Re: mixedfolksforums, Nope, we haven’t. I’m always this tag pretty much everywhere I post.

Um, yes, they WILL know what hapa means. 1) I live on the East Coast, and I’ve heard it. 2) it’s a relatively neutral term for mixed Asians, unlike some others for mixed ancestry. 3) it doesn’t DIVIDE, it just helps identify.

Um, never said mulatto was a neutral term (I have NEVER promoted it, have no idea why you targeted me for that little rant). I said that no biracial white/black person I know uses it. BECAUSE It’s not a neutral term. You must have me confused w/ someone else, maybe at Mixedfolks?

I’m not saying we’re “SO DIFFERENT”. GOD. READ WHAT I POSTED. And don’t read emotions into anything I’m posting unless it’s obvious (see emphasized capitals above) - it’s the net, after all.

If I may steal a bit from GLBT phrasing, it’s not “special words,” it’s equal words. And by that, I mean, if an Irish American dude can call themselves Irish-American with impunity (i.e. in today’s America it’s v.v. unlikely to get you hired and fired, or denied housing), then why can’t a mixed Asian person identify as Hapa, especially if it fits their POV and helps answer annoying questions? I’m not saying that anyone should ALWAYS identify a certain way - just that if the descriptor works for them, then who the hell am I to say otherwise?

most ppl that use those speical mix terms are in the minority.
if someone says “i’m hapa” (outside of hawaii/cali/seattle) ppl will be like wtf are u talking about?

i don’t think that what i wrote is all that confusing.
i’m not expecting you to think that all mixed people have exactly the same experience, rather i’m expecting that as multiracial people that we should be identifying as multiracials before trying to separate ourselves into groupings of who’s this mix or who’s that mix.

as for mulatto, maybe where u are from it’s a nuetral term, but where i’m from it’s a pretty racially insensitive word, and i wouldn’t doubt that other parts of the country (minus the south) feel the same way.

anyways. forget it, i have a paper to write.

my annoyance concerning these specialized mixed words is not from me trying to take away from someone’s experience as a mixed person, but from the fact that it’s like just damn annoying? i dunno, i have pride when i say that i’m mixed, i don’t need a special word for my mix to show my pride.

besides, since we’re all so different as you say, what’s the point of even caring about anything? the feeling i get from you is that because we have differences, we can’t understand each other; i believe that we can, but when you are using special words like that you put up walls to communication.

Seems like you want it both ways: you claim that terms shouldn’t be used, and then claim that black/white and white/asian mixes are against the others. Maybe that’s true on your campus. In my experience, not so much.

Hapa does NOT mean just white/asian, to my understanding. The term originated in Hawaii and means any part Asian mix (if more white/Asian first gen mixed people use it, maybe it’s because there are a lot of them in the mixed population). The same for white/black people (we’re pretty common - when I first joined SWIRL and attended a NYC function, it was the first time ever that I was a majority instead of a rarity) -= although noone I know uses “mulatto” or any other term other than mixed or biracial.

It’s an identifier not meant to isolate, but to end the questions and also express some pride or at least accuracy in identification.

Again, if cultural experiences are different, then why should we all identify the same way? Sounds like one-droppism to me.

Those inclusive groups EXIST. And we have a lot to learn about each other. The common experiences of most mixed people revolve around the dominant society’s response to THEM. Therefore, since we tend to fall outside the societal/cultural norm, we are treated similarly (”what are you” questions, assumed to favor one culture over another, especially if one is minority versus minority, assumed to be confused, etc.).

However, I will not insult a, say, Japanese/Hispanic person by assuming that their experiences are the same as mine, as a black/white biracial, SIMPLY BECAUSE WE’RE BOTH MIXED. Just as I don’t assume my future kids will have the same experiences as myself as multigen mixes (they will be PuertoRican latino/a, black, and white, and unlike myself, have 2 identified minority parents).

Seems like you want it both ways:

why is it so offensive to ppl to just be “mixed” rather than creating a label that you and a handful of other people know?

what about those of us that are mixed with 3 or more groups?
what about those of us that don’t have an uprbringing that has some cultural aspect to it?

i don’t think “lumping” us together negates the experience of being mixed, instead we are forming bonds with other mixed people.
part of the reason that the mixed community is so fractured is that we only look at our own mix and we exclude other mixes.
when i go abroad, i say that i am “american”, this doesn’t negate my mixedness, if they want to know further info i can tell them.

i personally don’t think the use of key words to describe types of mixedness is helpful to anyone.
what’s next; words that let you know if your father or mother is the mexican one? we can still be unique as individuals, but it pains me to see mixed ppl on my campus that don’t go to the mix club because “it’s not a black/white or white/asian or indian/white specific club.”

By the way, I love the site. I been reading the posts off and on for the past month or so.

However, CULTURALLY there can be huge amounts of difference, and I have to respect that. Someone who is of Vietnamese and Japanese heritage, vs. Someone of African-American and Chinese heritage, vs. Someone of African-American/Hispanic heritage, vs. Someone of African-American/ White heritage, vs. someone of Hispanic/Hawaiian… etc. [Insert Combo Here] is going to have different experiences in the US based on location, cultural involvement of the individual and the parents, environment, language, diversity of environment, etc.

To lump us all together negates the value of those various cultures and ethnicities. To lump us all togehter is to make broad and therefore meaningless generalizations.