Do mothers/fathers of biracial children get offended by this?

Question

Do any mothers/fathers get offended when their child identifies w/ only one of their races? It happens in the black community a lot, were the child will just identify w/ their black side. I've always wondered how the mother/father felt about the child denying, at least in public, an entire side of them.

I know in recent times things are getting better, biracial children will now just call themselves biracial not just one race. Parents, how do you feel?

Answer 1

I am a "biracial" child, well actually multiracial. My dad's Puerto Rican, mom's Italian/Irish (the Puerto Rican in me is multiracial in descent).

My mom's family gets extremely offended when I identify or even speak of my latin side, claiming their side takes precedence just because i was raised around them and my father was MIA. I don't care though because it'd be stupid NOT to acknowledge all of me regardless of what some idiots did.  

I just say I'm mixed. I don't like most Puerto Ricans (because of MANY bad experiences with them,  mostly from bullying and rejection I've experienced came from them (including my father's side of the family) and other latinos and how many Puerto Ricans in general tend to act ghetto and rude), I can't say I care for Italians (specifically Italian-Americans), I'm not hispanic because I don't speak spanish, I don't really identify as being (full) white either because to me when I think of white I think of WASPy types, which I'm nothing like.

Answer 2

Slowly things are changing and biracial children are beginning to identify with both parents.

I think that's because there are more and more biracial children now.

Both parents make the child who they are and both sides are important.

Answer 3

well my experience with my child is that hes part white part black but hes telling everyone hes and indian

id be happy if he'd identity with the truth

Answer 4

I am trying to raise my son as balanced as possible.  His father is Mexican, I am white and was raised in the US.  Both backgrounds are important to know and appreciate and there are many different aspects to each of these.  Not all Mexicans are the same, not all white Americans are the same.  If one day my son chooses to identify with a certain social group of Mexicans, I will not be offended.  It's his choice, as long as he's not breaking the law.  :]

Answer 5

im white and my baby daddy is black.  my son is only 15 months however i consider him black.  in my opinion i like that my son is considered black.  to me a lot of black men have strong minds.  with how society is these days, i know its 2008 however racism exists a lot, i want my son to know who he is and what some people are going to think of him as he grows and i want him to learn to be strong and stand up for himself.  as someone said earlier though my son looks indian(native american) skin color wise.. once he gets older he can choose what he was to be considered, obviously biracial is the correct term however if he wants to be white/black/indian/hipanic... lol thats what he wants, being his mother it doesn't matter to me because i know who he is and what his heritage is and he does to, it is just what he was society to think about him that matters.   if he can make life easier for him then i am all for it!!!

Answer 6

some parents do, some parents don't-

the one drop rule makes anyone who is 1/2 black, asian, native american, pacific islander, etc- that race- not white-

so- i guess it just depends on the parent-

i think it could offend them-

but if a kid looks mostly black- the kid is black to most- like say barack obama and halle berry- they look black to most- so like most don't even consider their biracial roots-

Answer 7

I'm white.  My daughter is biracial.  She identifies more with her black heritage than white.  I think it's because at this time in her life she feels more accepted in the black community but she is in no way critical or in denial of her white roots.

It does not offend me.  I'm happy that she is comfortable and confident in who she is.

Answer 8

Yeah, it is great to embrace your heritage, but in the end I just want my children to be proud of who they are, no matter what part of their heritage, if any, they choose to embrace.