# \[Is the term\] Mulatto \[considered offensive?\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745 "2008-07-16T21:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/1 "2008-07-16T21:03:01Z")
Is ‘Mulatto’ considered a slur or offensive? In descriptions of Halle Berry and Barack Obama they are always described in a mother is a ‘White American’ and father is a black Kenyan or “Her mother, Judith Ann is a Caucasian psychiatric nurse, and her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African-American” way. It seems that ‘mulatto’ would be the easy term to use. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/2 "2008-07-16T21:18:27Z")
It derives from the Spanish term: little mule. It was coined when Blacks were considered little more than beasts. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/3 "2008-07-16T21:41:34Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] It derives from the Spanish term: little mule. It was coined when Blacks were considered little more than beasts. [/QUOTE] I can read Wikipedia also. This is not an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/4 "2008-07-16T21:47:41Z")
In a history course a few years back a young African American classmate got a bit miffed by the instructor’s use of the word mulatto to describe Crispus Attucks. Admittedly I don’t hear the term mulatto used outside of history texts so I haven’t had much of an opportunity to see whether or not most people consider mulatto to be rude. I would certainly never describe a living person as being mulatto. Marc ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/5 "2008-07-16T21:47:44Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] This is not an answer. [/QUOTE] Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/6 "2008-07-16T21:51:53Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Is ‘Mulatto’ considered a slur or offensive? [/QUOTE] Yes. ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/7 "2008-07-16T22:07:34Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Yes it is. [/QUOTE] No it is not. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/8 "2008-07-16T22:14:27Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] It derives from the Spanish term: little mule. It was coined when Blacks were considered little more than beasts. [/QUOTE] Hmmm… I’m not convinced it had anything to do with black people being considered like beasts. The analogy with mules being the result of a cross breeding would be a sufficient explanation. I’m wondering if you’re not reading more in this word than necessary. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/9 "2008-07-16T22:32:36Z")
[QUOTE=clairobscur] Hmmm… I’m not convinced it had anything to do with black people being considered like beasts. The analogy with mules being the result of a cross breeding would be a sufficient explanation. I’m wondering if you’re not reading more in this word than necessary. [/QUOTE] He may well be, but offense does not follow strict logical rules. Custom and usage carry infinitely more weight. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/10 "2008-07-16T22:34:09Z")
You could instead say “mixed race,” which I think would be polite. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/11 "2008-07-16T23:10:13Z")
Most sites I found couldn’t land on a branch about the term. It would appear that it’s only offensive if used in an offensive fashion, i.e., “He’s just a fuckin’ mulatto.” ---
**Author:** ![holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/holmes)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/12 "2008-07-16T23:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] I can read Wikipedia also. This is not an answer. [/QUOTE] It is an answer. How do you get a mule? You mate a horse and donkey, two animals that normally would not mate and therefor is unnatural. Now yes Mules have a purpose; but that doesn’t negate the unnatural way of it’s creation. So when they called the offspring of a white and black person a mulatto, they were saying the same thing. It was an unnatural creation, something that normally would not occur, unless someone broke the rules of decency. So yes, mulatto is a slur. YMMV, of course. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/13 "2008-07-16T23:29:55Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] No it is not. [/QUOTE] See post #5. Repeat as necessary. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/14 "2008-07-16T23:30:33Z")
It is considered antiquated and associated with more unenlightened days the same way that “negro” and “oriental” are. Most of the time that I hear/see it used, it’s in a historical context. As in “Frederick Douglas was a mulatto”. But it would be jarring to describe anyone today with that term. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/15 "2008-07-16T23:32:46Z")
I’d say it’s an archaic term like negro. Biracial seems to be the common term nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2008, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/16 "2008-07-16T23:57:32Z")
I think it is an example of a group of words like ‘sambo’ and ‘octoroon’ that try to quantify how much black blood you are _tainted_ with. I would never use it for a living person and only in a very narrow context for a historical one. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/17 "2008-07-17T00:03:38Z")
A good rule of thumb is, whatever the fashionable term for any given ethnic group is, wait 10 years or so and it’ll be considered offensive, and there will be a new term that you have to use or else you’ll be committing a very severe faux pas. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/18 "2008-07-17T00:04:02Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I’d say it’s an archaic term like negro. Biracial seems to be the common term nowadays. [/QUOTE] To me, as a native Spanish speaker, it is amusing to realize that in English, those words are offensive, but there are not offensive in Spanish. At least not offensive in Puerto Rico, and not offensive within the groups of immigrants I’ve mingled. It did take me a little while to realize “mulatto” was offensive. And I’ve been called negrita, as a term of endearment, a few times both in childhood and adulthood. While some of my ancestors were black, I would only qualify as one now if based on the 1/8th rule. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/19 "2008-07-17T00:07:58Z")
Do you have a picture? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2008, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745/20 "2008-07-17T00:16:09Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Is ‘Mulatto’ considered a slur or offensive? [/QUOTE] I don’t have my AP Stylebook at home, but Web searches indicate it approves of the term, which I find surprising. I would say it’s offensive and archaic and recommend it not be used - and I wouldn’t use it, not that it’s likely to come up. I only learned about the “little mule” origin a few weeks ago, but that’s more than enough reason to avoid it as far as I’m concerned. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-term-mulatto-considered-offensive/456745.md?page=2)