some people though, have seen this as a rejection of his black heritage. (Even though he does indeed acknowledge it).

A lot of people do not realise that the term half-caste is in fact racist, merely attempting to recognise that a person is mixed race but using an incorrect outdated term. It is not dissimilar and equally as offensive as calling someone a half-breed. Although out of common-usage, a lot of people still use the term obliviously.

One might state that someone of Jamaican and English parentage is Anglo-Jamaican, although how widely acceptable that is I am uncertain. But would presume you would only ever use the phrase if you know for sure that they are indeed part Jamaican and part English. Otherwise, mixed-race.

[cliffsweb]

thanks for all your imput, much appreciated.

[kevshakry]

i do agree its not a nice way to describe - what is half caste anyway. to me its someone who has cast eyes. its mixed race thats what it is ok!!!!!!!!

[michiganfarl]

I have a jamaican father and a white english mother, so therefore am of mixed heritage i.e mixed race.

I was born in 1982 and as a child thought of myself as halfcaste, i dont know where id ever heard the term but i thought it described the original interacial mix; black jamaican/ white british. I was never aware it was a negative until someone corrected me after asking my race.


Anyway my understanding of it, although i cant remember where i got this information from, to be halfcaste is to be half cast out. You are cast out of white society because of the half of you that is black.