Is it OK to Call Bi-Racial (Half Black) People "Mulatto"?

Bel Ami have a model on its site the owner called "mulatto" in response to upset racist fans who only want to see white boys. I have always thought calling a bi-racial person 'mulatto' was akin to calling a black person a 'golliwog' or 'nappy'. Is this term still used in the US? Link NSFW.

http%3A//thesword.com/bel-ami-tries-to-appease-racist-bel-ami-members-who-hate-black-people-by-reminding-them-that-austin-merrick-isnt-actually-a-full-black-person.html



• Three friends of mine are bi-racial (one white parent, one black parent) and they all call themselves "mulatto," but I (a white person) would not feel comfortable using that word to describe them myself.

• The term 'mulatto' is a very outdated, outmoded, old-fashioned term in the U.S. No, people should not call other people 'mulattos' in the U.S.

• The Faux Naive Troll strikes again. Don't feed.

• Yes.

  Amber%20Von%20Tussle

• In my household we call bi-racial ladies half-caste women.

  Noel%20Coward

• The preferred term is "octaroon."

• Just don't call them "high yellow."

• R7 = Constantine

• He's cute whatever he is.

• Trying too hard. Just say biracial, multiracial, or mixed, and call it a day.

• What about calling obviously mixed race Mexicans "mestizos?" Offensive?

• Mulatto = one parent was of African origin. Quadroon = one grandparent was of African origin. Octoroon = one great grandparent was of African origin. So no, mulatto and octoroon are not synonyms. I do not know if these classifications were strictly followed, such as an instance where three great grandparents were of African origin. But then, back in the day,even one drop of African blood was enough to make you Negro.

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadroon

• Half-Breed.. is the better vocab OP Try it on them

• It's MOOLATTE.

  http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/chatterbox/2004/07/the_tragic_moolatte.html

• I am biracial & no OP- just no. Mixed race or biracial is fine. Please look up the origin of the word 'mulatto'. Oy, Americans...

• Laughing at "mulatto." Good gracious.

• Mulatto is about as appropriate as using colored (outside the South African sense). My WASP grandmother used the term "half-breed" to refer to her half-Polish granddaughter -- good times!

• I have a Mexican mother and an African American father. I was never raised as "bi-racial." I was raised that all African Americans are "mixed" and that I am a Black man mixed with Mexican, Native American and African American. I am good with that. I never had any problems growing up. My mother stressed certain customs and foods & traditions, but we also knew our Black History, culture, foods & traditions, and grew to have an appreciation for the cultural and ethnic diversity in our community. We grew up in Texas but moved to the Chicago area. No problems. I'm in my late 30's. I think what's important is that you are raised in an ethnically diverse community, and are raised to appreciate and get along with different cultures. I think our President is a good example. He identifies as a Black Man. He honors his mother & his grandparents, but he does not reject his African American identity to do it. Neither does he reject his mother & grandparents to be who he is. He honors all the things that make him Barack Obama. I love that about him. This is a very long answer to say, no you don't use the word "mulato" unless youre reading a bodice-ripper novel from the 50's about plantation slaves getting raped by Massa. And the "bi-racial" or "mixed" is bullshit.

• [18] Not all half black people should have to call themselves just black. Your own personal decision is just that.

• R15 here and no the bi-racial "thing" is not bullshit. Why should I deny any part of myself to make to easier to accept for someone else? I was raised by my white Dad and Black mom and I honour both of them. My Dad's heritage is of no less importance than my Mom's. Americans are so fucked up in how they view race.

• In the early 1980s there was a punk rock band in San Francisco called "Tragic Mulatto".

• Make time for this

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObUtnOJSBls

• I believe George Jefferson used the term "zebra"?

• Getting back to the OP, I don't think it's too big a deal as English is not the writer's first language. So expecting him to know the nuances of particular racial terms (which are different in UK & US English anyway) seems a bit unfair when he clearly didn't mean any offense. And some people are criticising BelAmi for having no black models? Have they been to the Czech Republic? There aren't any black people there!

• I guess it's nicer than Oreo, which I know means something completely different. How do we feel about Mandingo?

• There are a lot of words that have fallen into disuse, and that's not an indication that there is anything wrong with them. Mulatto isn't used much anymore because people don't converse about black people being part white (except in the case of Obama). They are just referred to as black. It's more a change in perception than language.

• Posters like R25 always manage to fuck up a thread with their thinly veiled bigotry.

• THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!

  r27%2C%20lesbian-in-training

• I'm a Southerner, and I had never heard the terms "mulatto", "quadroon", and "octoroon" until I read them in the "Mandingo" books. I no longer believe there is such a thing as "race", and that we are all just human, so I consider all these terms to be racist, but the two most racist terms are "black" and "white". If anyone is going to talk about skin color, then the pigment in human skin is melanin, and melanin is brown, sometimes a little reddish, but never black or white.

• Accd to Michael Fairman, Roger is returning to OLTL for 4 weeks and then going back to GH but there is no information as to how the shows are going to share him, or who has creative control. PP is going to tape OLTL for a period of time and then go black. People think RH will be able to tape all his episodes in those 4 weeks since the show can tape 4 episodes a day. It's probable that RH is going to GH to crossover and then return back to OLTL when they have another set of story for him. That way they share and PP gets promo by RH's crossover. I wouldn't be expecting RC to dictate story on Todd since PP owns the character. If he's going to OLTL they are going to create a story there for him and he'll return to GH to continue story. I'm guessing he'll go back and forth, especially since his home is based in the East Coast. He gets press/publicity for being on two shows. The guy wins out in the end. I'm guessing PP will work out a similar deal for ME and KA. Although I could see both only do brief stints on OLTL, return to GH and mostly stay there. ME fits so much better on GH. RH fits much better on OLTL but can be comic relief and useful on GH. As long as he doesn't get stuck in a deadly dull story on GH with Carly. RC needs to focus on all the supposed returns beginning next month (Scotty, his daughter, Helena, Nik, Jerry, etc).

  http://michaelfairmansoaps.com/news/confirmed-roger-howarth-to-one-life-to-live-will-return-to-general-hospital/2013/02/14/

• Zebra

• Just call them friend!

• Sorry, wrong thread.

  R30

• No, and especially not in this particular case where the defense is that people should be okay with him since he's only half Black. I'm all about people liking what they like, but this is one of those cases where the it's clear that what people like has more to do with racism than not.

  BITCH

• OP, the term is not taboo everywhere. Everywhere is not America. Just saying. Certain places have different histories.

• Doesn't mulatto mean a mule - half horse, half donkey?

• Is "mulatto" less offensive than "zebra"?

  George%20Jefferson

• This thread is hilarious. Like a parody thread. Quoting George Jefferson is classic.

• Half-caste cross-breed

• Red Bone High yella

• [quote]And some people are criticising BelAmi for having no black models? Have they been to the Czech Republic? There aren't any black people there! What's Sean Cody and Corbin Fisher's excuse?

• What's Dink Flamingo's excuse? Watch his vids and you'd think we have an all-white military.

• If they're ladies they can be called ...

  http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dtns2Xi5kifg%26t%3D45s

• In Canada we say mixed race. If there must be a term, this is the best, no ? So many mixes to choose from. My BF calls himself Blaxican to me, but don't try this at home, Americans. He calls me wop ass. Doesn't call my dad that. Once there is respect, we can all be free.

  classified

• Has the Blatino husbear weighed in?

• Once there is respect, we can all be free. Love you R44

  Biracial%20girl

• Love back to r46 @Biracial girl.

  mixed%20up%20r44

• Let use this thread to post pics of hot biracial dudes!

• All black Americans have some white lineage. Michelle Obama is descended from a white slave owner. So technically, there are no black people in America if we were to start calling people mixed no matter what they look like on the outside. Also, a lot of white Americans, especially in the South, have African blood.

• I am mulatto and I prefer people call me mulatto because saying mixed race or bi-racial could mean I'm mexican/japanese or cree/pakistani. My dad is black (dominican), my mom is white (irish) and I have great hair. I'm mulatto and proud of it :) Mulatto doesn't come from the english word mule, by the way..... it comes from the latin word mulé, which means mixed.

• ehh. what about the Black people who came from Africa on the slave ships, do they have white lineage?.. I think not

• In the early 1900s, many New Orleans folks of mixed race/black chose to cross the color lines to get jobs, join better unions. Therefore, many "whites" from New Orleans likely have some African American lineage. My grandfather and grandmother chose to cross the color line and kept it a secret until just before death. It was not an easy thing for them to do.

  anon

• In American speak... When some one asks you "where you are from," what they usually mean is - why are you here ? What is your point r49? Do you want to boil down the blood or just talk about what "they look like on the outside." Be careful.

  husbear%20speaks

• both sides were against me since the day I was born.

• [quote]So technically, there are no black people in America if we were to start calling people mixed no matter what they look like on the outside. Also, a lot of white Americans, especially in the South, have African blood. Oh, please! You know there's a big difference between someone being 2 or 3 percent of something and someone who's around 50% of something.

• These words are part of history, so it is good that people remember them. But they all originate in the practice of race discrimination (why else would you care what percentage white or black a person is?). For that reason I think they are too tainted to be applied to a living person.

• I'm biracial and although "mulatto" doesn't bother me, I do think it sounds outdated and cheesy, like someone trying to be clever. In any case, you can call me whatever the fuck you want because it doesn't change the facts: I'm half white and half black.

• They are blacks. Mixed my ass.

• You should call him Mr. President

• R58 = Jealous of mixed people

• R50 it comes from the Latin word mulus, which means mule.

• I'm mixed race and I think mulatto is something we may say to fellow mixed race people. In other words, it's something we say among ourselves. So to be on the safe side, don't use that word, at least not here in the states. You can say something like Afro-Caucasian.

• [quote] . I no longer believe there is such a thing as "race", and that we are all just human Oh, honey, how nice is it, living up in the clouds?

• Well, he/she is not inaccurate.

• Why is this goddamned fucking race-baiting troll STILL allowed on the DL? Seriously - is the DL's technology stuck somewhere in the dark ages? It seems to have no problem banning some people, why is it unable to handle this problem? Why is this person (and her Klan/Nazi friends) not banned permanently from the DL? WHY?

• Very true, R52. I have a great uncle who moved to NYC and lived as a white man. I was told that he got married and had children. I've never met him; I've only seen him in pictures.

• Without having read any responses beforehand, I have to ask why you are even bringing this up, OP. I co-exist with others in 2013, not 1963, nor, to give you the benefit of the doubt, 1973. Why are you asking a question outmoded by about four decades if not to foment trouble?

• Let's see Tiger Woods is half Asian and half black and is called African American Obama is half black and half white and is called, African American. So I guess that means if you have even a tiny bit of African blood you're African American.

• A mulatto An albino A mosquito My libido Yay!

  Kurt%20Cobain

• We have just witnessed the most torturous route to discovering selective racism and cuntiness among the white trash brethren as witnessed at R68. Complicated by its/their inbred stupidity that led it to falling into this trap. We always knew you were there, but thought you were too stupid to breathe so loud! FFS.

• He isn't even bright enough to know that African American is an ethnicity that refers to a very specific group of people. People on this board are obsessed with "race." And I mean OBSESSED with race! I guess it's a reflection of the gay "community."

• call them "zebra"

• r19 Just so you know if you want to quote a post in full simply write the letter "R" (without quotes) and the post number. With no spaces between So it would be "R 19" But without the quotes and no space between the "R" and the "19"

• Unless you were born in Africa and are now an Ameican citizen, you're not African-American.

  Algerian

• So no Bel Ami's fans don't just hate gay men they also hate black men.

• What was that term the senator used on camera to describe someone in the audience? It was a Creole term or something.

• Macaca. George Allen used it.

  http://m.youtube.com/%23/watch%3Fv%3Dr90z0PMnKwI%26desktop_uri%3D/watch%3Fv%3Dr90z0PMnKwI

• [quote]Mulatto doesn't come from the english word mule, by the way..... it comes from the latin word mulé, which means mixed. This is incorrect. You're thinking of mestizo (or mestiço in Portuguese, or métis in French) which comes from the Medieval Latin mixticĭus, from Latin mixtus. In Canada Métis refers to a specific ethnic identity, people descended from both Native (mostly Cree) and French ancestors. Mulatto (mulato in Spanish and Portuguese) is indeed derived from mulo (Latin mulus), meaning mule.

• [quote]I'm a Southerner, and I had never heard the terms "mulatto", "quadroon", and "octoroon" Quadroon (cuarterón) and octoroon are more a Louisiana thing. Under the Spanish administration (Louisiana was a Spanish possession far longer than it belonged to the French), race was more complicated than "one drop = black", and that legacy persists.

• OP, is it ok to call black people "Negro"?

• [quote]the two most racist terms are "black" and "white". If anyone is going to talk about skin color, then the pigment in human skin is melanin, and melanin is brown, sometimes a little reddish, but never black or white. In the spirit of celebrating diversity, I'd like to thank you for representing the autistic point of view.

• When someone is half white and Asian or Hispanic, they usually (not always) look white and are therefore considered white. There is no movement for calling these type of biracial people "mixed" because in some of them, you wouldn't know unless they told you. If someone is half white and Indian or Arab they look no different from other white Americans. Keanu Reeves, Andre Agassi, Steve Jobs, Shannon Elizabeth, Kathy Najimy, Jerry Seinfeld, Yasmeen Bleeth ... so many. However, if someone is half black and white or any other race, they usually (again, not always) look black and, like the President, either identify as black or, like Tiger Woods, are called black because they look it even though they don't want to. Why only controversy about this sort of biracials and not white mixed with others? Because anything black is seen as a negative by some that they want to get away from. Usually, its the black part they have a problem with. The type that are ashamed of their black side are easy to identify, usually seek out white partners hope for white looking offspring or get offended when they are called black on the basis of their physical appearance. Truth is none of this really matters. A person's race is dependent on their physical traits. If you look black, you are black. If you look white you are white. Mariah Carey calling herself black is as ridiculous as Elizabeth Warren claiming to be Native American. Equally, Tiger Woods wasn't as big a deal for Asians as Jeremy Lin because they know he'll never be seen as Asian no matter who his mother is.

• [quote]Truth is none of this really matters. A person's race is dependent on their physical traits. If you look black, you are black. If you look white you are white. Mariah Carey calling herself black is as ridiculous as Elizabeth Warren claiming to be Native American. You're a fucking idiot, you know that?

• If you have been mugged by a tall, blond, blue-eyed Asian woman, about 35, it is important to include these details in your report to the police. Otherwise you are not at a carnival. Don't guess peoples' weight, age or ethnicity. If you don't know someone well enough to ask their heritage, then don't assume you know. Your brain will file it in it's own language.

  She%20was%20niponese

• Look at this menu, under SWEETS:

  http://cargocollective.com/eatbikinis

• Wasn't George Jefferson always going on about the neighbors' "zebra" children, because they were mixed?

• OP, do you also miss the term "Negro"? Was it was more respectful somehow? Have you EVER, outside of a FoxNews chatroom, perhaps, heard anyone call President Obama, for example, "Mulatto"?

• OP = Ruby Romaine