We all want to have our identities recognised by others, as well as our own need to be happy and confident in our sense of identity/self. How I classify yourself is partly about belonging isn't it, and I can show respect for others identity by asking how people define ourselves rather than imposing my own judgement on others. I know sometimes I feel the need to mention having Jewish heritage if I'm feeling like someone is defining me in their mind, boxing me up so to speak.
If others choose to use these tags as insults or minimising/demeaning ways I hope that I get a chance to share what I've learned with them, if not well, life is short and I'm not responsible for everything, that kind of thing is more about them than me.
My ex defines herself as black british, our kids we call dual heritage. mixed race is out there is only one race, the human race, and a lot of the other labels/tags have really uncomfortable history, which I'm not interested in perpetuating - remembering yes. Using more specific tags is a way of individuating a person, I suppose if the motivation behind it is not respect then it doesn't matter what language you use.
peacenick
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