Travel /
Rihanna complains about lack of privacy on Polish beach [150]
Firstly the piece in the link was written in 2002, and as you know language and race relations, being as dynamic as they are, have a habit of changing as noted in the same piece. I think it is a stretch to say it is the most important part, however.
CBC's policy is to avoid mentioning skin colour, ethnic background, and so forth in news stories unless it's relevant. Racist and other insulting language is also shunned. But the corporation's Journalistic Standards and Practices handbook doesn't try to list objectionable words and phrases because, as noted in section 4.1 on Good Taste, "public acceptance in this area is always changing." A key question, then, is whether mulatto is intrinsically offensive.
Furthermore, it goes on to say that unless you are bi-racial, it may be wise to avoid the use of the word:
On the other hand, it may be best to avoid describing people as mulatto in news stories, not merely because the term originally meant mule but because it shores up pseudo-scientific attempts to classify us by blends of skin colour. People who identify themselves this way, of course, have every right to do so. But others have an equally valid prerogative to steer clear of the word, the same way they would give quadroon or octoroon a wide berth.
If one were to have a look at the Understanding Slavery Initiative website, they say the following:
Mulatto
Comes from the Spanish or Portuguese term for 'young mule'. A mule is a hybrid mix of a horse and a donkey. This term is derogatory in its use to depict people of mixed race or people of dual descent, most often of an enslaved Black female and a White man; mixed race women were often more privileged than the enslaved from Africa but still treated as second-class citizens; the term 'mulatto' was commonly used in the 18th century but is now considered derogatory and unacceptable today.
Suffice to say, not being a person of mixed-color multi-ethnicity, I am steering clear of the term mulatto.
