Black And White Review Game
Presented with its trademark nod to late-seventies retro simplicity, the idea this time is to control a single pixelated black 'void' with the nunchuk stick and negotiate the environment as waves of blocks sweep onto the screen from all angles.
There's one simple rule to progression: swallow up as many of the incoming black blocks as you can while avoiding the white ones. Every black block you collect increases the size of the void, making it easier to collect subsequent blocks while also making it tougher to avoid the white ones.
The trick is knowing when best to stab the A button and contract your void, and when to let yourself get fat and hoover everything up before it whizzes out of reach and scuppers your combo multiplier. Hit too many white blocks and you'll wind up inhabiting a soundless black-and-white otherworld until you redeem yourself by collecting enough black blocks.
With three increasingly taxing stages to barrel through, it quickly becomes as much a brutal test of pattern recognition as adaptive reaction speed and sheer rhythmic instinct. And just like the other two Bit.Trip titles, the difficulty curve will bloody the noses of anyone not blessed with the requisite insect powers of twitch reaction time and knack for committing patterns to memory.
With typically insane bosses to face, it's fortunate that checkpoints allow you to make a modicum of progress - but even then you'll likely be in for a rough ride. Up to three friends can also help out and control a void of their own, but this doesn't make it easier, it just twists the game into something else altogether.
The inability to upload high-scores is a minor disappointment, but otherwise Bit.Trip Void is an unqualified success, and for 600 Points from the Wii Shop it's well worth investigating.
8/10
To Page 2
BS wrote:
Would “Why is it important to you?/Why do you need to know?” fit into any of the possible plays above? This usually applies to a random person who has never gotten to know you but may want to have an “exotic adventure”, depending on “what” you are.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:12 am ¶
BS wrote:
I forgot to mention that I like the picture of Vin Diesel: he’s ethnically ambiguous and thinks that anyone who doesn’t need to know what he is doesn’t need to know what he is.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:15 am ¶
Cindy wrote:
I think the keep your mouth shut routine is best. Anyone of mixed race or not specifically identifiable origin has been so trained by years of being asked “What are you?” that they will virtually all advance the information without prompting. …usually within the first few minutes of any conversation. The years of learning that this must be aired before any meaningful dialogue can begin is just too powerful to ignore.
So here’s my rule…a little flip on the game…a wild card maneuver if you will:
2) Hold out as long as possible without asking “What are you?” and record how long it takes the “object” to tell you.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:19 am ¶
sweeterjuice wrote:
“Me? I’m a human being. What are you?”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:41 am ¶
Mickey wrote:
In “Flipping the Script”, you as the player can ask the Asker, “What are YOU?” which will also illicit an embarrassed response from them since the ball is now in their court and they need to answer to you why they are asking about your background.
This is the story of my life as well. And I was just talking to a friend about a past incident that happened to me in high school dealing with this very topic. (Que in Twilight Zone theme.)
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:42 am ¶
Gregory A. Butler wrote:
“It’s no wonder that the majority of mixed folks I have known have – at some point – considered themselves isolated and without community.”
CVT, with all due respect, I think it’s a bit presumptuous to say that a majority of mixed folks feel that way.
I certainly never did – I’m a biracial African American who had a White father, and I figured out pretty early on that I was considered Black.
I don’t pretend to speak for all biracial African Americans.
Some of us try and assimilate with White Americans (my brother tried that – it’s difficult because of the whole skin color thing)
Some of us assimilate into the African American community (which has been the default path for us in this country since the first slavemaster raped the first slave in the early 1600’s)
Some have even tried to carve out a separate identity as a whole other race, distinct from our races of origin.
And there is the whole Louisiana Creole thing that is a whole separate phenomenon.
And that’s just the Black/White biracial experience!
It’s different for folks who are mixed with other races – and, of course, there are individuals within all of those groups who cope their own way with race.
So please don’t be so quick to generalize about all biracial folks!
As for the “what are you” question – it never bothered me – when I was in elementary school, I’d give everybody the detailed answer – but since I was about 8 years old, I’ve just told folks that “I’m Black” and that settled that.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 9:43 am ¶
inkst wrote:
A-EFFING-MEN!!!
Quite possible that not a majority of mixed race people have dealt with this, but my siblings and I are certainly familiar with this game. It’s even better when people just assume a race or ethnicity: Are you Jewish/Arab/Greek/Mexican? Has often been asked to me flat out. What never ceases to amaze me is that in my adult life I continue to hear this question. It just comes out of the blue once in a while with a new acquaintance, and I have to admit, it results in my immediately writing them off.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:03 am ¶
Ladymorgue wrote:
I had experience in high school were people only came up to me ask ask me ” What are you?” I tell them and they walk away. Keep in my they never ask my name, they don’t know me. But I had the experience were I was washing my hands in the bathroom and a girl came up to be and asked “me what are you?”. If anyone does that to me again, I will lie to you. I will try to mess with your head. I will say I am Argentinian or even Vulcan, heck I told a girl sarcastically I was Persian when she asked (more than once ) if I was filipino. You know it is a lie and I know it is a lie. If you about nice about asking my racial background then, I will you tell. This mean that “what are you” question the first or second or third question you ask me.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:16 am ¶
Jin6655321 wrote:
I’m Korean, just that, nothing else. However, I get asked the “Where are you from?” question A LOT, from Asians and non-Asians. I used to “play dumb”:
Where are you from?
Virginia
… Were you born here?
Yup.
… Were your parent’s born here?
Yup.
Now, I’m so tired of it, I just bluntly say, “Look, I know you’re not trying to be rude but I get asked that question so many times it’s annoying.” It amazes me how many people respond by just kind of staring at me for a bit and ask, “Okay but… Where are you from?” as to say, well yes, THOSE people are annoying but, clearly, I’m not so please answer.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:34 am ¶
Asha wrote:
@Gregory A. Butler
CVT didn’t say a majority of ALL mixed folks, just the majority of mixed folks CVT knows.
This would make an interesting board game…..
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:40 am ¶
michael wrote:
you know, i don’t look as ambiguous as a lot of people who are the same mix as me (filipino/anglo-irish mutt), so the question comes much less often than for more ambiguous people, and it’s more a surprise than an irritation when it does. i think it happens more with asians than with white people, since whiteness is a very wide tent these days, from scottish to slavic, and i’m pretty pale. people say i have the asian eyes but that they just make me look tired.
anyway, to the point – this probably isn’t as bad as the OP has it, but looking very white and not being fully white turns the heritage thing pretty sour. there’s a big shock and surprise that it seems to bring to people, which isn’t so bad, because honestly i’d be surprised too. but what’s worse is the racist bullshit it seems to inspire in a ’select’ few. like, oh, this guy’s a white guy but he grew up among filipinos so he’ll really get this stupid joke about the accent. or eating with spoons and forks (something i learned not to do in public early on). or find it hilarious when i ‘ironically’ insist that he make peace/victory signs in every photo or slant his goddamn eyes. and apparently filipinos love east side mario’s? i’ve never actually heard of that one and i’ve been immersed in the immigrant community since i was born, so maybe that’s just something that guy picked up somewhere. it’s like they assume my phenotype or skin colour makes me share their prejudices against my family and find it extra-funny because of proximity. honestly i’ve just taken to saying ‘canadian’ or ’scarberian’ when the question comes up these days, people read that as ‘white’ and continue on, and i stopped self-identifying as filipino a while ago so it’s as good an answer as any.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:43 am ¶
Eva wrote:
@Gregory A. Butler:
I’m with you on that one. Once Mom was a juror on a case and the defendant did not want to have an all white jury, but the plaintiff’s attorney believed my mom wasn’t white. So the judge called her into chambers and said: “I need to ask you a few questions about your ethnicity.” Mom was like, “Oh please, I’m black. The end.”
Me, people just walk up to me and ask me directions in Spanish.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:45 am ¶
michael wrote:
let me clarify, after having read my above post: it’s -definitely- not as bad as the OP has it, since i look almost entirely white and therefore benefit from all sorts of white privilege. it’s just that when they find out i’m mixed they feel entitled to crank up the stupid bullshit because obviously having these people for family i must feel the same way.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:46 am ¶
Molly M. wrote:
@ Gregory Butler:
I agree that it’s important to be mindful about generalizations; a monolithic experience can’t be ascribed to the varied and complex ways in which individuals negotiate identity, but CVT was referring to people they know personally. Also, regardless of whether or not one feels a visceral affront when approached with these questions, that doesn’t excuse the implications they carry. I’m not mixed race, but I was adopted from Calcutta and grew up in a white family and predominantly white community. I was frequently asked “Where are you from?” which has the same implications as “What are you?” Implicitly, you’re different (than us)/you don’t belong/etc.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:49 am ¶
Molly M. wrote:
P.S. @ Jin6655321:
Then it’s “No, no, where are your parents from?”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:51 am ¶
chumsley wrote:
I have to admit I’ve always been a bit of a jerk when playing the “what are you” game. My goal is usually to deliberately misunderstand the person in an effort to see how long I can give them the run around and frustrated they get.
The recent change to this game I’ve seen is people thinking they’re being subtle by asking “where are you from?” which quickly morphs into ” where are you really from?” or “what’s your home country?” I once had someone eventually throw in the towel and say “what I’m really trying to find out is what race you are.” (apparently you can’t look vaguely Asian and be a native Texan)
It gets frustrating sometimes, especially since my family doesn’t get why it bothers me. My mom thinks it isn’t a big deal and I should be proud to tell them I’m half Japanese. My brother can pass as white so he never really gets that question…unless he’s hanging out with me!
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:04 am ¶
Ruchama wrote:
A few months ago, a guy came up to me on the street and asked, “Where your people from? They ain’t from this country, are they?” And the weird thing is that I’m sure he’s been asked that question plenty of times himself — his looks were also fairly ambiguous.
Oddest experience was in college, I was walking to the dining hall, and I heard somebody shout out, “Hey!” I turned around, and there was a group of black guys looking at me. One of them asked, “You black?” I said no. He asked, “You mixed?” I said no again. He said “OK,” and the group went back to whatever they’d been talking about.
I’m white, but with dark coloring and curly hair. When I told that story to a black friend, she kind of tilted her head, examined me a bit, and said, “Yeah, I can see that.”
I’ve also got a somewhat unusual last name, so sometimes people who see my name will try to ask a bit more subtly with “What kind of name is that?” Generally, I’ll answer “German,” since the name’s origin language is German, and because it’s kind of fun to watch people try to process that.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:25 am ¶
Gregory A. Butler wrote:
Eva # 12 – I live in a Dominican and Mexican neighborhood, so a lot of folks make the assumption that I’m Latino, and just walk up to me and launch into a Spanish language conversation.
I quickly correct them “Yo no soy Latino – soy Negro”, they’ll reply (usually in English) “But you look Spanish!” I’ll tell them “My father was White” and that’s that – conversation over.
I find CVT’s approach to be rather passive-aggressive and, frankly, kinda rude.
Here’s how I see it, – we live in a racist country, therefore it is important to know what race somebody is, therefore “What are you?” is a legit question to ask somebody who’s race isn’t readily apparent.
Obviously, CVT does not agree with me on this – as is CVT’s prerogative.
Although, if I were to meet CVT in real life, and I were to ask that question, and get the response that CVT outlined in their post, I would certainly get quite vocally offended at what I would perceive to be an unnecessarily rude and nasty reply to what I feel is a perfectly acceptable question.
Mod Note -
Here’s how I see it, – we live in a racist country, therefore it is important to know what race somebody is, therefore “What are you?” is a legit question to ask somebody who’s race isn’t readily apparent
Why? What is the risk and reward in that question, to those posing and those on the receiving end? – LDP
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:27 am ¶
AJ wrote:
Interesting post. An additional rule particular to me in the early 1980s: “If you tell Asker that you’re Indian and they reply ‘Oh? What tribe?’ lose 10 additional HP.” [sigh]
Now that I’m older and both more secure in my ethnic identity and even MORE complicated than before (my 2-week-old baby is 1/2 black, 1/4 white, and 1/4 Asian Indian), I feel like I don’t lose HP because my explanation is so long that it definitely takes a toll on the Asker. I expect a lot of “What are you?” questions to be asked of me, my wife, and my daughter in the years to come, and I ask myself what I would’ve wanted my own parents to teach me about answering that question.
I guess what I’d teach my kid is, “You’ll feel different all the time. You’ll feel different about yourself on different days, and you’ll feel different about being asked about how you feel at different times. If you want to share, feel free and be proud and say what’s in your heart. If you’re not in the mood to share, you can be as silent or snarky as you like. Define yourself and be strong for yourself!”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:29 am ¶
Jane wrote:
I *love* playing flip the script, I’m hugely entertained by the answers I get.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:38 am ¶
Montclair Mommy wrote:
Question to all those “ethnically ambiguous” out there…how can I, as a parent, answer these questions when they are posed to me about my son (2) in a way that doesn’t make him feel isolated or betrayed or give him negative messages about his background? For the record, the questions started coming at around 6 wks (the first time I left the house with him) and have been pretty steady ever since.
Scenario 1: Q: “What is his father” Answer: “A man.”
[silence as I walked away]
Scenario 2: Q: “Where did you get him?” Answer: “Huh? ….[I am genuinely confused... then I get it] He’s mine?” Response: “No, where is he from?” Answer: “Here. Montclair, NJ.” Third Person Intervenes (WOC): “His father is black.” Me: “Ohhh! Is THAT what you meant? Yes, his father is black.”
Scenario 3: Q: Is he Asian? A: No. Q: What is he? A: A baby. [pause] A: [felt uncomfortable b/c of her discomfort] He’s black.
Now that he is speaking and understanding language fully, I want to make sure that his earliest memories of this game are empowering. However, my husband and myself are ethnically non-ambiguous, so we cannot understand how he must feel. Any suggestions? Better to just take tack 1 (give a straight answer) or play dumb or be outright and say that those questions are pretty rude? I mean, depending on the questioner I get a different vibe–but he might not feel that way, you know?
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:43 am ¶
Montclair Mommy wrote:
Re-read my post. I don’t mean to ask all of you to “teach” me–not your job–BUT I would love some opinions from people ‘in the know’ about how it feels. I’ve talked to our ethnically ambiguous friends about it in passing and most of them have their own method. I’m curious to know the opinion of the crowd on Racialicious.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:45 am ¶
Eva wrote:
@Gregory A. Butler:
Eva # 12 – I live in a Dominican and Mexican neighborhood, so a lot of folks make the assumption that I’m Latino, and just walk up to me and launch into a Spanish language conversation.
I quickly correct them “Yo no soy Latino – soy Negro”, they’ll reply (usually in English) “But you look Spanish!” I’ll tell them “My father was White” and that’s that – conversation over.
————————————————–
Funny. I work in a Dominican neighborhood. I usually tell them IN SPANISH that I’m black. And of course I get, “you look Spanish.” And I just say, “I know.”
In 1983 I was in Dakar Senegal and someone asked me if I was from Puerto Rico.
Once in my neighborhood (mainly a black neighborhood) a white woman walked up to me and asked where the Dominican restaurants were.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:46 am ¶
atlasien wrote:
I wouldn’t have a problem with “what are you” questions if people actually listened to my answer.
I used to answer in good faith, until I realized people weren’t listening. Much of the time, when I said what I was, people would argue with me or disagree. 90% of the time, “what are you” wasn’t even a real question designed to get to me know better. Instead, it was a pathetic excuse for people to spout their stupid racial theories and congratulate themselves for being able to “pin me down”. I would get responses like “Well you don’t LOOK like you’re half white.”
After I realized the fundamental disrespect involved in all this, I decided there wasn’t any point making it easier on people who asked me that question.
I’m happy to answer questions asked with sincerity and politeness… even “what’s your ethnicity?” or “what’s your racial background?” But in response to “what are you”, I’m going to tend to give answers like “70% of my body is composed of water” or “I’m a little teapot, short and stout” or “fuck off.”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:47 am ¶
Montclair Mommy wrote:
@AJ–love your post. That’s exactly the feeling I want my son to have–HE should feel like HE has the power to either discuss or not discuss his identity. And he should be the one who determines how it is and how it is not defined on any particular day.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:50 am ¶
K wrote:
“Flipping the Script” is definitely my preferred response to this game. I live in an area where Asian/white mixes are common enough that many people can tell what I am, and often what Asian nationality is part of my mix (Chinese). As a result I’m generally just shunted into the default “Asian” category in most people’s minds.
So when people actually get ballsy enough to ask me what I am, I’ll usually tell them I’m white or my family is Irish and refuse to elaborate any further. I’m sick of only being allowed to identify with the “brown person” side of my heritage all the time. I figure I should get to accrue a few points for my whiteness every once in a while, even if I don’t get to claim the privilege that goes with it.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:03 pm ¶
Montclair Mommy wrote:
@atlasien: My son loves the teapot song. Perhaps I should teach him to sing it in response to that question. Hahahahaha…oh my G-d I am literally laughing in my office when thinking of the look on people’s faces when you respond that way!
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:06 pm ¶
method wrote:
Okay, I think I get this, especially with the “What are you?” question and the idea of random strangers asking about identity, but I think there should be a follow-up dealing with how to inquire politely about “background”. Otherwise you get into a situation where people (not just White people but everyone really) learn to suppress their curiosity out of fear of getting pulled into some awkward slightly unfathomable “game”. I understand about the desire not to have to “explain yourself” but on the other hand it doesn’t seem like a reasonable expectation for people to be perfect “composition detectors”. Should the default response to any kind of curiosity be to punish people for “ignorance”?
Personally, I appreciated it when an instructor in a course introduced himself by starting with “flip-the-script”, asking us to guess what his background was. He was proud of the multiple strands in his background, and he conveyed that to us right away. A lot better than idly wondering for the next 8 weeks.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:17 pm ¶
js718 wrote:
I’m not mix-raced but I do get this question all the time. Like Altasien said it gets annoying because most people dont care and they end up telling YOU about your race and their one or two experiences. They make the mistake of taking something very personal and making it casual conversation and it’s pretty uncomfortable.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:17 pm ¶
Lauren O wrote:
My best friend is white as white can be (as am I). She lives and works in Peru, and while she was home in California for the holidays, she and I were chatting with a cashier in a store. When she revealed that she lived in Peru and that yes, she spoke Spanish fluently, the cashier asked, “What ARE you?” My friend and I, having never had to deal with this question, just burst out laughing. We sort of got that she was asking about race, but to us it really seemed like she was asking, “Are you a human?”
The laughter didn’t really seem to get the cashier lady to reconsider the question. She just rephrased it more clearly (”I mean, like, are you white, or what?”) and then reciprocated by telling us she was half-black, half-white.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:29 pm ¶
RainaWeather wrote:
I would say, “I am Vulcan”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:33 pm ¶
K wrote:
@method: I don’t mean to be rude about this, and I can’t speak for anyone else of mixed heritage, but quite frankly I don’t see what business it is of any curious party to know what my ethnic background is. Of course I don’t think people should expect others to be “perfect composition detectors” as you put it, but do they really need to perfectly detect my composition in order to interact with me? In my experience, no, it’s not necessary, and in many cases it’s not desirable either, as sharing my background with others often just serves as a means for them to pigeonhole me further (as atlasien explains).
Not wanting to share with every curious person doesn’t mean I’m not proud of my heritage. In my mind, it’s actually the opposite case. To me, it means I value the different parts of my family enough that I don’t want to subject them to the judgments of strangers by making them available for the idle and often smug social/racial theorizing of strangers who don’t have any insight into what it’s actually like to be multiracial and generally don’t want any input from actual multiracial people (not to say that you are this way, but for most members of the general public who would engage in the “what are you” game, it’s true).
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 12:40 pm ¶
michael wrote:
@method – it can be kind of painful to not fit into the community you’re born into because you look different. the ‘what are you’ game simply reinforces that, and for people who are very ambiguous, this happens nearly daily.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:06 pm ¶
Ismone wrote:
I’m ambiguous even though I’m white–and yeah, the what are you question is very depersonalizing. For me, it was compounded by the fact that people would tell me that I was not related to my siblings–that they must have been half-siblings, or step-siblings, or I was adopted. Actually, no. If you look at one of my sisters’ eye color and bone structure, we are pretty much dead ringers for eachother (nose and mouth are different, but cheeks, chin, forehead, eyes, all the same). But I am very dark and she is very fair–so of course we are not related.
As far as those questions being asked in a tactful way, usually, if I get to know someone very well, either I’ll bring it up, or we’ll start talking about where our families are from in America, and then before then.
I do like flipping the script, in part because I am very curious about what others think I am–interestingly, the answer is very often simply “not white” without any further explanation.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:14 pm ¶
Melanie wrote:
People usually disagree with me when I tell them that I am Filipina. “Really?!” they ask incredulously. Because I am biracial and fairly light skinned most folks assume I am white.
When I was younger I got the “What are you?” question much more. I usually just say, “I don’t understand what you’re asking me.” and walk away. I am of the opinion that it’s no one elses business what ethnicity I am because I believe that helps inform them how they need to treat me which is clearly bullshit.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:26 pm ¶
alimum wrote:
I never minded this question as a child. I knew I didn’t look like my mom or my dad, I knew my mom was from a place a lot of people didn’t even know existed (”you mean Zanzibar is a real place”), and I was proud of both my parents and wanted to talk about them (”and my dad is from New Jersey, but he was in the Peace Corps in Afghanistan, and his mom’s parents were from Hungary and his Dad’s parents were German, but from Ohio”). It never occurred to me that it was rude of the asker or that they were trying to categorize me. And I probably have offended people over the years because I ask people about their ethnic background (not just people who are hard to classify, I ask everyone and I am always surprised by how many white people have no idea what their ethnic heritage is). I am not trying to categorize anyone, I just am curious and like hearing about people’s experiences and their family histories. Of course, as an adult, I am less nosy (because I do not want to offend) and I tend to be less forthcoming when other people ask me these questions (because I have learned that simple curiosity isn’t always the motivating force behind people’s questions).
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:28 pm ¶
pinksghetti wrote:
Recently on the internet I saw a clip of the “Wendy Williams Show” and Mark Salling from “Glee” was on there. She asked him what ethnicity he was (I never knew people saw his as being biracial). He simply said “I’m whatever you want me to be”. Pretty good answer. I would never ask someone that but I think me, like a lot of people, often wonder to ourselves what someones’s background is because we live in such a race conscious society in the US.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:33 pm ¶
Mickey wrote:
@ method,
That reminds me of an episode on “The Cosby Show” where Theo wants to go on this trip to Egypt and his teacher mentions that at one point there were many types of people coexisting in Egypt and stated that she would have fit in very well there. This prompted the class to ask her about her racial/ethnic background. Later on, she is brought to the Huxtables’ home to meet Theo’s parents and the issue of her background comes up again. Cliff asks her to engage in a game where she is running for public office and in her speech, she has to make it significant to Cliff (posing as the representation of what she is mixed with). Cliff gets it wrong; everyone else gets it right, partly by using the “eyeball test” – Claire states that she can tell that she is part Native American and Cliff’s father said he could see some strong Celtic features (her great-grandmother was Irish.) Vanessa figured out that she was part African-American due to her speech.
The only problem with this episode is that it implied that one can look at a person and tell what they are, but looks can be deceiving.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:53 pm ¶
Eisoj5 wrote:
Since I’m one of a very small minority of Asians in my area, I get the “where are you REALLY from” question more than “what are you?” now. I tell them I’m from Michigan. Then “the Detroit area.” I usually do relent at some point though, and tell them my parents are from Taiwan…at which point I get the “my girlfriend/inlaws/whoever are Filipino/Chinese/Korean/etc., and you looked like them…” response
(The other popular one is “Are you Native?” since we do have a substantial American Indian population. I even have Navajo guys ask me that sometimes.)
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:53 pm ¶
Val wrote:
One of the most perfect examples of people being really curious about someones “race” was during the last summer Olympics and how people were so curious about Lolo Jones. If you googled Lolo back then one of the top queries was “Lolo Jones’ race?”
People, mostly people from Africa, walk up to me and stare for a bit then ask me if I’m either East African or Ethiopian.
The when I tell them I’m African American they say you look and carry yourself like an East African woman.
I still don’t know what that means.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 1:57 pm ¶
Cakes wrote:
ROFL – this is why I luuuuuuve reading your posts, CVT! You just made my awful day 100% better.
I would also add a minus HP for any response I make that elicits a satisfied “ohhhhhhh” from the asker (which always makes me feel gross and like I’ve lost, like now they know all they need to know about me). Minus HP x5 for this answer from any man (in my case) who responds in a sexually turned-on or suggestive manner (e.g. combine “ohhhh” with closed eyes and obvious “dirty exotic” thoughts running through asker’s head). And minus HP x100 for anyone who responds to me saying “Native Hawaiian” with “I love Hawaii! I have a hawaiian shirt collection you know!”
….sigh.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:07 pm ¶
aimerrouge wrote:
@ Mickey: I thought I was the only who used the term “eyeball test.”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:22 pm ¶
Britta wrote:
It’s funny, because I have this experience for exactly the opposite reason, people assume I look too “ethnically homogenous” to be a “real” American. I get asked “what are you?” or “where are you from?” on almost a weekly basis, and most people assume I’m a tourist or an exchange student. If I answer my home town as where I’m from, I always get the “where are you really from?” And some people assume that I’m not giving them the “right” answer because my English must not be good enough, and repeat the question really loudly and slowly with hand gestures. Even pan handlers shout after me “do you speak English?” Once when I went to open a bank account, I was told I needed to bring a copy of my student visa or greencard. I am also extremely white, and I find it ironic that you can too white to be an American. People also do the “guess the ethnicity” game, and the, “I know someone from X country who looks exactly like you, so you must be X.” Of course, not having any racial baggage with it doesn’t make it as offensive, but it is obnoxious to be like, you’re the 3 millionth person to ask me that question, and frankly my ethnic background isn’t really your business. I guess too though, it’s more understandable that people might want to know if I’m from a foreign country, because that is something interesting, rather than merely, “what is your racial makeup?”
Oh, and outside the US, it’s even worse. Absolutely no one believes I’m an American, I’ve even had arguments where people just assumed I was lying to them, or people say, “you are X” and no amount of stating otherwise will convince them.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:29 pm ¶
method wrote:
@K and Michael,
I don’t think anyone has a right to know just because they’re curious, I just question why it would be an automatic policy to deny that curiosity. I’m seeing from the comments that it’s the question “What are you?” and its ilk which is particularly painful. It sounds like it’s the assumption that the “what” is one thing and that the “what” is different from what “we” are that are the painful aspects of this question. It also sounds like the potential interest of the questioner in the outcome is taken into account; whether the person is asking to see if they can “claim” you. So I’m not really defending the “What are you?” question or the kind of curiosity that has an agenda. I just think people should be educated about how (and whether) to ask questions rather than made to feel that curiosity as such is bad.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:32 pm ¶
Just A Thought wrote:
Hmmm, I think there needs to be directions for the Asker who asks “what are you?” or “are you (insert racial/ethnic category)?”. My response has always been a simple ‘flip the script’ to the former, and a curt ‘no’ to the latter. However, invariably I will get “but you look (mixed/dominican/puertorican/other Latina ethnicity)”. I usually say ‘No, I look black. Do you think black people are only (insert description)?” or “I’m black, proud to be black, and being whatever you said is not an upgrade”. How many points would I get? What are some other points-earning responses to that kind of thing?
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:42 pm ¶
Asha wrote:
I used to not mind the “what are you?” question until I started getting it all the time, and people started refusing to believe my answer. So now my response depends on who’s asking, and how patient I’m feeling at the time. I actually had a French woman tell me I must not be fully American because I was a little dark so “Italian? Spanish?” I told her “German, actually” and that shut her up.
Vin Diesel did a short film back in the mid-90’s called Multi-Facial. It’s only 20 min long and worth checking out.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 2:52 pm ¶
CC wrote:
I’m Hispanic, so not only am I a mixed race, but I’m a mixed race that people don’t usually understand as a mixed race. When I say I’m Mexican I get the “But you don’t look Mexican” spiel to which I have to keep myself from telling them to go read a history book and then come back and try to tell me what a Mexican is supposed to look like. I can’t even give a clear breakdown of my ancestors because by this point the family tree is so interwined and well, mixed… which makes it all very tricky.
People need to stop thinking of race as an either/or concept and realize that in reality we’re all just shades in a really large spectrum.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 3:31 pm ¶
jen* wrote:
My standard answer to “What are you?” is “American”. It’s my favorite thing to say. Then people ask where my parents are from – and I say GA and PA – and they’re still stymied. I love it.
I really don’t see how it’s anyone’s business “what” I am, other than being me, and I do not agree with Mr. Butler’s ideas about how to respond, at all. I’m not being rude to answer correctly a question that initiates as a tool to place me in a box of the questioner’s choosing. So what if it’s not the answer they’re looking for?? Maybe they should’ve learned some manners prior to asking.
I’ve been walking down the street, minding my own business, when strangers have come up to me, just to ask “what” I am. In a cab, at work, at school, in the mall, at church, at a party – it gets old. Fast. But I am always amused at the guesses.
In Chicago I was Indian and Puerto Rican. In NYC I was Dominican, Puerto Rican, and “Milano” (a drunk person’s misremembering of the term mulatto). In Florida I was Cuban. In the South, for some reason, I’m very often mistaken for Hawaiian.
Next I’m taking a page out of atlasien’s book. I’m a little teapot!
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 3:38 pm ¶
Darth Paul wrote:
I love to play dumb.
“Fat.”
“Tired of questions.”
(and to be ever assier) “My dad’s djinn and my mother is a jackal”
usually shut them up.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 3:54 pm ¶
n wrote:
When a person guesses at something, I say yes regardless of what it is. “How did you know?!!” Then they go on and on and on about how I’m the TYPICAL whatever-”because I’m Cablinasian and only a Cablinasian woman could be so pretty/dance so well/have eyes like that. We/They’re the best in the world”. I then laugh to myself “Idiot.”
When they just ask I generally just pretend I don’t have a clue what they are asking.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:06 pm ¶
Mickey wrote:
Another page to take from that episode of the Cosby Show, tell them you are “Heinz 57 varieties.” Let’s see how they respond then.
@ aimerrouge,
Yeah, I’ve heard that term on multiple multiracial websites. I also call the “What are you?” question the “Million-dollar Multiracial Question.”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:07 pm ¶
Luisa wrote:
I don’t think all mixed people feel isolated about their identity, but I do think most young conceivably non-white young people go through a period of questioning their racial identity and what it means to them
I had this question asked many, many times as a child, though I think it has declined a lot since I’ve grown up.
My favorite was the lady in Sam’s Club who asked me when I was about ten if I was from Sri Lanka. All apologies to any Sri Lankans reading this, but I was like where? I went home, got out our atlas, and asked my mom to point to Sri Lanka.
No one is obliged to seriously answer this question. The only time I feel sympathetic is when the asker seems to have limited English ability and looks lost.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:07 pm ¶
Ladymorgue wrote:
@Eva &Gregory A. Butler
Hi, when I read your comments, I couldn’t help but wonder, when they say Spanish do they mean Spainish as someone from Spain or synonym for Latin or Hispanic?
@Asha
Wow, People need to know that not all people from Spain and Latin America have an olive skin tone and black hair.
I recall going London and seeing quite a handful of Spaniards with bond hair. my Spanish professor who is from Madrid has red hair.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:17 pm ¶
Ruchama wrote:
In Chicago I was Indian and Puerto Rican. In NYC I was Dominican, Puerto Rican, and “Milano” (a drunk person’s misremembering of the term mulatto). In Florida I was Cuban. In the South, for some reason, I’m very often mistaken for Hawaiian.
Interesting. In New York, people usually guess Puerto Rican or Italian for me, and sometimes Indian. In New Orleans, the guesses were either Arab or black/white mixed. I’ve lived in DC now for seven years and I can’t remember anybody ever trying to guess — aside from a few times that someone asked me for directions in Spanish, it’s usually just “What are you?” here.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:27 pm ¶
JL wrote:
I don’t usually get “What are you?” I get “Are you [fill in specific race or ethnicity here]?”
Things I have been thought to be by questioners (partial list):
“Part-Eskimo” (the questioner’s phrasing, not mine)
Light-skinned mixed white/black
“Half-Italian, half Jewish”
Italian
Greek
“Mediterranean”
Ashkenazi Jewish
“Part-Asian”
I actually find it fun to just answer the question and see how people react. This doesn’t work for everybody, but in my case, it often produces blank or bewildered looks, because I can stretch the answer out for a while.
“Oh, I’m Ashkenazi Jewish, Turko-Cuban Sephardi Jewish, some other Sephardi Jewish, Welsh, Czech, English, Scots-Irish, Winnebago, Irish, Swedish, and Melungeon.”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:39 pm ¶
rk wrote:
@atlasian
of all the posts, I agree with your’s the most. Getting asked about my ethnicity is irritating enough but it seems like people only ask me to argue with me about my race. They’d ask me, I’d tell them I’m chinese, then they’d ask if both my parent’s are chinese, then I’d say yes, then they’d say you don’t look chinese, and then I’d ask what do you mean I don’t “look chinese”. Then they’d say ridiculous things like “you look *insert race of ur choice*”. Then I’d get irritated and ask them how many chinese people they’ve met and if they’ve met even a fraction of all the chinese people in the world.
It’s always the same conversation, at least variations of it. Nothing irritates me more than a person who tells me what THEY think I should look like. My mom gets that a lot too come to think of it, EVEN FROM ASIAN PEOPLE. A korean guy once played the “guess the race” game with my mom and he guessed every ethnicity under the sun EXCEPT Chinese. *rolls eyes*
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 4:57 pm ¶
Molly M. wrote:
@ K (# 32)
“Of course I don’t think people should expect others to be “perfect composition detectors” as you put it, but do they really need to perfectly detect my composition in order to interact with me? ”
Exactly. Couldn’t have said it better myself. And that thing people call curiosity (at least in this context) isn’t innocuous. It stems from a desire to acquire knowledge and control over the individual in question. Another prime example of entitlement by whoever is inquiring.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 5:27 pm ¶
K wrote:
@Method
I’m not totally averse to sharing my background with people; it comes out that way more often than not because the vast majority of the time the people asking DO have an agenda, whether or not it’s totally intentional.
I am much more likely to respond neutrally or positively to the general sentiment of curiosity when the person asking is also multiracial or at least a visible racial minority because it’s an opportunity to touch base on a common experience that we likely share. If the person expressing curiosity doesn’t share in that kind of experience, things get a lot touchier. If there is an actual context to the question such as an ongoing conversation in which my race or my experiences with multiraciality are relevant, I have no problems discussing it openly. If the question is totally unprompted, I am almost certain to react badly or to try to shut the person out by flipping the script or being snarky because 99% of the time, an unprompted query is either motivated by a racialized agenda or simple rudeness.
These kinds of things don’t get asked of white people completely without preface, but somehow if a person is racially ambiguous it becomes okay to make their background your business because if you (hypothetical you) can’t place them they must be mysterious, unusual, or “interesting”. If people would limit themselves to only discussing my race in situations in which it would be acceptable to discuss anyone else’s race, there would probably be much less need to react defensively to such a question.
I don’t want to be seen as an object of interest solely on the basis of phenotypic characteristics I can’t help; that kind of attention only negates my ability to be an object of interest for my purely human traits like personality, hobbies, politics, etc. If someone is unsure of my background and wants me to discuss it with them, they should make sure to establish a rapport with me first. Otherwise they should keep their curiosity to themselves.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 5:32 pm ¶
Jess wrote:
OK, I’ll bite.
I get this occasionally, though I can’t get too irritated about it. I usually answer with “long story, are you interested?” Because it is a long story. A fun one, but involved. Not everybody wants to hear it and I am not always in a mood to tell it.
That, I think, is a better way to go about it for folks whose history is complicated and doesn’t fit neatly into categories.
I might add that PoC do the same thing to me — I have had more than one Latino/a insist that I was Chilean, or had “a latin cast” to me. Which is funny since I have zero blood connection to anyone in Latin America, unless you go back to when there were land bridges across the Bering Strait.
More seriously, I’ve been guilty of asking the same question occasionally, but only when it’s relevant. Like I might, if I am that interested, ask a bit about someone’s family history, because sometimes we’ll get to talking about cooking traditions or stuff like that. Or about holidays we celebrate. Or when I talk about my wedding and ask about theirs. I cannot imagine walking up to a random person and asking that. It just seems idiotic. Why would I care?
I freely admit to being oblivious to some things, but it seems an odd thing to ask unless it’s directly relevant to the conversation at hand.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 5:48 pm ¶
Mickey wrote:
Has anyone here ever heard of the “Bill of Rights for Racially Mixed People” by Maria P.P. Root? There are lines in here that many here will appreciate:
I HAVE THE RIGHT…
Not to justify my existence in this world.
Not to keep the races separate within me.
Not to be responsible for people’s discomfort with my physical ambiguity.
Not to justify my ethnic legitimacy.
I HAVE THE RIGHT…
To identify myself differently than strangers expect me to identify.
To identify myself differently from how my parents identify me.
To identify myself differently from my brothers and sisters.
To identify myself differently in different situations.
I HAVE THE RIGHT…
To create a vocabulary to communicate about being multiracial.
To change my identity over my lifetime — and more than once.
To have loyalties and identification with more than one group of people.
To freely choose whom I befriend and love.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 5:57 pm ¶
CVT wrote:
@ Gregory Butler -
I hear you, and I would never claim to speak for all multi-racial folks – I only speak for me. In my quote, I referred only to those mixed folks I know, personally – not ALL.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 6:35 pm ¶
CVT wrote:
@ Gregory Butler (part 2) -
My issue is not curiosity – it’s HOW it’s asked, and the asker’s intentions. Are they “othering” me or trying to connect?
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 6:41 pm ¶
refresh_daemon wrote:
Monoracials get to play this game too, as long as ethnicity is important in the asker’s mind. Most of the time, I want to “go off”, but manage to either flip the script or answer literally. But the part that gets me is how people feel entitled to know what your ethnic/racial background is. That’s how set racialism is in our society. I owe no one explanations for something I have no power over. It’s no one’s business but my own that I’m Korean, so bugger off!
-20HP. Dammit! But it feels so much better.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 6:53 pm ¶
jvansteppes wrote:
@CVT You’ve outdone those Parker Bros, this is a sweet concept.
I feel like asking about someone’s ethnic identity is tantamount to asking about their personal history. I don’t do it. It isn’t my business to ask strangers about it and it’s perfectly possible to engage with a stranger whose identity I haven’t pegged. I’m white though, I can imagine that among mixed/POC folks the code is different.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 7:01 pm ¶
bluefoot wrote:
@Method – I think what you’re missing here is that (in my experience) that curiosity is rarely innocuous. Why would you ask someone about their background? Why does it matter? I can understand asking the question in the context of a conversation (for instance, I said something to a new friend of mine about what I did for Chinese New Year, and she asked if I was Chinese), but it’s rare that that actually happens. The subtext is typically “I need to classify you”, with a lot of follow on subtext like altasien describes.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 7:14 pm ¶
Myles wrote:
Lately, when people ask me what i am, I just hold up both hands with my fingers spread. They will usually look from hand to hand while backing up a little bit. Then they ask why I’m holding my hands up, and some guess that “it’s the only way that i can keep them all straight.”
[insert look of horror here]
*sigh*
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 7:19 pm ¶
Nin wrote:
I have been asked the question a few times. I don’t mind at all; I simply smile and answer. Personally, I believe it’s quite a natural curiosity.
When someone speaks up and the accent sounds “different”, someone will probably ask where you’re from. Not in a malicious or racist way; it’s only curiosity; perhaps even some enthusiasm about “the story” behind it all, if there is one. But I still feel that being honestly curious about someone’s background is perfectly normal.
Granted, I’m sure plenty of people are racist, or at least condescending toward multi-ethnic people. I’m sure of it. But, in general, I have absolutely no problem with people asking or wondering about someone’s background. It’s an interconnected world. People move around, families have roots in many different countries, etc. It goes with the territory sometimes.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 7:53 pm ¶
Marcus wrote:
My full ethnic background is follows: Dominican on Dad’s side, Cuban/Samoan/Filipino on Mom’s. To most latino’s I just look black, and to most black people I’m “mixed with SOMETHING” (and the “something” is always different depending on who you talk to).
There have been times when someone has asked me my background because they think we share a similar background (I’ve often been mistaken for being part-Hawaiian and even Tongan at one point). I don’t mind answering the question then. It’s only when people are trying to be assholes about it that I start Playing The Game (TM).
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 8:22 pm ¶
Yonnie3k wrote:
I’m an African-American woman with a diverse group of friends who loves international travel. In other words, I love meeting and getting to know people of different backgrounds. I would never ask someone, “What are you,” but I do ask people, “What is your ethnic background,” once I feel comfortable enough doing so. I ask b/c I am genuinely curious, and will probably follow up with, “Have you ever been there?” or, “Really? I went there in 20xx.” Is my phrasing of the question any more sensitive or is it equally demeaning? If it is still offensive, I guess I’ll stop asking and just live with the mystery until they bring it up in conversation.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:01 pm ¶
Chris wrote:
I’m mixed (hapa) with a Chinese dad and a White/Native mom. I’ve been mistaken for Mexican and Russian and Italian. Usually Black people see me as Asian and Asians see me as White. Sometimes people see the Native in me. However, this question has never really bothered me. I identify with my Chinese side since I only ever knew my mom and grandmom on that side (well and sort of a great-aunt), and I had a whole slew of relatives on the Chinese side. Sometimes it does bother me though the feeling of not really belonging, or being accepted. Still, there are advantages to being mixed and in a was I kind of like ticking off all races which constitute my racial make up. Sometimes I’ll even go in the variety of specifics types of white I am.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:39 pm ¶
miga wrote:
ohh mah GAWD! I get this game all the time, and it’s worse because I have an ethnically diverse name (like literally, I have names from each ethnicity that I’m descended from). So when I introduce myself it almost always comes up. Even if people don’t ask they go: “That’s….an…interesting name….” and stare at me strangely and start those beating around the bush questions, which is more awkward, so I tend to just put it out there out front and get it all out of the way. It’s exasperating, and I feel a bit like I’m putting myself on display by doing it, but at least it lets people know that NO, I’m not from XYZ, YES my parents knew what they were doing when they named me this, YES I’m American, and NO racist jokes will be tolerated.
My family often jokes about how ambiguous we all are, my little sister especially- we’ll watch something on Discovery World or flip through National Geographic and say “oh look, it’s you!”
But when it comes from strangers it’s a very different matter. It makes me feel like some kind of odd new species, and everyone must know “what is it, what is it?” Ugh. Makes me angry just thinking about it.
I don’t go around asking strangers what their personal family history is, and I think its rude to expect it from someone you don’t know. It’s akin to wanting to touch a black woman’s hair because it “is so different!”
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 10:48 pm ¶
BSK wrote:
As a hetero, white, male card-carrying member of the privileged elite (I do not say this with pride), I have a question from the perspective of the likely asker (I do not ask this person of anyone, but am sure I have in the past): What is, if there is any, the appropriate way to inquire about someone’s background? It is simply inappropriate and offensive to do it in any context? Should it only be discussed if offered? What if there are other, more concrete clues, that would lead to discussion of someone’s national, ethnic, or racial origin? Would any of this be mitigated if us white folk were more willing to identify ourselves as possessing and owning a race and therefore opening up dialogue about both of our backgrounds?
This is in no way meant to be snarky or critical of the original post. I thought it was brilliant. Rather, as someone who is far more likely to find himself as the asker and not the askee (by about 10 billion to 1), is there ever an appropriate way/time to be an asker? Or is this type of inquiry inherently insulting and dehumanizing? I’m particularly curious about how this holds up on more sustained relationships, because I think genuine friends should have a sense of each others’ backgrounds, but if one does not volunteer his/her’s, can the other ever ask?
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:01 pm ¶
Yonnie3k wrote:
I think that CVT answered my question in the comments. My issue is not curiosity – it’s HOW it’s asked, and the asker’s intentions. Are they “othering” me or trying to connect?
I definitely (I think) ask in a respectful way and I am definitely trying to connect.
Posted 19 Mar 2010 at 11:03 pm ¶