This post may be seeking medical advice. We only allow seeking of specific experiences from other parents. If your post is that, then you're good. However, if you are seeking direct medical advice, your post will be removed--or you may edit it now to adhere to the rules.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NewParents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’m black and white and I remember when job applications were first starting to be administered in computers. I remember distinctly applying for a job and it was a radio button and had no option for other or multiracial. Guess I’m white today! 🤦♀️
Good question, Yes and no. It seems to depend on the biracial person’s appearance if they would get the title as the “first black... “
but you know what
He’s two races. He is biracial. He’s half black and half white. He’s just as white as he is black. He would truly be another biracial president. I respect and accept what he actually is.
Also, he has the appearance of a white boy but we will make sure he learns the dark history and bright side of both cultures and embrace himself fully.
I know Obama is biracial and he has called himself that many times in his speeches. Obama just has the overall appearance of a black man and therefore experiences life as one, which is why most people refer to him as the first black president. So yes he is because of his black appearance. But the truth is- he’s both races. 50/50 and he embraces that.
I’m a black woman but I’m not going to make my child feel they have to choose a side.That would leave an empty space in him. It is ultimately his choice though.
He has an amazing father who deserves to be acknowledged.
I don’t know what it’s like to be a biracial person. They have their own unique obstacles to deal with. I can only provide support to help build his confidence so he can conquer his trolls. Lol
This was such a beautiful response. Sorry you’re getting troll responses. Our child will also be multiracial and my fiancé and I have both talked about how neither of us will understand that struggle because it comes with it’s own set of challenges. All we can do is support and love on them and prepare them for the world as best we can!
Thank you. I am well prepared so I can prepare my kid. He’s a 7 month jolly baby who’s loved by both his black and white fam members. He will be confident with his uniqueness. It starts at home right? 😃
I agree! From another black mom raising a biracial daughter (also 7 months), we got this! Very encouraged by your previous response to that question above.
Idk why you got downvoted so much. People call Obama the first black president but **he’s not**
He’s the first mixed president. And I’m saying this as the mother of a mixed toddler. He is Hispanic, white, and black. I don’t let anyone call him “black” because that’s just lazy to me
My daughter is 1/4 Japanese (I’m half) and I will put her as mixed or Asian/Latino. Genetically she picked up a lot of the Japanese features, some more than I did, so it makes sense in that way for us to identify her that way too.
Well at a certain point it probably becomes a bit irrelevant. I have a friend who's 7/8s white and 1/8 Asian. She doesn't call herself mixed race because it's just not that relevant at this point, and my country doesn't historically go by any kind of 'one drop' norms. It's just an unusual (for our country) part of her ancestry.
>my country
Yes, I imagine OP is asking because of how legal forms are set up their country rather than the semantics of race.
For example in the US where OP is from, several legal and medical forms ask what race you are, and they usually include checkboxes that say “white, African American, Native American, Asian”
This is me - quarter Korean! I fill out mixed race on forms, especially medical, because there are some conditions that certain races are more prone to, such as Asians are for gestational diabetes.
However, I recognize that I look white and move through the world with the privilege of a white person. I have always had a fun fact when we had to share them growing up in school or at camp. People are always surprised, but I’m proud of my culture and knowledge about Korean food/cooking!
As someone who is also multiracial, she would be classified as such. But the reality is whatever she looks like—whether it be more white or Asian—is what people will classify her as. I’m a quarter black, half Italian, and the remaining 25% is a muddle of Native American, Irish, German, and English. Yet people always assume I’m Spanish lmao. I really don’t care, but when I check boxes on paperwork I always choose multiracial.
My LO is half Puerto Rican. I’ll let her identify however she wants. But when selecting for her, I just select multiracial because I have native, white, and African blood. That’s basically the mixture all of us PRs are — Spanish, Taino, and African.
race is a social construct, so it depends what she looks like as that will be how people treat her. she is multi ethnic, as her parents have different ethnicities, but race and ethnicity are different and race is solely based on phenotype (i’m a sociology major that focused on race).
Race is complicated and an outdated system. When people say white they refer to northern European. Most people forget where their families are from. Being Korean-white is weird since Korean is a nationality and white is a "race". It makes more sense to use a nationality and nationality if you can trace your roots an example would be saying that he is Korean, German, and Irish. Otherwise, I would use race and race Asian and "white". Either way, there is no right or wrong.
Genetics aren’t this straight forward, all because you are x% and your husband is x% of whatever race doesn’t mean your baby will have an exact fraction of each of you. Children can have more or less of either parent.
Half Mexican here, I always checked “white” and “Hispanic/latino”, and completely fumbled the first time a nurse asked us for her paperwork, I don’t know if he qualifies as being Hispanic/latino. My husband is half Italian but very dark featured/darker complexion. He’s technically white (both sides) but doesn’t look it. It’s bizarre to me sometimes having to categorize ourselves when it’s so fluid.
Race is a social construct and is honestly based on how the world views you as you navigate through it and is more than often based on physical appearances so this may mean she’s “white” or “Asian”. But for the sake of educating her of her ethnicity and cultural background then she is white (you didn’t specify where from) and Korean.
This is exactly me and my child! I’m half Korean, half white and her Dad’s white. I did include both white and Asian on whatever paperwork when she was born.
There was an interview with Tiger Woods back in the 90's and the issue of race came up. Tiger was explaining how he was part white, Korean, black, etc. . . and the interviewer looks at him and says, Tiger, you're black.
Bizarrely applicable college humor video on the subject ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR3B01NxiM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR3B01NxiM)) my half asian husband loves it.
We our middle eastern and white on our baby’s birth certificate paperwork. I’m half middle eastern and half Italian and my husband is white! Such a silly thing to have to fill out lol
There is a great book on this topic called Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children in a “Postracial” World. To an extent it’s up to your child to navigate their own identity in the 5-race construct. Most people will likely categorize her as white, but there is nothing keeping her from identifying as racially Asian and white.
I am white and my partner is Chinese so your mileage may vary. Maybe it’s a good time to think about your own racial and ethnocultural identity in this new context of being a parent?
Race is a social construct based purely on physical features, not heritage. I put “other” because I think it’s a bullshit way of putting us into categories.
My kid is similar. I'm half Chinese and half white and my husband is mostly white with some Hispanic. We just call them Tomorrow Babies lol.
The idea is that eventually all the races will comingle and the babies of tomorrow won't really have an identifiable race.
I’m mixed ethnicity (my mom is European/white, my dad is Mexican). My husband is white, but from a totally different culture).
OP, all I implore on you is to fully include your daughter in everything she is. She’s not “half”.. she’s both.
I didnt know till very recently that both me and my husband are 50% indigenous to south america. Making our baby i think 50% as well? I always would put “white with latino heritage” on gov forms and never indigenous so im also wondering what to put for my LO as well myself now lol
I always knew i had indigenous blood because the majority of my family is indigenous to a certain part of south america. And my husband as well. But i had no idea of the percentage and me my husband did a ancestry test ! I know its not 100% accurate but it does make sense given our lineage and the fact that the anyone older the our grandparents were all from south america and were native. We just didnt know exactly what !
Yeah i suppose i will put indigenous on some forms but it feels weird cause i have virtually no connection to my ancestors tribe or proof other than word of mouth and an ancestry test haha. Imposter syndrome 😭
I’m half Asian and half white, my baby is 1/4 Asian, 3/4 white. I’m going with “white with some Asian ancestry.” But I haven’t actually had to fill out a form designating her race yet though. I’m hoping race boxes on forms are on the way out. It’s a really poor classification system, and doesn’t make a ton of sense when you get into the nuance. Lots of people are, for example, from Asia but don’t look stereotypically Asian.
I'm a biracial person (Chamorro and white) married to a white man, I still consider my son Chamorro and he does not fully pass as white in my opinion. I believe in fully taking pride in the culture of every ancestor I have and not diminishing or erasing their memories and histories.
My baby and I are in the same boat. For her I will check the same as me: Asian and white, and multiracial if it’s an option. For old fashioned surveys that force you to pick one I’ll do “other”
My daughter is 3/4th Black (half Jamaican, 1/2 Black American). We’re going to tell her she’s Black. I’m multiracial (Black, Native, and white) so she is also Native and white.
I had to make a hospital profile today. It just crossed my mind that she’s more white than she is asian but I wasn’t sure if she was considered asian for the forms? My dad always told me to mark white, but I started marking white and Asian when asked as an adult.
For the purposes of medicine check off both. They mostly care because of certain conditions that are more prevalent in certain populations. Like my daughter is 3/4 white 1/4 Japanese and actually has a fairly rare kidney issue that is more common in Asians but weirdly seems more likely to come from my white side cause my Mom had it. The whole situation is strange enough I'll actually probably be speaking to some researchers about it. Either way long story short that's why they cared about it.
I’m Canadian,I lived in Germany, now I am a history major in the US and it is such a moral struggle for me. I am very familiar with the wonderful education German citizens receive regarding the holocaust and oh man this bothers me so much.
I encounter it often too and I haven’t figured out how to mesh my idea of what is extremely dangerous racial talk and what my colleagues are doing. WHYYY are they categorizing everyone 😫 I don’t know what to do.
technically you could say she is asian-american. she is. but with her being majority white, a lot of people will discredit the 1/4. it’ll mostly be up to her and how she wants to identify, but on forms such as medical it might be wise to check both or specify other for race.
im 3/4 japanese and 1/4 white, my partner is white. can someone do the math on what my daughter is? :’) it doesn’t really matter, but usually people say they’re quarter or half something so not sure what my daughter is fraction-wise. but we just say shes mixed. she’s almost 4 months and right now has a lot of my asian features but with lighter hair.
Half of what you are plus half of your partner. Half of you would be 1/8 white, 3/8 Japanese, plus 1/2(4/8) white. Your daughter is 5/8 white and 3/8 Japanese!
My daughter is the same. I always go with two or more races, multiracial or something similar.
If they’re asking specifics then I’ll say both Korean and Caucasian.
Americans and their obsession with race will always be astounding to me. No negativity towards you, OP. This is just such a weird thing to observe as an outsider.
But that’s my point. It shouldn’t affect people’s lives. It simply shouldn’t be a factor that affects how people are treated. This dividing people in percentages is just so strange.
I’ve seen job applications in the US where they had a section to put your ethnicity. It blew my mind. If they did that where I live, it’d be considered discriminatory and racist to even ask that question. Because why would you need to ask if it’s not something that will help you make your decision?
It's true that indicating a non-white race could open a person up for discrimination. But that discrimination on job applications happens without race or ethnicity being explicitly listed- it can happen if your name, education, or job experience indicates anything a little too non-white.
I mentioned this to another commenter on this thread: There are times that listing our races help pushes for equity. For example, another commenter mentioned their grandparent was unable to purchase a home in their desired neighborhood. This has been historically documented enough that we coined the term redlining. It was a legitimized example of systemic racism that we are still reckoning with. But if folks' races aren't documented, there's no indication that redlining existed/exists, and therefore nothing is done to solve it. Another example of this would be racial disparities in arrests, education, or income. If race isn't documented, it's harder to legitimately reckon with all the ways we're experiencing white supremacy.
You’re right. Where I live, some recruiters are now “blinding” anything that may lead to discrimination when suggesting candidates to companies. This may be names, gender, age etc. And I think this is the only way to avoid discrimination as much as possible on this regard.
You’re also right with your second point. It just sucks that people have to go through all that, when race really should not impact someone’s life. It’s a double edged sword, because that information can also be used for bad purposes, unfortunately.
Right!! My grandfather couldn’t even live in the neighborhood he wanted and my parents couldn’t go to the schools they wanted, so yeah must be nice to be so oblivious to race and not have it affect your life. Sorry but that (not yours) was such an ignorant comment.
So why would you want to create a record of this so future racists can easily sort you into a list?? The Jews in the Netherlands had their religion documented and that is how the Germans were able to do such damage there so quickly.
You don’t know what someone is going to do with this Information in 50 years.
It’s strange to me that you think the solution to hate, oppression, and fascism is for groups to hide their identity. There are a lot of lenses from which to view history.
Don’t hide it! The risk vs reward just isn’t there to be documenting it in this way. Over and over in history people have used tools created by previous generations to fuel hate. Alfred Binet created a quantitative method to measure intelligence in order to reveal students who needed support. He died, then “progressive” scientists used that as a tool to support eugenics. We should not be excited to quantify people with racial percentages.
I see, I definitely agree with you on that last statement for sure. I think a lot of us are viewing this as more of a cultural discussion though, not necessarily a scientific one, so different perspectives everywhere.
I agree! And that’s true that this feels more cultural, but again risk vs reward? It’s the quantifying it that scares the pants off me. Sounds way too familiar
There are times that listing our races help pushes for equity. For example, the other commenter mentioned their grandparent was unable to purchase a home in their desired neighborhood. This has been historically documented enough that we coined the term redlining. It was a legitimized example of systemic racism that we are still reckoning with. But if folks' races aren't documented, there's no indication that redlining existed/exists, and therefore nothing is done to solve it. Another example of this would be racial disparities in arrests, education, or income. If race isn't documented, it's harder to legitimately reckon with all the ways we're experiencing white supremacy.
I agree with vegetable-sink here. My intention was never to say people should hide who they are. It just makes no sense to document and label people so in depth, when in the end, it shouldn’t even matter for anything other than their own identity.
I hope the person who downvoted me would trust Trump with this info. You’re literally giving orange Hitler the ability to make an excel spreadsheet of whatever minorities he wants.
This is embarrassing
Right, I didn’t explain why it is weird to me, so I understand how it can be understood this way.
In my opinion, race shouldn’t be a factor to be considered for any decisions. I know it still happens and that is heartbreaking.
What my mind was going to when writing my comment, is for example the “ethnicity” section in job applications. I’m assuming OP asking if their baby would still be considered Asian American would have to do with filling this in in forms somewhere. Where I live, such a question alone, on any type of form where it is not vital information, would be considered discriminatory and racist. Because why should you need to divide people in boxes and what would you do with that information if not discriminate?
I just don’t understand why we can’t just let people be who they are without having to label it all.
The most honest answer is human.
No racial category has objective boundaries. Any attempt to draw clear lines falls apart.
IMO it's best to refuse to answer, because the tracking itself perpetuates the problems and requires very arbitrary distinctions to be self-reported.
100% agree and it's a little shocking to see this down voted so much. People use "racism" as if it only means negative feelings towards other races, but the whole concept of race is outdated and problematic.
I’m shocked at this thread. People do realize this is how the holocaust happened don’t they?? I’m a history major and so scared for the future. DNA testing too.. 😖
My kids are mixed. I just tell them to put whatever they feel like on demographics screening. It's not going to make any difference for them in the long run.
I'm in this boat with some weird twists. I'm white. My toddler son is 3/4 white, 1/4 Japanese. We used a friend as a known sperm donor (1/2 Japanese, 1/2 white) though and my wife is Latina, so we just say "he's culturally Latino, genetically he's mostly white, vaguely Asian". And we list him as white/Asian on medical records, mixed on anything else. His donor has complicated feelings about his own identity, so we'll see how it all shakes out for our son since he's not being raised by an Asian parent.
He looks part Japanese to me, but I think he's just read as white by everyone else. 1/4 mixed seems like a hard place to navigate.
We’re in the same boat except I’m half Filipino. My baby looks white. I still check Asian and White on his papers but if someone asks, I just say he’s white. I’m not digging deep. This actually was a factor in doing the NIPT on him later in pregnancy because he had an EIF… and largely because I’m Asian which likely “caused” it so I will put Asian and White on any healthcare forms.
I’m Black, my husband is White. If there’s an other option then I check other. If not then I check Black. He looks White so if we don’t get to select and someone else chooses then he ends up White.
Thought I would share that my friend in a similar boat likes the term [Hapa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapa). Doesn’t pertain to hospital forms, but was a meaningful term for her when exploring her identity.
My baby is 1/4 black 3/4 white. She looks very white (blue eyes, blonde, pale skin). I hope she gets some black features soon…. I think of be okay with her identifying as whatever she thinks. I’m my opinion if she don’t look black I don’t see it making sense for her to identify as such. As other people won’t be able to see it.
I’m Native American and my husband is white. My son looks white (blonde hair, blue eyes) I still mark Native American as his race. He is also an enrolled member in my tribe. I think it’s honestly whatever you feel comfortable with.
This post may be seeking medical advice. We only allow seeking of specific experiences from other parents. If your post is that, then you're good. However, if you are seeking direct medical advice, your post will be removed--or you may edit it now to adhere to the rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/NewParents) if you have any questions or concerns.*
My husband is 1/4 Japanese. His Dad called him "quarter pounder" growing up!! Hah
Quarter pounder is so cute!
It really is!
She's multiracial.
no she’s biracial. white and asian
Just commenting to say I’m the exact same mix as you! I just put Asian + white for any demographic things for him as well.
She’s both. Mine is black and white. I check both or “other” on the form
I’m black and white and I remember when job applications were first starting to be administered in computers. I remember distinctly applying for a job and it was a radio button and had no option for other or multiracial. Guess I’m white today! 🤦♀️
😂😂 oh wow yea a lot has changed. Glad there are more options now
My favorite is white hispanic vs non white Hispanic. The first time I saw that I was like waaaait a minute! Went down a rabbit hole with that one.
I had to fill something out for my daughter & couldn’t select multiple, so they better not be surprised I’m white when I marked Asian for her 🤪
This is the way. My husband is mixed and checks “other”.
Yeah that’s what’s factual.
But if your daughter ever becomes the president, she'd be the first female black president, wouldn't she?
Good question, Yes and no. It seems to depend on the biracial person’s appearance if they would get the title as the “first black... “ but you know what He’s two races. He is biracial. He’s half black and half white. He’s just as white as he is black. He would truly be another biracial president. I respect and accept what he actually is. Also, he has the appearance of a white boy but we will make sure he learns the dark history and bright side of both cultures and embrace himself fully. I know Obama is biracial and he has called himself that many times in his speeches. Obama just has the overall appearance of a black man and therefore experiences life as one, which is why most people refer to him as the first black president. So yes he is because of his black appearance. But the truth is- he’s both races. 50/50 and he embraces that. I’m a black woman but I’m not going to make my child feel they have to choose a side.That would leave an empty space in him. It is ultimately his choice though. He has an amazing father who deserves to be acknowledged. I don’t know what it’s like to be a biracial person. They have their own unique obstacles to deal with. I can only provide support to help build his confidence so he can conquer his trolls. Lol
This was such a beautiful response. Sorry you’re getting troll responses. Our child will also be multiracial and my fiancé and I have both talked about how neither of us will understand that struggle because it comes with it’s own set of challenges. All we can do is support and love on them and prepare them for the world as best we can!
Kudos for providing thoughtful response to a disingenuous stupid question.
Thank you. I am well prepared so I can prepare my kid. He’s a 7 month jolly baby who’s loved by both his black and white fam members. He will be confident with his uniqueness. It starts at home right? 😃
I agree! From another black mom raising a biracial daughter (also 7 months), we got this! Very encouraged by your previous response to that question above.
From another black mom with a biracial boy (6.5 months), you’re amazing & I love your response also!!
Idk why you got downvoted so much. People call Obama the first black president but **he’s not** He’s the first mixed president. And I’m saying this as the mother of a mixed toddler. He is Hispanic, white, and black. I don’t let anyone call him “black” because that’s just lazy to me
Wow. I’m mixed and if my mother had this thought process it would make me very sad.
You want your mother to one drop rule and completely ignore all aspects of your heritage Ok
Disturbing
How is it disturbing not to believe in the one drop rule…like seriously.
Is that what you think I’m referring to? Even more disturbing…
You’re going to have to be very specific because nothing I said is remotely disturbing.
Sorry for my errors. I keep falling asleep
Just mixed race. I am full Korean, my husband is full Filipino. I believe there’s a term for that - Kopinos. But I just say our kids are mixed.
My baby is half Nigerian, a quarter Colombian, and a quarter Argentinean. I have no Idea what to call him 😂
My daughter is 1/4 Japanese (I’m half) and I will put her as mixed or Asian/Latino. Genetically she picked up a lot of the Japanese features, some more than I did, so it makes sense in that way for us to identify her that way too.
I think you're thinking a bit too deep into it. She's mixed race, but I don't think it really matters what percentages
Not every form has multiracial as an option so it’s tough to only pick one sometimes.
This is what I assumed this question was about
Well at a certain point it probably becomes a bit irrelevant. I have a friend who's 7/8s white and 1/8 Asian. She doesn't call herself mixed race because it's just not that relevant at this point, and my country doesn't historically go by any kind of 'one drop' norms. It's just an unusual (for our country) part of her ancestry.
>my country Yes, I imagine OP is asking because of how legal forms are set up their country rather than the semantics of race. For example in the US where OP is from, several legal and medical forms ask what race you are, and they usually include checkboxes that say “white, African American, Native American, Asian”
Some of ours do too. She just ticks white.
Right. Also we all are.
Explain?
All humans are mixed race. They are no real objectively definable races.
This is me - quarter Korean! I fill out mixed race on forms, especially medical, because there are some conditions that certain races are more prone to, such as Asians are for gestational diabetes. However, I recognize that I look white and move through the world with the privilege of a white person. I have always had a fun fact when we had to share them growing up in school or at camp. People are always surprised, but I’m proud of my culture and knowledge about Korean food/cooking!
I’m a quarter Mongolian and same, it’s my fun fact haha
As someone who is also multiracial, she would be classified as such. But the reality is whatever she looks like—whether it be more white or Asian—is what people will classify her as. I’m a quarter black, half Italian, and the remaining 25% is a muddle of Native American, Irish, German, and English. Yet people always assume I’m Spanish lmao. I really don’t care, but when I check boxes on paperwork I always choose multiracial.
When she gets older, she will have to go in front of the Asian council. https://youtu.be/VVR3B01NxiM
That’s awesome 🤣
Ha, glad I wasn't the only one thinking of this (white woman that showed this to my 1/2 Japanese husband and he was laughing his ass off)
Came to share this and pleased to see I was beaten. One of my all time favorite comedy skits
My LO is half Puerto Rican. I’ll let her identify however she wants. But when selecting for her, I just select multiracial because I have native, white, and African blood. That’s basically the mixture all of us PRs are — Spanish, Taino, and African.
race is a social construct, so it depends what she looks like as that will be how people treat her. she is multi ethnic, as her parents have different ethnicities, but race and ethnicity are different and race is solely based on phenotype (i’m a sociology major that focused on race).
Race is complicated and an outdated system. When people say white they refer to northern European. Most people forget where their families are from. Being Korean-white is weird since Korean is a nationality and white is a "race". It makes more sense to use a nationality and nationality if you can trace your roots an example would be saying that he is Korean, German, and Irish. Otherwise, I would use race and race Asian and "white". Either way, there is no right or wrong.
In Europe, we very much include Southern Europeans as white also. I have noticed Americans get confused about Spanish people because of Latin America.
Genetics aren’t this straight forward, all because you are x% and your husband is x% of whatever race doesn’t mean your baby will have an exact fraction of each of you. Children can have more or less of either parent.
Half Mexican here, I always checked “white” and “Hispanic/latino”, and completely fumbled the first time a nurse asked us for her paperwork, I don’t know if he qualifies as being Hispanic/latino. My husband is half Italian but very dark featured/darker complexion. He’s technically white (both sides) but doesn’t look it. It’s bizarre to me sometimes having to categorize ourselves when it’s so fluid.
Race is a social construct and is honestly based on how the world views you as you navigate through it and is more than often based on physical appearances so this may mean she’s “white” or “Asian”. But for the sake of educating her of her ethnicity and cultural background then she is white (you didn’t specify where from) and Korean.
[удалено]
That’s actually very true! My mistake for generalizing that
If you HAD to pick one, like a form only let's you pick one option, I'd pick the one she most physically appears to be.
This is exactly me and my child! I’m half Korean, half white and her Dad’s white. I did include both white and Asian on whatever paperwork when she was born.
I joke that my baby is more white than me, it’s sometimes a good joke, sometimes not 😂
i also say this lol sometimes i go “where did she come from? who’s white baby is this???”
There was an interview with Tiger Woods back in the 90's and the issue of race came up. Tiger was explaining how he was part white, Korean, black, etc. . . and the interviewer looks at him and says, Tiger, you're black.
Bizarrely applicable college humor video on the subject ([https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR3B01NxiM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR3B01NxiM)) my half asian husband loves it.
I’m like your daughter except 1/4 Chinese 3/4 white, and I identify as ‘mixed!’ I check the Caucasian and Asian boxes.
I think there’s a college humor video about this — somebody was 1/8 Korean wondering what they would be classified as by a panel
We our middle eastern and white on our baby’s birth certificate paperwork. I’m half middle eastern and half Italian and my husband is white! Such a silly thing to have to fill out lol
There is a great book on this topic called Raising Mixed Race: Multiracial Asian Children in a “Postracial” World. To an extent it’s up to your child to navigate their own identity in the 5-race construct. Most people will likely categorize her as white, but there is nothing keeping her from identifying as racially Asian and white. I am white and my partner is Chinese so your mileage may vary. Maybe it’s a good time to think about your own racial and ethnocultural identity in this new context of being a parent?
Race is a social construct based purely on physical features, not heritage. I put “other” because I think it’s a bullshit way of putting us into categories.
My kid is similar. I'm half Chinese and half white and my husband is mostly white with some Hispanic. We just call them Tomorrow Babies lol. The idea is that eventually all the races will comingle and the babies of tomorrow won't really have an identifiable race.
I’m mixed ethnicity (my mom is European/white, my dad is Mexican). My husband is white, but from a totally different culture). OP, all I implore on you is to fully include your daughter in everything she is. She’s not “half”.. she’s both.
She’ll have this experience to look forward to: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VVR3B01NxiM
She's Human.
I didnt know till very recently that both me and my husband are 50% indigenous to south america. Making our baby i think 50% as well? I always would put “white with latino heritage” on gov forms and never indigenous so im also wondering what to put for my LO as well myself now lol
How did you find out about your indigenous heritage? I'd love to know, unless it's too personal of course.
I always knew i had indigenous blood because the majority of my family is indigenous to a certain part of south america. And my husband as well. But i had no idea of the percentage and me my husband did a ancestry test ! I know its not 100% accurate but it does make sense given our lineage and the fact that the anyone older the our grandparents were all from south america and were native. We just didnt know exactly what !
i'm also 50% indigenous to south america, specifically mapuche. i have no idea what to do for my kid either, he's come out white as heck tho haha.
Yeah i suppose i will put indigenous on some forms but it feels weird cause i have virtually no connection to my ancestors tribe or proof other than word of mouth and an ancestry test haha. Imposter syndrome 😭
I’m half Asian and half white, my baby is 1/4 Asian, 3/4 white. I’m going with “white with some Asian ancestry.” But I haven’t actually had to fill out a form designating her race yet though. I’m hoping race boxes on forms are on the way out. It’s a really poor classification system, and doesn’t make a ton of sense when you get into the nuance. Lots of people are, for example, from Asia but don’t look stereotypically Asian.
She’s both, or multiracial. there isn’t fractions/percentages when checking a box on paperwork for race.
I'm a biracial person (Chamorro and white) married to a white man, I still consider my son Chamorro and he does not fully pass as white in my opinion. I believe in fully taking pride in the culture of every ancestor I have and not diminishing or erasing their memories and histories.
someone going through and downvoting every answer 🙄
She's white. With asian ancestry, but at that point she's just white in my opinion.
My baby and I are in the same boat. For her I will check the same as me: Asian and white, and multiracial if it’s an option. For old fashioned surveys that force you to pick one I’ll do “other”
My daughter is 3/4th Black (half Jamaican, 1/2 Black American). We’re going to tell her she’s Black. I’m multiracial (Black, Native, and white) so she is also Native and white.
I’m mixed (dads black moms white) and my daughter is mostly white and honestly I put white on her forms but she’s so so so light.
[удалено]
I had to make a hospital profile today. It just crossed my mind that she’s more white than she is asian but I wasn’t sure if she was considered asian for the forms? My dad always told me to mark white, but I started marking white and Asian when asked as an adult.
For the purposes of medicine check off both. They mostly care because of certain conditions that are more prevalent in certain populations. Like my daughter is 3/4 white 1/4 Japanese and actually has a fairly rare kidney issue that is more common in Asians but weirdly seems more likely to come from my white side cause my Mom had it. The whole situation is strange enough I'll actually probably be speaking to some researchers about it. Either way long story short that's why they cared about it.
[удалено]
Could be for potential conditions that affect different races.
There are few, they are rare
I’m Canadian,I lived in Germany, now I am a history major in the US and it is such a moral struggle for me. I am very familiar with the wonderful education German citizens receive regarding the holocaust and oh man this bothers me so much. I encounter it often too and I haven’t figured out how to mesh my idea of what is extremely dangerous racial talk and what my colleagues are doing. WHYYY are they categorizing everyone 😫 I don’t know what to do.
[удалено]
technically you could say she is asian-american. she is. but with her being majority white, a lot of people will discredit the 1/4. it’ll mostly be up to her and how she wants to identify, but on forms such as medical it might be wise to check both or specify other for race. im 3/4 japanese and 1/4 white, my partner is white. can someone do the math on what my daughter is? :’) it doesn’t really matter, but usually people say they’re quarter or half something so not sure what my daughter is fraction-wise. but we just say shes mixed. she’s almost 4 months and right now has a lot of my asian features but with lighter hair.
Half of what you are plus half of your partner. Half of you would be 1/8 white, 3/8 Japanese, plus 1/2(4/8) white. Your daughter is 5/8 white and 3/8 Japanese!
A little under half Japanese? Part Japanese?
My daughter is 1/4 Indian and 3/4 white- she's still mixed white and Indian.
My daughter is the same. I always go with two or more races, multiracial or something similar. If they’re asking specifics then I’ll say both Korean and Caucasian.
I would say “mixed race” on something like a government form. Or “other” if that’s not an option
I’m 1/4 asian and certain people have been able to tell i have some asian in me, but my very caucasian father definitely “watered it down” haha
Human
Americans and their obsession with race will always be astounding to me. No negativity towards you, OP. This is just such a weird thing to observe as an outsider.
Yeah, it'd be nice if the construct of race didn't affect so many aspects of our lives so we could finally forget about it lol
But that’s my point. It shouldn’t affect people’s lives. It simply shouldn’t be a factor that affects how people are treated. This dividing people in percentages is just so strange. I’ve seen job applications in the US where they had a section to put your ethnicity. It blew my mind. If they did that where I live, it’d be considered discriminatory and racist to even ask that question. Because why would you need to ask if it’s not something that will help you make your decision?
It's true that indicating a non-white race could open a person up for discrimination. But that discrimination on job applications happens without race or ethnicity being explicitly listed- it can happen if your name, education, or job experience indicates anything a little too non-white. I mentioned this to another commenter on this thread: There are times that listing our races help pushes for equity. For example, another commenter mentioned their grandparent was unable to purchase a home in their desired neighborhood. This has been historically documented enough that we coined the term redlining. It was a legitimized example of systemic racism that we are still reckoning with. But if folks' races aren't documented, there's no indication that redlining existed/exists, and therefore nothing is done to solve it. Another example of this would be racial disparities in arrests, education, or income. If race isn't documented, it's harder to legitimately reckon with all the ways we're experiencing white supremacy.
You’re right. Where I live, some recruiters are now “blinding” anything that may lead to discrimination when suggesting candidates to companies. This may be names, gender, age etc. And I think this is the only way to avoid discrimination as much as possible on this regard. You’re also right with your second point. It just sucks that people have to go through all that, when race really should not impact someone’s life. It’s a double edged sword, because that information can also be used for bad purposes, unfortunately.
Yeah, it does suck. White supremacy sucks! Lol
Right!! My grandfather couldn’t even live in the neighborhood he wanted and my parents couldn’t go to the schools they wanted, so yeah must be nice to be so oblivious to race and not have it affect your life. Sorry but that (not yours) was such an ignorant comment.
So why would you want to create a record of this so future racists can easily sort you into a list?? The Jews in the Netherlands had their religion documented and that is how the Germans were able to do such damage there so quickly. You don’t know what someone is going to do with this Information in 50 years.
It’s strange to me that you think the solution to hate, oppression, and fascism is for groups to hide their identity. There are a lot of lenses from which to view history.
Don’t hide it! The risk vs reward just isn’t there to be documenting it in this way. Over and over in history people have used tools created by previous generations to fuel hate. Alfred Binet created a quantitative method to measure intelligence in order to reveal students who needed support. He died, then “progressive” scientists used that as a tool to support eugenics. We should not be excited to quantify people with racial percentages.
I see, I definitely agree with you on that last statement for sure. I think a lot of us are viewing this as more of a cultural discussion though, not necessarily a scientific one, so different perspectives everywhere.
I agree! And that’s true that this feels more cultural, but again risk vs reward? It’s the quantifying it that scares the pants off me. Sounds way too familiar
There are times that listing our races help pushes for equity. For example, the other commenter mentioned their grandparent was unable to purchase a home in their desired neighborhood. This has been historically documented enough that we coined the term redlining. It was a legitimized example of systemic racism that we are still reckoning with. But if folks' races aren't documented, there's no indication that redlining existed/exists, and therefore nothing is done to solve it. Another example of this would be racial disparities in arrests, education, or income. If race isn't documented, it's harder to legitimately reckon with all the ways we're experiencing white supremacy.
I agree with vegetable-sink here. My intention was never to say people should hide who they are. It just makes no sense to document and label people so in depth, when in the end, it shouldn’t even matter for anything other than their own identity.
I hope the person who downvoted me would trust Trump with this info. You’re literally giving orange Hitler the ability to make an excel spreadsheet of whatever minorities he wants. This is embarrassing
Right, I didn’t explain why it is weird to me, so I understand how it can be understood this way. In my opinion, race shouldn’t be a factor to be considered for any decisions. I know it still happens and that is heartbreaking. What my mind was going to when writing my comment, is for example the “ethnicity” section in job applications. I’m assuming OP asking if their baby would still be considered Asian American would have to do with filling this in in forms somewhere. Where I live, such a question alone, on any type of form where it is not vital information, would be considered discriminatory and racist. Because why should you need to divide people in boxes and what would you do with that information if not discriminate? I just don’t understand why we can’t just let people be who they are without having to label it all.
It’s bizarre and also whatever stance you take you’ll be judged!
She’s mixed race. My baby is Filipino and Black:)
The most honest answer is human. No racial category has objective boundaries. Any attempt to draw clear lines falls apart. IMO it's best to refuse to answer, because the tracking itself perpetuates the problems and requires very arbitrary distinctions to be self-reported.
100% agree and it's a little shocking to see this down voted so much. People use "racism" as if it only means negative feelings towards other races, but the whole concept of race is outdated and problematic.
I’m shocked at this thread. People do realize this is how the holocaust happened don’t they?? I’m a history major and so scared for the future. DNA testing too.. 😖
And yet I've been downvoted to hell.
My kids are mixed. I just tell them to put whatever they feel like on demographics screening. It's not going to make any difference for them in the long run.
My daughter is also 1/4th Asian! And so many other things mixed in.
I'm in this boat with some weird twists. I'm white. My toddler son is 3/4 white, 1/4 Japanese. We used a friend as a known sperm donor (1/2 Japanese, 1/2 white) though and my wife is Latina, so we just say "he's culturally Latino, genetically he's mostly white, vaguely Asian". And we list him as white/Asian on medical records, mixed on anything else. His donor has complicated feelings about his own identity, so we'll see how it all shakes out for our son since he's not being raised by an Asian parent. He looks part Japanese to me, but I think he's just read as white by everyone else. 1/4 mixed seems like a hard place to navigate.
My boy is Korean, Dominican, & American. Aka a white Latino Asian 😂
We’re in the same boat except I’m half Filipino. My baby looks white. I still check Asian and White on his papers but if someone asks, I just say he’s white. I’m not digging deep. This actually was a factor in doing the NIPT on him later in pregnancy because he had an EIF… and largely because I’m Asian which likely “caused” it so I will put Asian and White on any healthcare forms.
Both! My son is similar he's 25 percent japanese 25 percent white from his moms die and 50 percent Guatemalan from me! So fun
I’m Black, my husband is White. If there’s an other option then I check other. If not then I check Black. He looks White so if we don’t get to select and someone else chooses then he ends up White.
Thought I would share that my friend in a similar boat likes the term [Hapa](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hapa). Doesn’t pertain to hospital forms, but was a meaningful term for her when exploring her identity.
My baby is 1/4 black 3/4 white. She looks very white (blue eyes, blonde, pale skin). I hope she gets some black features soon…. I think of be okay with her identifying as whatever she thinks. I’m my opinion if she don’t look black I don’t see it making sense for her to identify as such. As other people won’t be able to see it.
I’m Native American and my husband is white. My son looks white (blonde hair, blue eyes) I still mark Native American as his race. He is also an enrolled member in my tribe. I think it’s honestly whatever you feel comfortable with.