BAME - Let's stop using it

What will be used in its place?

I don’t understand the need to label human beings into groups like a colour coordinated wardrobe! WASPS was another one that irritated me - time these are dropped as they are divisive.

How would we talk about the issues that are faced by particular groups then. Women face particular issues that are not faced by men and vice versa. The same applies to other groups.

Quite agree, Pantglas2

This is the link to the BBC article

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53194376

I was taken aback when I first heard this expression on a briefing last year. To lump everyone together like this is awkward and insulting. As it seems to me the only people who are not BAME are " pure" white people of British heritage. ....what ever that means.

It seems we have to stick a label on everything these days. To me, it causes even greater divisions and problems. It makes an Us and Them society. Get rid of it and ditch Taking the Knee at sports events too. ALL lives matter, no matter who you are.

Not just a label, a label that becomes an acronym. Then we have to remember all the actual meanings. It’s not useful at all, particularly BAME which does just clump together people of very diverse backgrounds into one group.

We are now to say ‘ethnic minorities’.
I can’t keep up these days with what’s acceptable.

I’ve always disliked it. Lumping different people into one mass because they are so called minority groups does no one any favours. I would like to see all people given equal opportunity and treated with respect. Bame has become a label that detracts from the individual.

It homogenises umpteen different ethnicities and in some ways is quite insulting, I've seen that opinion stated by people of black African, Caribbean and Indian heritage. I agree it does clump so many diverse people together under one not very pleasant acronym.

Is it acceptable to ask people their ethnic origin? I tried once and was told sharply, ‘I’m British’. I knew that, and meant no offence, I genuinely wanted to know about her family history.
What is a polite way to ask?

Grandmajet - why did it matter? Would you have asked her if she "looked" white?

grandmajet so difficult isn’t it. I was having a conversation with a gentleman as he was tidying his garden and I was having a walk. I found myself asking where he came from. He was white British and originated from Leicester .

It occurred to me later on that day that if he had been ‘other’ that could have been a racist question? I’ve put other because I don’t know now what word to use. I can’t keep up??‍♀️

Alegrias it matters because people get upset.

I’ve always found BAME clumsy and well sort of really impolite as it turns real human beings into an acronym. I hope we go back to using ethnic minorities.

Unnecessary and inflammatory awareness !

She was referring to food cooked in the traditional way of her grandparents ‘back home’ so referred to it first. Aren’t you interested in people’s back stories? Their lives as children and how different the world was then, both in the UK and elsewhere? It is all relevant to understanding each other.

Why single people out, we're all the same aren't we ? Regardless.

Other? Other?
It would only have been racist PamelaJ1 if you'd gone on to say "Yes, but where are you really from?"
It's not that hard, honestly.

We’re not really all the same, that’s what makes us so fascinating. Our experiences and that of our parents and grandparents shapes us in so many ways. I agree our basic humanity gives us the same basic needs and fears, but our cultural background adds many layers to that. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or touchy about , it just is what makes us all unique.

Would you have asked her if she "looked" white?

I might have done if she'd had an accent that I couldn't quite place and circumstances and situation allowed.

PamelaJ1

grandmajet so difficult isn’t it. I was having a conversation with a gentleman as he was tidying his garden and I was having a walk. I found myself asking where he came from. He was white British and originated from Leicester .

It occurred to me later on that day that if he had been ‘other’ that could have been a racist question? I’ve put other because I don’t know now what word to use. I can’t keep up??‍♀️

It’s about sensitivities isn’t it and being aware of them. There are many ways to ask where people are from ( if you really need to know ?) without the format ‘where are you from’ which can be misinterpreted. People from ethnic minorities do experience abuse which tells them to ‘go back where you came from’. So it’s not a neutral question to ask with some people.

If I was cooking with a friend, and they said "This is how my grandmother used to make it back home", I'd ask "Where was she from, your grandmother?" I wouldn't think, or say, "What's your ethnic origin then?"

And actually no, I'm not interested in how my friends lived as children or what their backstories are unless they want to tell me. It's none of my business. I'm interested in who they are now.

It would be considerably easier if some people weren't so quick to take offence, usually on other people's behalf, when no offence is intended.