I thought a “macaroon” was someone who was half-Scottish and half-black . . .
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by you with the face *
**“Octaroon” used to be the name for someone who was one-eighth black.
Ok thanx…I’m some where between 1/4 and 1 eighth…It all depends how you figure it up I guess…so I dont know what I’m called…
Well, I suppose it would depend on where you live. My uncle-who, btw, is pretty dark being Italian-German, is a huge racist and would kill his kids if they dated a black person. Of course, my cousins are as racist as he is.
Of course, they’re almost as dark as Halle or Mariah-deep olive skin tones.
So in the end, does it make a difference? My maternal grandfather was Hungarian-Slovak, as I believe I mentioned, and he was dark enough to pass as Middle Eastern.
According to all the cites so far mentioned in this thread, you’re black. Around these parts I think you will probably be called sum.
I recently heard a radio interview with a famous black enternainer-- can’t remember exactly who-- and he made a comment that I had never heard before. He claimed that it was a well known fact in Hollywood, esp among black actors, that there is a definite gender/color line drawn. Most successful black actresses are light skinned, while most successful black male actors are dark skinned. Lena Horne, Halle Berry vs Sidney Poitier and Denzel Washington, for example. He had a theory as to why he thought this was so, but I can’t exactly recall. So if you’re confused as to whether Halle Berry is white or black, you can blame it on a conspiracy of Hollywood producers and directors.
Good point on the Tiger Woods thing Biggirl. My mom told me what a black comedian said about it (can’t recall the name however) but as funny as they were, they were also true.
The comedian talked about Tiger calling himself the Camblasian thing and he said (to paraphrase) “Fuzzy made the joke about him bringing Fried Chicken and Watermelon. You didn’t hear him make a joke about brining Shrimp Fried Rice and Eggrolls did you?”
I think it’s worth noting that most of the discussion here is about black and white.
I suppose that most of posters are from the US.
Are there definitions or delineations for things like scholarships that are to go to minority groups in the US? I mean if someone who considered themselves to belong to a minority group racially but looked white could they be disqualified?
Could be, but all are not from the Contential U.S you see.
Actullay where I live, I think 20% to 25% of the population are mixed enthicites. Yes that does mean one out of 4 or 5. Not sure of the actual satistic though.
by SimonX:
No.
by John Mace
It’s true, sad to say. Lisa Bonet. Vanessa Williams. Halle Berry. Michel Michelle. Gloria Rubens. Tisha Campbell. Lynn Whitfield. Jada Pinkett. Tyra Banks. Jasmin Guy. A disproportionate number of black celebrity-status actresses are light-skinned. Can’t say that about their male counterparts. Why?
The white standard of beauty still reigns in our collective consciousness. Although we’ve progressed enough to allow women with browner complexions some spot-light time, we still are more biased towards European features. Skin is just one part of it. Iman is an example of a relatively dark-skinned woman who made it, but if you take a look at her facial features you’ll see that they are not like those typically associated with black people. I once heard her say that someone has described her as a “white woman dipped in chocolate.” That about sums it up.
Men don’t play by the same aesthetic rules that women do. Their skin color and features don’t pose as much of a potential liability. Maybe Sydney Poitier broke down some doors for dark-skinned black men, and allowed them to be sex-symbols not in spite of but because of their features. I don’t know the answer, but I can’t think of anyone really analogous to Poitier for dark-skinned women.
How would a scholarship grantor determine if someone “really” was a member of a minority racial group? If a white kid applied for educational assisstance earmarked for black kid by claiming to be black do you think he’d get it?
No, because it goes by a percentage of blood rule, not by looks. Under that rule, I count as a Native American, am 1/16th. I look white, except for high cheekbones and thick hair. I wouldn’t dream of claiming it, as I was raised with all the priviledges of being “white”. Those funds should go to others who didn’t have that ease. My great-grandfather was half Cherokee and half white. He “passed”, and headed West, became Asst. Postmaster of Los Angeles. He remained quite conflicted about it, and preferred to spend his off time in the non-white pool halls in LA. From what has been passed down about him to me, he felt tortured about being mixed blood. It was a hard time to deal with society’s view of that.
As to black actresses, and what physical traits allow them to become successful, it’s pretty much the same for all women–Lithe, tiny nose, delicate… nice decoration. Black actresses have that double whammy of being female and up and coming color; not an easy thing in Hollywood. I don’t know that darkness of skin was the issue with Sidney Poitier, or for that matter, Paul Robeson; they were just such incredibly talented individuals that they forced all barriers down.
Simon:
We went over the scholarship thing on the U of Mich thread. Someone was kind enough to call the university and was told that they don’t check. They just pretty much rely on the what the applicant says. I do know of whites here who have checked a “minority” box on applications and had no problems whizzing thru the system.
Face:
I think you may be making somewhat of a mistake about Iman. If memory serves me correctly, she is from Somalia, i.e., east Africa. We often tend to think of West Africans when we think of blacks. East Africans do look different, and she may not be all that unusual looking compared to a lot of folks from where she was born. Not sure if it’s always been that way or if there has been more intermarrying with non-Africans in that part of the continent. But you’re right, though, she does have “caucasian” features.
Reading you post I did recall the theory on why succssful male black actors tend to be darker skinned-- that they are seen as less of threat to white guys than lighter skinned blacks are. Anyway, that’s what the guy on the radio said, I’m not saying I believe it or know it to be true myself.
I don’t know about black but I know a girl who was in an outreach program for minority students and she is white, in every sense of the word. Her great grandfather was from Spain, though, and she used this as a justification for being in the program. Turns out she didn’t have to do this though, because the program was open to anyone, but I’m sure no one would have asked for a pedigree.
Sometimes I wonder about this, because I think self-identity is very important. For instance, I have a cousin who looks white. I’m talking, she makes Mariah Carey look like Mahalia Jackson! But my cousin is black (as defined historically) since one of her parents (her mother, my aunt) is black. And she was raised to view herself as a black woman. For someone to rob her of the right to call herself “black” isn’t fair, IMHO. I know if she tried to get “benefits” because of her heritage, many people would have a problem with it. And yet no one would think twice about her more visibly “black” brothers doing likewise. It doesn’t make sense, this thing called race.
The hypothesis I’ve heard regarding dark-skinned black men is that they represent the symbol of sexual prowess associated with the “Mandigo Warrior” stereotype. Also, there’s the idea that all attractive men are “tall, dark, and handsome.”
I am a neonatal nurse and Halle Berry would be considered white on her birth certificate. We always put what mom’s natonality is because who’s to say who the real father is sometimes. This, of course, is true if they have the same or similar documentation that we have now.
Even if the father is known to be black, you would put white?
Slight nitpick. Here in NY, if Halle’s parents were married at the time of her birth, then legally the husband is the father. Even if the husband been on Jupiter for the past 3 years.
by John Mace
I’m not claiming that she’s unusual looking for her “people”. And I’m not denying her beauty. But I am saying that her dark skin doesn’t represent a professional liability because it is offsetted by her Europeanesque features.
Not sure if it’s always been that way or if there has been more intermarrying with non-Africans in that part of the continent.If memory serves me correctly, she is from Somalia, i.e., east Africa. We often tend to think of West Africans when we think of blacks. East Africans do look different, and she may not be all that unusual looking compared to a lot of folks from where she was born. Not sure if it’s always been that way or if there has been more intermarrying with non-Africans in that part of the continent.
Um, ignore that last part.