Mistaken For Or Able To "Pass" For Another Race Or Nationality

Yo Mama

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The XMen biracial chick got me thinking about this.

Do you ever get confused for another race or nationality. Or some wierd confusion thing like my case below:

Do you ever get confused for the wrong gender:lolbron:. Just playing. But feel free to share if you do.

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Im full blood and clearly black so I dont think anyone could mistake me for anything but black. But I had situations where, here in Zimbabwe, other Zimbabweans would assume I wasnt Zimbabwean and talk about me in Shona.

Stuff like - these foreigners are everywhere now... I'd be sitting in a hair salon for example and people would start talking about me and foreigners in general, in shona which they thought I couldnt understand. The worst would be that there are too many foreigners and that nigerian males esp were criminals and how most foreign women dont usually walk around alone but never anything ugly about me so I generally never bothered to get into it with people or correct them.

I did notice they never bytched about non-black foreigners.

Males would ask each other which race they thought I was and one would ask. The milder ones never said anything too graphic or rude. I was always conflicted here, coz if i answered in shona then the conversation wouldnt end, if i answered in english then it wouldnt end. Id juat smile.and look blank till i was able to get away from them lol.

I have a very common shona name and still get asked where are you from. In high school id have to explain even to some teachers that im zimbabwean and dont have a foreign parent.

Im not sure what they see to make them think I looked "not zimbabwean". If i say im zimbabwean im asked if im ndebele then.and i still.dont inderstand it.

My ex hubby said after he was satisfied that im in fact zimbabwean said it was because I seem unaproachable and unreachable and I somehow seem different that he and his friends thought I wasnt zimbabwean. And because I spoke to other foreigners, like Nigerians, then they assumed i was seeking out other foreigners. (there was a time that SOME zimbaweans were anti Nigerian and seem to think they are money hungry criminals and I never got this vibe from nigerians I spoke to. When the US dollar began to be officially used here there were lot of foreigners of all races who quickly set up shop in Zimbabwe, from beauty and hair supply stores to churches)

Also noone ever could define what country they thought I was from they never thought I wasnt black, just that I was not Zimbabwean.
 
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get these nets

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The XMen biracial chick got me thinking about this.

Do you ever get confused for another race or nationality. Or some wierd confusion thing like my case below:
.

Were there multiple ethnic groups within Zimbabwe when it became independent? You don't get confused with other Zim. ethnicity but for a complete outsider?
 

ThisWorldAintRight

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My friend who is light skinned only ever got asked by some males if she was "coloured/biracial". They would be practically drooling asking her this.


shyt used to happen to my sister and dad. They both light as shyt but not biracial, folks wouldn't believe them though.:francis:
 

Rev Leon Lonnie Love

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You can easily get confused for other ethnicities in Africa depending on your facial features. You can sort of tell if someone is from a West/North African country based on their looks if yoi are born in a Southern Afican country. Alot of ignorant American ls think Africans are all the same but if you are around Africans for long enough you will start to notice that certain regions in Africa have some unique physical attributes that are very rare to find in other regions.

Ghanians seem to have a flat shape at the back of their head and also North and Wesf African darl skinned people have a stronger concentration of black, sometimes look navy. South Africans have the lighter skin tone because of their history being decendants of Khoisans and Hottentots. Also i have noticed that people with coily 4B hair type are mostly found in countries like Nigeria. Southern African countries seem to be dominated by people with true 4C hair type.


Because of this it is easy to be mistaken for someone who comes from another country if your physical attributes look different from locals.
 
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96Blue

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Back when I was in highschool, a T.A (teacher's assistant) thought I was african because my first name (and middle name) is muslim/African. She gave me the :lupe: look when she asked me. I said no, then she asked me where my family is from, and I said here. Then she left me alone.
 

™BlackPearl The Empress™

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I don't consider myself light skinned even though it can be argued. I get Ethiopian regularly. In fact most people just assume I am Ethiopian.

When I went to the DR people thought I was Dominican and when I went to JA everyone thought I was local Rastafari.

I have been asked if I was mixed or even North African.

I am pretty much a chameleon. If the county has "Black" people of various skin tons I can fit in though I have never been to Africa. Probably never go to East Africa though b/c I have had Habesha here argue me down about not claiming my heritage. :deadmanny: I
 
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intruder

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People have mistaken my nationality but not my race.

And even with my nationality it is usually because of my accent. When most people first see me they tend to assume I'm black American. My accent is nit as deep as it once was but still there so after a few sentences they detect it and ask where in from. When I tell them to guess they typically say Jamaica
Because you know... According to some Americans if you're from the islands regardless if your accent sounds nowhere near Jamaican you have to be Jamaican somehow:beli:

Edit: Oh yeah many people who have NOT SEEN me but know my name tend to assume I'm Indian because of my last name. Happens a lot with my resumé
 
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