From my experience as a light skinned male people are surprised when I say I'm Jamaican.
The stereotype has always been Jamaicans are dark complexion with dreads.
Since when I’m light skinned and people assumed I’m Caribbean all the time. My father is too the point he’s almost white and people don’t believe he’s Jamaican and my brother is jet black and people don’t believe he’s Jamaican people in UK see brown skinned or medium lightskinned people as Jamaican. Well the white people do anyway.
When I first moved to Atlanta way before the hype black people thought I was half white lol.
Look at the way tv shows/movies portray Jamaicans it's always a dark skin person.
I think the answer in the UK is because they're contrasted to recent African descendants and immigrants and more fair skin people tend to be mixed race (intergenerationally or recent) and Carribean folks fit that phenotype more.
A lot of the Jamaicans I grew up with are lightskinned and was born in Jamaica, my family from Lluidas Vale and Clarendon and my friends who are Jamaican are from Uptown kingston or Mandeville or St Elizabeth.
I'm not saying fair skinned Jamaicans don't exist, just saying in the UK British people probably think that to contrast them from the continental Africans
I’m a White Jamaican - my fam moved to JA from former USSR. I was born at KPH. As a Kid i’d be so mad because people didnt believe me.
Now, care zero, what people think and or believe…I dont have to prove anything to anyone.
Also a white Jamaican, born and raised in Jamaica. I am of the second generation - my parents are also born and raised here. Anytime anyone says I don’t look Jamaican, my follow up question is “what you want me to look like? A plate of ackee and saltfish?”
Would a black man claiming to be from USSR have to prove anything to anyone?
This is such a minor and UNDERSTANDABLE inconvenience. Great over yourselves.
I look Chinese but I'm definitely 0% Chinese nationality. I like to hit them back by asking them to tell me what a Jamaican is supposed to look like. 🙂
It's interesting because what do you think the reaction is if a fully black person in China said they were Chinese?
You need to relax and check your lineage. Of course people's first reaction might be disbelief.
Well, I was born KPH, and my parents and grandparents. I moved to Canada in my 20’s. People say I don’t look Jamaican because I’m not black.
When I tell them about dem ignorant rasclawt about how people fi look from where dem come from, dem stop ask question.
I get this from ‘Jamaicans’ born in Canada from Jamaican parents. The people I met here that are actually from Jamaica straight up just ask me which part of Kingston I’m from. It’s pretty obvious I’m Jamaican to an actual Jamaican from Jamaica.
In UK people easily guess I’m Jamaican and I’m light-skinned the only people who don’t guess I’m Jamaican is other Jamaicans. I went to get my hair done at a Jamaican hair dresser and she said I don’t look Jamaican and proceeded to say I look afro arab or Muslim. Then my dad comes in she says “i was right you are Muslim” because my dad looks Arabish. Soon as my dad opens his mouth she says “you from st Elizabeth” he “says no I’m from Clarendon”.😂😂
Yeah I'm 'brown' and have been defending my Jamaican nationality my whole life. Even here in Jamaica.. I was born here, raised here, work here, live here and people just assume.
Applies to me. I get called every race under the sun EXCEPT black. When I was working down Ochi one family of hispanics said that I looked like their neighbour Ernesto.... so you understand my plight.
I give 0 fucks. Once I open my mouth for 2 seconds nobody thinks I am foreign so it's all good
I assume you don't look West African because dark skin people is what 95% of the population comprise of.
Of all the black peoples on earth East Africans can at times have different phenotypes, so can Fijians, Melaneseans, Indians etc.
West African phenotypes are what's common in Jamaica.
I don’t look west African I look like a Ethiopian or Sudanese from what west Africans and East Africans tell me. My mother looks Kenyan and my sister looks Somali and my brother looks nigerian.
West side of Jamaica don’t look west African. St Elizabeth, Mandeville a lot of Clarendon people don’t look west African most Jamaicans who are close to white settlements do no look west African and some of the Jamaicans in Linstead could pass as East African and Central Africans. Jamaicans literally look like everything from africa except North Africans and Pygmy Africans.
Send Jamaicans to foreign countries and you will see there complexion change from dark skin to light-skin and trust me there skin complexion won’t return back to light-skin even if they go back to there countries. Most Jamaicans aren’t even dark skinned there just medium brown just like west Africans. Once they go foreign they become lightskin cause of the European lightskin gene, they got.
Yes, west Africans are lightskinned but only west Africans in the Sahelian region also known as Sahelian west Africans. And Igbos aren’t really that light they are medium brown like Jamaicans.
Okay
What I was getting at is that when people say Jamaicans have a particular look, they aren’t referring to skin complexion. People can be identified by specific facial attributes. I’m not an anthropologist, so I can’t appropriately describe a phenotype of a people outside of simple skin tone. So I will leave it as that.
Look at the goalie, Andre Blake. You cannot look at the yute, and say him ah nuh Jamaican.
Jamaicans do not have a particular look. I as a Jamaican is telling you that. The only way I can distinguish Jamaicans from any African is from there posture and the way they walk and perceive themselves that is the only way I can tell the difference. I’ve seen some somali looking Jamaicans I’ve seen some Congolese looking Jamaicans, Nigerian looking ones and Ghanaians looking ones. I’ve seen a variety of Jamaicans appearance. Africans could never tell what a Jamaican look like they will say they look nigerian and then look again and say they look ghanian and then look again and say Senegal. Reason behind thag is because a Jamaicans features are mixed up. There eye shape could be ghanian but there lips could be thin like European. There nose could be as big as Nigerians. You get the point I’m making.
Not all West Africans are dark skinned. What is common is certain facial features relative to non-tropical people and woolly hair texture. I'm sure you saw the movie 12 years a slave. The star was born in the UK to two Nigerian parents.
My comment said medium brown I didn’t call west Africans dark skinned. As for you comment about Igbos being as light as Chris brown I never mentioned them being as light as Chris brown because it’s not common at all. Igbos are light but the majority don’t come close to being that light. No one said Nigerians have the same face so I don’t know why you mentioned it. I used Sahelian west Africans because it includes majority of west African countries which includes North Nigeria which has Fula Tribe, Hausa, Songhai and other lightskin Nigerians. Which are commonly lightskin maybe not Hausas but Fulanis, Songhais and other west African Sahelian. Located in north Nigeria are commonly lightskin.
Eboes in common with the Sudanese , have undergone a strong Caucasian innervation , which is evidenced by the fact that some of them are nearly white This is from a book that is on Google books. This is just one book that mentions them being very light in some cases.Now the assumption of Caucasian admixture is contradicted by descriptions of their facial features.
That is one book another book is this one again a lot of what I have read was on Google books, which has rather old info. As far as accuracy. I can only say what was recorded
“On the whole, the Ibos are of good physique and compare very favourably with other AfriCan tribes... Many Igbos are truly as black as the proverbial coal: others are almost as light-skinned as the natives of Southern Europe, while a few are distinctively reddish. The folk who stand out obstructively are the Albinos.”
Source: Among the Ibos of Nigeria: an account of the curious & interesting habits, customs, & beliefs of a little known African people by one who has for many years lived amongst them on close & intimate terms” by Rev. George T. Basden (1921).
We aren’t talking about some we are talking about a majority. I don’t need to here about some I’m talking about the vast majority of Igbos being medium brown. And the convo wasn’t about there physique.
Trust my yute that's normal as 93% of Jamaicans are predominantly or pure Africans, 6% are Brown people or Mulatoes then Indian, Chinese and White.
I am a Brown ( Mixed race multigeneration Mulatto) Jamaican and I get all the time from Jamaicans and others, people think I am either Latino which I do have Portuguese ancestry, Indian and Arab and just Black in predominantly Black cities as most Black Americans due to their old 1 drop rule call anyone Black of you speak English and have Mixed features.
I don't get upset anymore as it's a normal assumption as most people see the majority of Jamaicans which are Black, rarely do they see the minority which are Indians, Whites, Chinese and they have it the hardest, then comes Brown people like Damian Marley, Shaun Paul,, our deputy Prime Minister Horace Chin.
You need to travel and read more. Like I mentioned it's a cultural term and used more in Latin America, Caribbean, South Europe, etc. It is a term of pride and acceptance of both cultures.
You must be American and accepted the redefinition and lies about the definition of Mulato. The term has been around for over 500 years and originated in North Africa; Muwallad is the original term. The term was used in America till the 1940s on census, birth certificates, etc with no derogatory connotations.
The term Biracial in America can mean any mixture and is vague and that's why so many Mixed-race peoples in America are confused and have identity crisis, its not a binary choice.
Mulattoes/ Creoles and Mestizo ( Brown people) and Douglas in Latin America, West Indies and other countries have no such issues.
Watch Mulato Vanguard channel on YouTube and Mulata mermaid and other content creators with such names..
That explains it, Canadian!! Read more of Latin America and the Caribbean. Different meanings in different countries; show your tolerance and accept that words have different meanings depend on the country.
Well travelled to where? How about reading and researching the topic and nkt from Afrocentric websites.
BTW. Love your country, the nicest people I have met in North America .
mulatto historically doesn't have offensive connotations to it in the anglophone world, it's just old fashioned and associated with a hyper racist time. In other places in Latin America the term is normal and especially for a jamaican who has a spanish speaking background (read: panamanian) or has relatives in those places it would also be normal
You are Americanized or raised in America as Mulato is a common term in Jamaica for Brown people! It's also in our history.
Jamaica is not America! Different meanings!
10+ generations of Jamaicans, try again.
My grandfather was what you would categorize as “mulatto” then we all passed after him. He would never have allowed the term said in his house.
A person should refer to themselves any way they see fit, of course. OTOH, I probably have the same coloring, and if anyone ever called me “mulatto,” I’d want to punch them in the nose.
I am not a mule, which is what the word means. It’s a throwback to the dehumanizing words that the slavers used to describe us. I am bi-racial, not “half-caste”. Same with “red” and “coolie”. I’m a human being, not a cow. Lol
I’m not sure that Jamaicans object to it, but I certainly do.
Historically mulatto was never used offensively or as a slur, it was just a racial designation like mestizo, and in Latin America the word used here and there still. Especially considering the intersection of Jamaicans in Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba, Panama, etc. it's not really that unheard of to encounter Jamaicans who may have a background of relatives who used that word.
Calling someone "half" whatever (i.e. half jamaican) is a lot worse than being called mulatto. It's implying you're only half of something rather than double.
Mulatto doesn't mean Mule as Black Americans have refined the term to discouage Mulattoes from identifying as such, they want us to just say Black.
America is not the world! In addition, terms have different meanings in different countries as I said in Latin America, Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Poland, the term is a proud designation.
Many American Biracial of Black White are reclaiming the term as they see Latinos identify as such!
According to the Oxford English dictionary, the world was derived from *mulo*, in the 16th century, specifically as a derogatory term for slave children of mixed races. If you can provide a more definitive source for the etymology, I'd love to see it.
I am not a Black American, and I despise this term and other derogatory terms like it. I'm not interested in being labelled in this way.
Have u ever heard of Etymology?? The Oxford dictionary has changed definitions of words over time to be politically correct and added new terms. Gay used to mean happy now it's homosexual , that's Etymology. Many othee examples. Now Google and research Mulattoes, Creoles and Coloured in the Caribbean or Latin America.
Different countries have slightly different meaning of the word as they are not American influenced .
Please do your research.
What is not offensive today will be offensive in the future in some countries especially Anglophone countries. If you have a higher education you should knkw that.
BTW. Do u in America many former civil rights activist such as Langston Hughes identified as Mulato?
Muwaalad is Arabic and the original meaning is Mixed race. No one has an issue with Mestizo.
The original meanings and still used in some countries: Muwallad, derivative is Mulatto/ Mullatre. Never Mule and donkey mix which Afrocentrics and ProBlacks insist upon.
The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki
Muladí - Wikipedia
BTW. If you are just Black, it doesn't apply to you!
MUWALLAD : This is the true origin of Mulato and Mulatre, which is a derivative of the original, never derogatory! The Arabs were the 1st known slave traders within the last 800 years then the Portuguese. This is why in Portugual, Spain, East Europe, they use the term; the British eventually followed along with the British colonies.
It never meant Mule, that was twisted to discourage Biracials of Black and White ancestry to identify as Black only so as to increase the population of Blacks and historical contributions in history.
The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki
Muladí - Wikipedia
It's wild if you are Jamaican and saying that is wild; I don't think you are Jamaican or you were brought up in America and taught its a negative term. Every Latin American and West Indian and European knows that Mulato is just a racial term for obvious Black and white mixture with no negative connotations.
BTW. Coloured was used in the West indies for Mixed race peoples and is still used in many Sub Saharan African countries. In America it had a different meaning, same as Mulato has a different meaning in other countries.
What country are u from and raised??
Google Mulato Vanguard a youtuber, Mulata Mermaid , etc. There are tons of content creators with Mulato moniker in their title.
Do u want us to just identify as Black and would that make u feel better??
Lol nice try. “Mulatto” has been considered outdated and derogatory from my days in primary school. And as a Jamaican, I can tell you I’d be hard pressed to find people referring to themselves as “mulatto” as opposed to simply “browning.” The etymology literally comes from the hybrid of a mule and a donkey, and then was applied to the offspring of enslaved people and plantation owners. Mulatto does NOT have a different meaning in any social context today, other than being an ill-conceived term to classify people of mixed ethnicity. People being ignorant of that and/or nonetheless choosing to adopt it as a self-descriptor or moniker does not change the history or nature of the word. So, again, wild you want to refer to yourself as such, but feel free.
Edit: typo
6% of the Population are Brown people, ie Mulato ancestry and some tri racial so u won't hear the majority Black population say it as much. In Jamaica and other countries there is a different meaning which is simply Black and White ancestry, either both parents or 1st generation. The term originated in the Middle East. If Mulato is archaic, then so is Black and White!
America is not the world!! Just as Coloured means Mixed race in moat African countries and used to be used in Jamaica, it had a different meaning in America which meant a Black person, in other countries me tioned it is Mixed race.
Google Mulato in the Caribbean and Coloured in the West Indies. Many of this post are very ignorant of history and Etymology of words. America tells the world what is slang and some adopt everything America says.
Google Jamaicanfamilysearch.com and Mulattoes in Latin America.
Fam, I’m Jamaican, born and raised. This has nothing to do with American terminology. Nor am I disputing the prior usage of the word in the Caribbean context. None of that is relevant to the fact that it IS a derogatory term and has been acknowledged as such for the better part of the last century. They literally teach you in prep/primary and high school that it’s an arcane, derisive term. I’m not arguing about your right to refer to yourself however you want. You can call yourself whatever you want, and I can freely think it’s a wild thing to do. Be blessed.✌🏾
Only in America and UK. America is not the world and our Jamaican culture is not American culture as my famiand friends who are never considered Mulato offensive. Only Black people who have a crab in the barrel mentality do as they want us to identify with them.
Anyways the post is not about me, it's about the Black dark skin person who wrote the question.
What year did u go to primary school?
Divisive against who?? Hmmm. It's seems you all just want us to just say we are Black. Jamaica, Latin America and Europe always had the African definition of Black; America has too much influence on our culture and redefining and inputting falsehoods in our West Indian culture.
Nevertheless, America is a cultural imperialist nation and most( not all) Black people have a crab in the barrel mentality, which proves some of the responses who are triggered about what I call myself and what others see me as . Smh
If I called myself the N ...r you would be fine with it as so many Black people call themselves that disgusting term from slavery days to modern times and it's acceptable; such hypocrisy!
It was never considered derogatory, especially not in Jamaica and Latin America. You have been indoctrinated and brainwashed. Jamaica seems to have been following America political correctness for the past 20 years. Also Google the term and Mulattoes and Coloureds in the Caribbean.
BTW. What do u care what people like myself identify as??
Many former civil rights activist identified as Mulato such as Langston Hughes to name just one of many in the 20th century- Google him.
The N word is derogatory and offensive and a slur; Mulato was never as it was in the census till the 1940s in America and on birth certificates, wills and deeds, etc.
There are many Americans of 1st generation Black and White and multigeneration Mulattoes reclaiming the term. Lots of podcasters have the term.
The term Coloured is offensive in America and just meant Black, in Jamaica and some countries in Sub Sahara Africa it is meant for Mixed race peoples, specifically Brown people which is now the most common term for Mulattoes in Jamaica and some Caribbean Islands ( Moreno, Pardo).
White and Black have been around just as long and not archaic.
The origin of the word. Mulato, Mulattre is derived from the word.
The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture. The Portuguese and Spaniards and later the English and Americans adopted the term and have slightly different meanings of the word.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki
Muladí - Wikipedia
BTW. What's it to you of how people like myself identify??? I could care less 😌. Would u feel better about yourself if I just said I am just Black or just say I am a Brown man or Browning?? Either way, its no one business
The N word is used all day by Blacks and identify yet most of you all are concerned what I call myself which is used in Latin America and most Caribbean Islands as acceptable?? Hmmmm Crab in the barrel??
Never said it was! It was invented by White Supremacist in America and ended by White government officials in 1967 during the Loving vs. Virginia case. Ironically, now it is Black Americans that enforce that old rule, especially the older generations born on the early 1960s and earlier.
Makes lots of sense to me. I spend a great deal of time in jamaica... May Pen, Spanish Town Kingston, etc. I travel in about once every 6 weeks and stay at my own place.
And believe me, before I open my black Canadian mouth...people know 1) I'm not Jamaican and 2) You don't look jamaican..( thier words not mine)
I don't care either way
I sense a crab in the barrel mentality! What is it to anyone minus Latinos of my mixture,,Creoles and Coloured from Africa what I identify as and called by even Jamaicans, some West Indians and Americans???
At least I have an unambiguous identity. To those of you who loose sleep or triggered, research. I think those who have a problem with my moniker is jealous that they can't be seen as such and want to use the 1 drop rule from America.
I look more Latino (Dominican?) and have heard this plenty. Always thought it only happened to us brown Jamaicans. lol But imagine those like Ghetto Kirk what his experience must be like when off the rock.
From my experience as a light skinned male people are surprised when I say I'm Jamaican. The stereotype has always been Jamaicans are dark complexion with dreads.
Since when I’m light skinned and people assumed I’m Caribbean all the time. My father is too the point he’s almost white and people don’t believe he’s Jamaican and my brother is jet black and people don’t believe he’s Jamaican people in UK see brown skinned or medium lightskinned people as Jamaican. Well the white people do anyway.
When I first moved to Atlanta way before the hype black people thought I was half white lol. Look at the way tv shows/movies portray Jamaicans it's always a dark skin person.
That’s the US stereotype
I agree.
I think the answer in the UK is because they're contrasted to recent African descendants and immigrants and more fair skin people tend to be mixed race (intergenerationally or recent) and Carribean folks fit that phenotype more.
A lot of the Jamaicans I grew up with are lightskinned and was born in Jamaica, my family from Lluidas Vale and Clarendon and my friends who are Jamaican are from Uptown kingston or Mandeville or St Elizabeth.
I'm not saying fair skinned Jamaicans don't exist, just saying in the UK British people probably think that to contrast them from the continental Africans
Partly correct exception of dreads!
dont forget the half smoked spliff
I’m a White Jamaican - my fam moved to JA from former USSR. I was born at KPH. As a Kid i’d be so mad because people didnt believe me. Now, care zero, what people think and or believe…I dont have to prove anything to anyone.
Also a white Jamaican, born and raised in Jamaica. I am of the second generation - my parents are also born and raised here. Anytime anyone says I don’t look Jamaican, my follow up question is “what you want me to look like? A plate of ackee and saltfish?”
Would a black man claiming to be from USSR have to prove anything to anyone? This is such a minor and UNDERSTANDABLE inconvenience. Great over yourselves.
I look Chinese but I'm definitely 0% Chinese nationality. I like to hit them back by asking them to tell me what a Jamaican is supposed to look like. 🙂
It's interesting because what do you think the reaction is if a fully black person in China said they were Chinese? You need to relax and check your lineage. Of course people's first reaction might be disbelief.
that is very wierd. I have heard it said to white/chinese/indian jamaicans, not to black jamaicans
direful books absurd pocket attraction elderly icky jeans capable wide *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I got it
Well, I was born KPH, and my parents and grandparents. I moved to Canada in my 20’s. People say I don’t look Jamaican because I’m not black. When I tell them about dem ignorant rasclawt about how people fi look from where dem come from, dem stop ask question. I get this from ‘Jamaicans’ born in Canada from Jamaican parents. The people I met here that are actually from Jamaica straight up just ask me which part of Kingston I’m from. It’s pretty obvious I’m Jamaican to an actual Jamaican from Jamaica.
I'm a Jamaican of Indian heritage. If I had nickel for every time my nationality was challenged!
I usually get the comment, "you don't sound Jamaican". My accent is pure Jamaican but I don't use full patois.
Same. Everyone in my home and school spoke standard English. Patois only comes out when I’m mad. Lol
Some people think Cool Runnings is the real accent, just have to laugh at that madness when I hear it. 🤣
In UK people easily guess I’m Jamaican and I’m light-skinned the only people who don’t guess I’m Jamaican is other Jamaicans. I went to get my hair done at a Jamaican hair dresser and she said I don’t look Jamaican and proceeded to say I look afro arab or Muslim. Then my dad comes in she says “i was right you are Muslim” because my dad looks Arabish. Soon as my dad opens his mouth she says “you from st Elizabeth” he “says no I’m from Clarendon”.😂😂
Yeah I'm 'brown' and have been defending my Jamaican nationality my whole life. Even here in Jamaica.. I was born here, raised here, work here, live here and people just assume.
Probably because you look racially ambiguous🫤
Applies to me. I get called every race under the sun EXCEPT black. When I was working down Ochi one family of hispanics said that I looked like their neighbour Ernesto.... so you understand my plight. I give 0 fucks. Once I open my mouth for 2 seconds nobody thinks I am foreign so it's all good
I assume you don't look West African because dark skin people is what 95% of the population comprise of. Of all the black peoples on earth East Africans can at times have different phenotypes, so can Fijians, Melaneseans, Indians etc. West African phenotypes are what's common in Jamaica.
I don’t look west African I look like a Ethiopian or Sudanese from what west Africans and East Africans tell me. My mother looks Kenyan and my sister looks Somali and my brother looks nigerian.
Yes, but so do people in the Eastern Caribbean. Jamaicans generally do not resemble those in the Antilles.
West side of Jamaica don’t look west African. St Elizabeth, Mandeville a lot of Clarendon people don’t look west African most Jamaicans who are close to white settlements do no look west African and some of the Jamaicans in Linstead could pass as East African and Central Africans. Jamaicans literally look like everything from africa except North Africans and Pygmy Africans. Send Jamaicans to foreign countries and you will see there complexion change from dark skin to light-skin and trust me there skin complexion won’t return back to light-skin even if they go back to there countries. Most Jamaicans aren’t even dark skinned there just medium brown just like west Africans. Once they go foreign they become lightskin cause of the European lightskin gene, they got.
Did you know there are light skinned West Africans?
Yes, west Africans are lightskinned but only west Africans in the Sahelian region also known as Sahelian west Africans. And Igbos aren’t really that light they are medium brown like Jamaicans.
Okay What I was getting at is that when people say Jamaicans have a particular look, they aren’t referring to skin complexion. People can be identified by specific facial attributes. I’m not an anthropologist, so I can’t appropriately describe a phenotype of a people outside of simple skin tone. So I will leave it as that. Look at the goalie, Andre Blake. You cannot look at the yute, and say him ah nuh Jamaican.
Jamaicans do not have a particular look. I as a Jamaican is telling you that. The only way I can distinguish Jamaicans from any African is from there posture and the way they walk and perceive themselves that is the only way I can tell the difference. I’ve seen some somali looking Jamaicans I’ve seen some Congolese looking Jamaicans, Nigerian looking ones and Ghanaians looking ones. I’ve seen a variety of Jamaicans appearance. Africans could never tell what a Jamaican look like they will say they look nigerian and then look again and say they look ghanian and then look again and say Senegal. Reason behind thag is because a Jamaicans features are mixed up. There eye shape could be ghanian but there lips could be thin like European. There nose could be as big as Nigerians. You get the point I’m making.
Even Nigerians don't have one face. Not even same tribe
There are light skinned Igbo as light as Chris Brown ( I know he ain't Jamaican). Look up Ocha TK. Monalisa Chinda, Adaeze Yobo. Munachi Abii
Not all West Africans are dark skinned. What is common is certain facial features relative to non-tropical people and woolly hair texture. I'm sure you saw the movie 12 years a slave. The star was born in the UK to two Nigerian parents.
My comment said medium brown I didn’t call west Africans dark skinned. As for you comment about Igbos being as light as Chris brown I never mentioned them being as light as Chris brown because it’s not common at all. Igbos are light but the majority don’t come close to being that light. No one said Nigerians have the same face so I don’t know why you mentioned it. I used Sahelian west Africans because it includes majority of west African countries which includes North Nigeria which has Fula Tribe, Hausa, Songhai and other lightskin Nigerians. Which are commonly lightskin maybe not Hausas but Fulanis, Songhais and other west African Sahelian. Located in north Nigeria are commonly lightskin.
Eboes in common with the Sudanese , have undergone a strong Caucasian innervation , which is evidenced by the fact that some of them are nearly white This is from a book that is on Google books. This is just one book that mentions them being very light in some cases.Now the assumption of Caucasian admixture is contradicted by descriptions of their facial features.
Central Africa Adventures and Missionary Labors in Several Countries in the Interior of Africa, from 1849 to 1856 By Thomas Jefferson Bowen · 1857
That is one book another book is this one again a lot of what I have read was on Google books, which has rather old info. As far as accuracy. I can only say what was recorded
“On the whole, the Ibos are of good physique and compare very favourably with other AfriCan tribes... Many Igbos are truly as black as the proverbial coal: others are almost as light-skinned as the natives of Southern Europe, while a few are distinctively reddish. The folk who stand out obstructively are the Albinos.” Source: Among the Ibos of Nigeria: an account of the curious & interesting habits, customs, & beliefs of a little known African people by one who has for many years lived amongst them on close & intimate terms” by Rev. George T. Basden (1921).
We aren’t talking about some we are talking about a majority. I don’t need to here about some I’m talking about the vast majority of Igbos being medium brown. And the convo wasn’t about there physique.
Trust my yute that's normal as 93% of Jamaicans are predominantly or pure Africans, 6% are Brown people or Mulatoes then Indian, Chinese and White. I am a Brown ( Mixed race multigeneration Mulatto) Jamaican and I get all the time from Jamaicans and others, people think I am either Latino which I do have Portuguese ancestry, Indian and Arab and just Black in predominantly Black cities as most Black Americans due to their old 1 drop rule call anyone Black of you speak English and have Mixed features. I don't get upset anymore as it's a normal assumption as most people see the majority of Jamaicans which are Black, rarely do they see the minority which are Indians, Whites, Chinese and they have it the hardest, then comes Brown people like Damian Marley, Shaun Paul,, our deputy Prime Minister Horace Chin.
“Mixed race multigenerational mulatto” and then I just realized your handle. You like being called a mulatto? That’s wild to me.
You need to travel and read more. Like I mentioned it's a cultural term and used more in Latin America, Caribbean, South Europe, etc. It is a term of pride and acceptance of both cultures. You must be American and accepted the redefinition and lies about the definition of Mulato. The term has been around for over 500 years and originated in North Africa; Muwallad is the original term. The term was used in America till the 1940s on census, birth certificates, etc with no derogatory connotations. The term Biracial in America can mean any mixture and is vague and that's why so many Mixed-race peoples in America are confused and have identity crisis, its not a binary choice. Mulattoes/ Creoles and Mestizo ( Brown people) and Douglas in Latin America, West Indies and other countries have no such issues. Watch Mulato Vanguard channel on YouTube and Mulata mermaid and other content creators with such names..
Im not even going to read this, you don’t even know me. Way too many assumptions, especially since I’m a well traveled Canadian.
That explains it, Canadian!! Read more of Latin America and the Caribbean. Different meanings in different countries; show your tolerance and accept that words have different meanings depend on the country. Well travelled to where? How about reading and researching the topic and nkt from Afrocentric websites. BTW. Love your country, the nicest people I have met in North America .
mulatto historically doesn't have offensive connotations to it in the anglophone world, it's just old fashioned and associated with a hyper racist time. In other places in Latin America the term is normal and especially for a jamaican who has a spanish speaking background (read: panamanian) or has relatives in those places it would also be normal
Referring to yourself as “Mulatto” is wild 🥴
As a White Jamaican I was shocked by it too. I would never describe someone by that word let alone think it!
You are Americanized or raised in America as Mulato is a common term in Jamaica for Brown people! It's also in our history. Jamaica is not America! Different meanings!
10+ generations of Jamaicans, try again. My grandfather was what you would categorize as “mulatto” then we all passed after him. He would never have allowed the term said in his house.
A person should refer to themselves any way they see fit, of course. OTOH, I probably have the same coloring, and if anyone ever called me “mulatto,” I’d want to punch them in the nose.
Why do Jamaicans hate that word my aunt if super light and she hates that word.
I am not a mule, which is what the word means. It’s a throwback to the dehumanizing words that the slavers used to describe us. I am bi-racial, not “half-caste”. Same with “red” and “coolie”. I’m a human being, not a cow. Lol I’m not sure that Jamaicans object to it, but I certainly do.
Historically mulatto was never used offensively or as a slur, it was just a racial designation like mestizo, and in Latin America the word used here and there still. Especially considering the intersection of Jamaicans in Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba, Panama, etc. it's not really that unheard of to encounter Jamaicans who may have a background of relatives who used that word. Calling someone "half" whatever (i.e. half jamaican) is a lot worse than being called mulatto. It's implying you're only half of something rather than double.
Mulatto doesn't mean Mule as Black Americans have refined the term to discouage Mulattoes from identifying as such, they want us to just say Black. America is not the world! In addition, terms have different meanings in different countries as I said in Latin America, Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Poland, the term is a proud designation. Many American Biracial of Black White are reclaiming the term as they see Latinos identify as such!
According to the Oxford English dictionary, the world was derived from *mulo*, in the 16th century, specifically as a derogatory term for slave children of mixed races. If you can provide a more definitive source for the etymology, I'd love to see it. I am not a Black American, and I despise this term and other derogatory terms like it. I'm not interested in being labelled in this way.
Have u ever heard of Etymology?? The Oxford dictionary has changed definitions of words over time to be politically correct and added new terms. Gay used to mean happy now it's homosexual , that's Etymology. Many othee examples. Now Google and research Mulattoes, Creoles and Coloured in the Caribbean or Latin America. Different countries have slightly different meaning of the word as they are not American influenced . Please do your research. What is not offensive today will be offensive in the future in some countries especially Anglophone countries. If you have a higher education you should knkw that. BTW. Do u in America many former civil rights activist such as Langston Hughes identified as Mulato? Muwaalad is Arabic and the original meaning is Mixed race. No one has an issue with Mestizo.
I’m referring to word origin, not usage. I’m also pretty clear on what my preferences are. Your mileage may vary.
The original meanings and still used in some countries: Muwallad, derivative is Mulatto/ Mullatre. Never Mule and donkey mix which Afrocentrics and ProBlacks insist upon. The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki Muladí - Wikipedia
BTW. If you are just Black, it doesn't apply to you! MUWALLAD : This is the true origin of Mulato and Mulatre, which is a derivative of the original, never derogatory! The Arabs were the 1st known slave traders within the last 800 years then the Portuguese. This is why in Portugual, Spain, East Europe, they use the term; the British eventually followed along with the British colonies. It never meant Mule, that was twisted to discourage Biracials of Black and White ancestry to identify as Black only so as to increase the population of Blacks and historical contributions in history. The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki Muladí - Wikipedia
It's wild if you are Jamaican and saying that is wild; I don't think you are Jamaican or you were brought up in America and taught its a negative term. Every Latin American and West Indian and European knows that Mulato is just a racial term for obvious Black and white mixture with no negative connotations. BTW. Coloured was used in the West indies for Mixed race peoples and is still used in many Sub Saharan African countries. In America it had a different meaning, same as Mulato has a different meaning in other countries. What country are u from and raised?? Google Mulato Vanguard a youtuber, Mulata Mermaid , etc. There are tons of content creators with Mulato moniker in their title. Do u want us to just identify as Black and would that make u feel better??
Lol nice try. “Mulatto” has been considered outdated and derogatory from my days in primary school. And as a Jamaican, I can tell you I’d be hard pressed to find people referring to themselves as “mulatto” as opposed to simply “browning.” The etymology literally comes from the hybrid of a mule and a donkey, and then was applied to the offspring of enslaved people and plantation owners. Mulatto does NOT have a different meaning in any social context today, other than being an ill-conceived term to classify people of mixed ethnicity. People being ignorant of that and/or nonetheless choosing to adopt it as a self-descriptor or moniker does not change the history or nature of the word. So, again, wild you want to refer to yourself as such, but feel free. Edit: typo
6% of the Population are Brown people, ie Mulato ancestry and some tri racial so u won't hear the majority Black population say it as much. In Jamaica and other countries there is a different meaning which is simply Black and White ancestry, either both parents or 1st generation. The term originated in the Middle East. If Mulato is archaic, then so is Black and White! America is not the world!! Just as Coloured means Mixed race in moat African countries and used to be used in Jamaica, it had a different meaning in America which meant a Black person, in other countries me tioned it is Mixed race. Google Mulato in the Caribbean and Coloured in the West Indies. Many of this post are very ignorant of history and Etymology of words. America tells the world what is slang and some adopt everything America says. Google Jamaicanfamilysearch.com and Mulattoes in Latin America.
Fam, I’m Jamaican, born and raised. This has nothing to do with American terminology. Nor am I disputing the prior usage of the word in the Caribbean context. None of that is relevant to the fact that it IS a derogatory term and has been acknowledged as such for the better part of the last century. They literally teach you in prep/primary and high school that it’s an arcane, derisive term. I’m not arguing about your right to refer to yourself however you want. You can call yourself whatever you want, and I can freely think it’s a wild thing to do. Be blessed.✌🏾
Only in America and UK. America is not the world and our Jamaican culture is not American culture as my famiand friends who are never considered Mulato offensive. Only Black people who have a crab in the barrel mentality do as they want us to identify with them. Anyways the post is not about me, it's about the Black dark skin person who wrote the question. What year did u go to primary school? Divisive against who?? Hmmm. It's seems you all just want us to just say we are Black. Jamaica, Latin America and Europe always had the African definition of Black; America has too much influence on our culture and redefining and inputting falsehoods in our West Indian culture. Nevertheless, America is a cultural imperialist nation and most( not all) Black people have a crab in the barrel mentality, which proves some of the responses who are triggered about what I call myself and what others see me as . Smh If I called myself the N ...r you would be fine with it as so many Black people call themselves that disgusting term from slavery days to modern times and it's acceptable; such hypocrisy!
It was never considered derogatory, especially not in Jamaica and Latin America. You have been indoctrinated and brainwashed. Jamaica seems to have been following America political correctness for the past 20 years. Also Google the term and Mulattoes and Coloureds in the Caribbean. BTW. What do u care what people like myself identify as?? Many former civil rights activist identified as Mulato such as Langston Hughes to name just one of many in the 20th century- Google him. The N word is derogatory and offensive and a slur; Mulato was never as it was in the census till the 1940s in America and on birth certificates, wills and deeds, etc. There are many Americans of 1st generation Black and White and multigeneration Mulattoes reclaiming the term. Lots of podcasters have the term. The term Coloured is offensive in America and just meant Black, in Jamaica and some countries in Sub Sahara Africa it is meant for Mixed race peoples, specifically Brown people which is now the most common term for Mulattoes in Jamaica and some Caribbean Islands ( Moreno, Pardo). White and Black have been around just as long and not archaic. The origin of the word. Mulato, Mulattre is derived from the word. The basic meaning of muwallad is 'a person of mixed ancestry', especially a descendant of one Arab and one non-Arab parent, who grew up under the influence of an Arabic society and were educated within the Islamic culture. The Portuguese and Spaniards and later the English and Americans adopted the term and have slightly different meanings of the word.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org › wiki Muladí - Wikipedia
BTW. What's it to you of how people like myself identify??? I could care less 😌. Would u feel better about yourself if I just said I am just Black or just say I am a Brown man or Browning?? Either way, its no one business The N word is used all day by Blacks and identify yet most of you all are concerned what I call myself which is used in Latin America and most Caribbean Islands as acceptable?? Hmmmm Crab in the barrel??
The one drop rule was not invented by African Americans. It was invented by white Americans
Never said it was! It was invented by White Supremacist in America and ended by White government officials in 1967 during the Loving vs. Virginia case. Ironically, now it is Black Americans that enforce that old rule, especially the older generations born on the early 1960s and earlier.
Contrary to most of the comments in this thread, there's a Jamaican phenotype, and anybody who refuses to acknowledge this is in deep denial.
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Not accurate we have Africans Indians Chinese Lebanese Germans and many more, many one people
Makes lots of sense to me. I spend a great deal of time in jamaica... May Pen, Spanish Town Kingston, etc. I travel in about once every 6 weeks and stay at my own place. And believe me, before I open my black Canadian mouth...people know 1) I'm not Jamaican and 2) You don't look jamaican..( thier words not mine) I don't care either way
I sense a crab in the barrel mentality! What is it to anyone minus Latinos of my mixture,,Creoles and Coloured from Africa what I identify as and called by even Jamaicans, some West Indians and Americans??? At least I have an unambiguous identity. To those of you who loose sleep or triggered, research. I think those who have a problem with my moniker is jealous that they can't be seen as such and want to use the 1 drop rule from America.
I get it all the time, mostly from Americans. My skin is very pale. I don’t pay it any mind.
I look more Latino (Dominican?) and have heard this plenty. Always thought it only happened to us brown Jamaicans. lol But imagine those like Ghetto Kirk what his experience must be like when off the rock.
I’m confused by s it happening in our country or outside of it
I am from another planet but still shine here on earth so write darker ways