[Stephaniem]

What do people of color like to be called? I find myself shying away from Mexicans, blacks, Oriental and others because I do not want to offend them by using the wrong term.

User Detail :  

Name : Stephaniem, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 26, City : Porterville, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Sara28346]

Why do you need a label for people of color? If you get to know people as individuals and learn to like them for who they are, there really isn't any reason to call them anything other than their names. I mean, I have friends of all races but I don't say, 'I was talking to my White friend, Bill, and my Black friend, April and my Mexican friend, Julio'. If you have to have a label, why not just ask the person what they prefer. Not even all people of color agree on what they want to be called.

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Name : Sara28346, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 37, City : Lansing, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Manager, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Renee32496]

I am suprised that someone who claims to be a Christian can still ask such a question in this day. Why must anyone be addressed according to their ancestrial heritage? The proper term to address someone by is Miss, Mister, Misses, or Ms. to be followed by the sirname if known. Take a look at the examples that Christ and the Apostles showed when dealing with different people. Paul is an outstanding role modle. Under all colors of skin lie flesh and bone. Cultural differences are to be celebrated not serve as a dividing line.

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Name : Renee32496, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 34, City : New Orlenas, State : LA Country : United States, Occupation : self-employed, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Shana]

In my opinion, you can never go wrong doing the hyphenated thing. Asian-American, African-American etc. It's really more important what not to say. Oriental is not politically correct, and you should probably try to find out if someone actually is Mexican before refering to any Latino that way. Once you start talking to people, you'll probably find out that as long as you try to be courteous and friendly, an occasional blunder will be forgiven. As long as you don't use a pejorative term, I think you'll be okay.

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Name : Shana, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Newark, State : DE Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Samuel]

At this moment, I can't really think of any reason why you or I would need to mention the 'race' or ethnicity of any person whom we may actually be talking to. However, if you're speaking to someone, and it does come up, why not just ask the person what they prefer to be called? You will not only solve the obvious dilemma of not knowing, but you will (if you are dealing with someone reasonable enough to rate your social interaction) most likely demonstrate your intelligence and sensitivity to this person, thus making them feel more comfortable with you. In other words, 'the beginning of wisdom is: 'I do not know.' Your obvious sincerity, Stephanie, should provide you with the rest.

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Name : Samuel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 31, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Mandi]

Personally, I like to be called 'Amanda'.

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Name : Mandi, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 21, City : Boston, State : MA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dennis25695]

Hey Stephanie, you will do fine by calling blacks 'African-Americans', and calling Hispanics 'Latinos.'

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Name : Dennis25695, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, 

[Reese]

First off, I wouldn't be saying people of color, I'm Native American, and I'm not purple. If you don't know what ethnic background a person is, you shouldn't say anything about it in the first place, because you dont want to call a Puerto Rican a Mexican, or a Chinese person a Korean. In my case, either Native American or American Indian is okay. Names like 'squaw' are derogatory, and you'll get more then a dirty look. A good idea is look at the race box you filled out when you were writing your comment, I think those are proper enough. Asian, Hispanic, Latino, African American, Black, White, Caucasian, etc

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Name : Reese, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : American Indian, Age : 21, City : Anchorage, State : AK Country : United States, Occupation : Teacher/Activist, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

[Wildflower]

Often when you speak to a person on a human level, race doesn't come up in the conversation, but if it does, it's OK to ask 'what term do you prefer?' In Southern California, there are a lot of Hispanic people. Depending on who I ask, people prefer either 'Latino/a' or 'Chicano,' or a specific connection with a home country such as 'Mexican-American' or 'Cuban-American,' and some prefer 'Hispanic.' To ask is not offensive to most people, but instead shows an effort to relate to and interact with those outside your own race. The best thing about this interaction is that in short order, you find that we have a lot more in common than we think, or that's been my experience, anyway.

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Name : Wildflower, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 30, City : Long Beach, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Assistant Academic Coordinator, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[annonymous]

Steph: I agree with Wildflower most will respond postively simply because you bothered to ask. Why use a racial term at all? If you are talking about me specifically, I prefer black. Growing I identified with black so that is what I'm most comfortable with. And if I am the only black in the room and you wanted to describe me to someone else, don't sweat yourself. Say, 'The lovely black woman over there.' By the way, oriental describes furniture. The correct term would be asian.

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Name : annonymous, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 34, City : Detroit, State : MI Country : United States, 

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