Fine; I was merely stating that the etymology has little relevance to its perceived impoliteness, so it had little reason to figure so prominently in his explanation.
Perhaps the word, as originally conceived in Spanish, was meant to be a racial slur. But as we have seen from another post, the word certainly doesn’t carry any negative connotations in Spanish today. I’d wager that it was a neutral term even at the time it was borrowed into English. Certainly none of the 16th- and 17th-century sample usages supplied by the OED imply that the term was being used as an insult. (This stands in stark contrast to examples provided for denigrating racial terms, such as “nigger”.)
At the time it was borrowed into English I don’t think there was such a thing as a racially neutral term, as race was not a neutral concept.
It is not unreasonable for people to be offended by terms that are not strictly insults if those terms carry negative connotations, and “mulatto” does. If a term is considered offensive by many of the people to whom it applies then polite people should avoid using it. It’s that simple.
Not to send this to GB or TP faster than you can say Schwarzenegger (shwart zen ek ar - n. a black plowman) but this is what bugs me about black people constantly using the n word and then complaining about it’s use by others.
No it isn’t. As ruadh mentions, many members of minorities are offended by “politically correct” designations as well. I’m of mixed race, and I consider the use of absurd circumlocutions to describe my ancestry to be, if not offensive, then at least comical, pandering, pathetic, and/or unnecessary.
Just to toss my two cents in: I had a similar conversation to the OP with a twist. I was admiring a friend’s cute little daughter and he said “Yes, mulatto babies are beautiful”. At the time I had never heard the word but I figured it out as he was black and his wife white. Did not sense he was insulting his daughter.
Since then I’ve usually heard the term from black people and meant in a purely descriptive manner. I am guessing your son’s girlfriend is just naturally nervous around any racial terms given the environment we live in today.
Speaking of “half-breed” names, the Metis population in Canada never seem to mind the term(half native NA-half European). IMHO offense is taken not given.
Having lived in the West Indies, I use “mulatto” in certain contexts, like the light-skinned ruling class of Haiti, where it’s, as far as I know, the historically used term. I’m less comfortable using it in this country, where there used to be mulattoes, quadroons, & octoroons. A lot of half-white children are quite dark-skinned, and the light-skinned-yet-AfroAmerican people I want a descriptive word for (because they’re not really black–at least by my West-Indies-trained lights) are probably closer to quadroons or less. Mulatto is the best description available (I hate saying “light-skinned black”) but it seems technically wrong for someone who has mixed heritage on both sides–though I use it in that sense in a Haitian context, 'cos I don’t know another word for those people.
I feel stupid as I explain this.
Anyway, I just want a description, like “blond” or “oliveskinned,” that isn’t politically charged. I stopped referring to some people as “black” because it seems innacurate to me, somehow, & I think we need to get past that particular “me man, you nigger” classification.
Mulato, as it came to be used in the U.S. means half black/half white. Quadroon means 1/4 black; octoroon means 1/8 black. I believe there is a term for 1/16 black also, but I do not remember it. If you were only 1/16 black or maybe it is 1/32, you could have yourself declared legally white. These terms were most used in Louisiana. Unlike words like “nigger” and “darkie” they generally have no derogatory overtones but speak strictly about a person’s racial heritage. They don’t even refer to the color of a person’s skin.
I’ll try to find a source on this…I’m at work and writing from memory atm.
I remember now…1/16 black is mustee. At 1/32 black you were considered white. Basically, this prevented you from being sold into slavery, but as your status derived from your mother, if she was a slave, you would be too.
The conversations in this thread demonstrate one thing very clearly: it’s very difficult to know what others may find offensive or inoffensive. It’s been said, repeatedly, here and in other threads, that “polite” people should refrain from using terms that others find insulting. That’s absolutely true, and some terms we all know not to use, but what offends others is often a mystery. I like to think of myself as a “polite” person, and certainly try not to be offensive or hurt others’ feelings, but I sometimes feel anxious about whether or not I’m crossing some invisible line of offensiveness.
The OP certainly did not mean to be offensive. She used a term that she thought was perfectly polite and appropriately descriptive. Does the potentially offended listener have some responsibility to take intent into consideration, politely let the offender know how they feel, and offer an appropriate and non-offensive alternative phrasing?
Why couldn’t we expect the OP’s son’s GF to respond by saying, “The term ‘mulatto’ makes me uncomfortable, I prefer the term ‘mixed-race,’” rather than just making a face at her?
There’s actually nothing in bare’s statement to qualify whether or not offense was taken at all - she might just have been surprised that bare was so accepting of the situation, or that s/he found mulatto children beautiful, or maybe her vibrating pager went off unexpectedly.
Mulatto is a generally accepted term since it is specific to ethnic genetics. As far as I’m concerned, offense is in the attitude of the speaker, not in the dictionary terms used.
As it turned out, she was offended. I printed out and showed her this thread after asking her about her response.
Problem is, this really is the sticks and she is inexperienced enough with interracial relationships that she honestly thought it was a derogatory term.
It all worked out well, we’re dispelling ignorance and the child is indeed beautiful!
