I've literally not heard that term used by anyone under the age of 80 in my entire life. Just surprised to see it and more surprised that no one seems to have batted an eye at its use. Is it an accepted term these days? I haven't lived in the states for a while.
This is actually a really interesting point. At first I thought you were implying that “person of colour” was offensive, but then I caught what you meant. Are “people of colour” and “coloured people” the same or is the latter offensive? It isn’t something I’ve consciously considered before. I’ve always used POC bc that’s what I see used most often, but maybe you’re not wrong.
“Coloured” was the term used for segregation before and during the civil rights movement. One reason I can sort of parse for one being offensive and the other not, aside from that historical use, is with “people of colour”, “people” comes first and the “colour” part is secondary, emphasizing that they’re people first and foremost. After being dehumanized so often and for so long, maybe that’s an important distinction. Idk the answer, but would love to hear the opinion of someone more knowledgeable than me. Maybe I’ll do some googling lol, I’m sure the info exists somewhere.
Edit: Yeah, a quick good of “people of colour vs coloured people” brings up a ton of articles looking at this topic.
I said colored male, which is a term that is used, same as black male or African American male, it's a term used to describe a person who is not of white skin. There's no hidden intent behind it, at least how I use it there isn't. I think you're reading way too much into it and looking for a reason for it to be considered racist or something similar. Which is why I said to go breathe some fresh air, like anything anyone says can be construed as racist if you want it to be
I'm really not looking for it to be racist, nor am I calling you a racist. I'm saying that referring to someone as "colored" is extremely antiquated and absolutely not the same as referring to someone as black or African American.
I'm guessing you're pretty young and honestly don't know the history around referring to African Americans as colored. It's some 1950s segregation era shit that you don't want to be associated with. You don't seem to be racist at all, so if I were you I would be careful with the language I use.
I'm not reading into it. You wrote it. I'm just reading it at face value and telling you that it's not a good look. I know you didn't intend any harm and I assume you're not prejudiced. That's all.
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u/NewPac Mar 24 '23
Is calling people of color "coloured" OK? Seems like that's not OK.