how do you want others to perceive YOU?

[hanan]

I want to know how you want others in society to see you. Do you want to be recognized for the race or sub-race that you are? Do you get offended if people think you are something else? If for example, someone thought you were Nordic, would this offend you more than if someone thought were African? Be honest with responses.

Most people think I am Italian when I travel (which is what I am) and I like it because I am proud of my cultural heritage. During a trip, some people guessed that I was Morrocan once. I was offended to be honest, but now I know Morrocan people and I like them. So if somebody thought I was Morrocan now I would not care.

[mike2]

Being half-Greek, I'm pale in the winter and tan in the summer. So during the colder months with my black hair and pale skin I can be and have been easily mistaken for an Ashkenazi Jew, which I don't really take kindly to, to say the least. Nothing against Jews, I just don't like people stereotyping my black hair and fair complexion as a distinctly Jewish trait.

[KULL]

I'm from North Italy and i've travelled in these years through several european and extra europeans countries. I usually pass for Austrian or Hungarian (a country of Central-Europe in few words). I'm not hurted by this. We enjoy ourselves guessing the nationality of some people, here on this site, but the reality is that NOBODY can guess your exact nationality,when the phenotypical reality is rather similar. There is no clear demarcation between North Italy, Switzerland, North Yugoslavia and Austria/South Germany), therefore the right guessing is pure luck. Anyway, i'm substantially satisfied to be considered Central-European. It's sufficient to me. Afterall, the entire area instead the different languages and nationalities, has some important and general cultural affinities .

[MC anunnaki]

hanan said:

I want to know how you want others in society to see you.

As one hot mama!

Or as an average Jane, nice and well-mannered. I have been mistaken for many things and most people have guessed Southern European for some reason. I really don't care what people mistake me for. My race/subrace has proven to be the least important thing when I befriend others. What strangers think of me is of no importance.

[buddyrydell]

I don't think people should get offended if mistaken for another ethnicity, though I guess it might get annoying if nobody ever guessed correctly heh. As a half-Sicilian, most people assume I'm either Italian or Greek (the two principal groups that contributed to Sicilian ethnogenesis), though I also get mistaken for a Balkan Slav from time to time.

Honestly, I'd have to say I like the fact that I look more like my southern European side because it's a bit different and more exotic than the average European-American appearance, which is more or less northern European.

[zemelmete]

I have been mistaken for many eurasian+american nationalities. I will try to count : russian, mongol, swedish, japanese, spanish, chinese, danish, eskimo, german, korean, finnish, tibetian, estonian, amerindian, saami, chukchi, udmurtian, indonesian, english, philipino. Believe or not, but that's TRUE! Seems I look very international and everybody sees in me what he/she wants. I don't have nothing against to any of these nationalities and the biggest part of these classifications I take with humour. For example once one guy asked me from which amerindian tribe am I, to what I answered that i'm from mohican tribe LOL. Actually classifications usually depend of person's nationality who guesses and places which he/she has been visited. In Western Europe people usually guess me as east asian or amerindian. In Baltic states guess me as eskimo, saami, amerindian or finnish. In Scandinavia all people have guessed me as finnish. In Russia classifications go to northern siberian and/or finno-ugrian nationalities. Non-white people usually classify me as pure european.

[molika]

I think it's better not to have anyone perceive you to be any particular nationality. It automatically sets you up for prejudice and generalizations.

I have never been a 'common' type for my nationality. I have been told that I look German like Steffi Graf, probably because of my nose...
I have also been labeled as North Italian. I had a friend from Puerto Rico tell me I wasn't white which is kind of odd considering I am rather obviously white. He considered that a compliment and I took it as such.

Now that I'm getting to be what even I consider to be "old" I care less and less about my outward appearance. I would much rather be perceived to be a decent human being than anything else.

[Faelcind]

I like it when people notice that I am Irish looking since thats what Identifiy with. Like mike alot of people take the combination of dark curly hair and fair skin as being evidence of jewish descent which I genereal don't appreciate not cause I have anything against jews I just don't think I look jewish.

[Anja]

Doesn't really matter...nobody guesses me for what I am. I get Jewish and "white, kind of" and it doesn't really bother me.

[murphee]

I like that--"Intelligent, well-mannered, good-looking and humble."
That is how I'd like people to perceive me.
Especially the well-mannered part. I always try to act dignified in a quiet sort of way.
Actually, I like it when people mistake me for something I'm not. They are always surprised when they find out I'm Jewish. It makes for interesting conversation.

[Josh]

zemelmete said:

I have been mistaken for many eurasian+american nationalities. I will try to count : russian, mongol, swedish, japanese, spanish, chinese, danish, eskimo, german, korean, finnish, tibetian, estonian, amerindian, saami, chukchi, udmurtian, indonesian, english, philipino.

People actually think you are pure Chinese or any other type of East Asian? I could see you passing for 1/2 or 1/4, but not 100%. That's crazy . You look to me like what you are. Mostly Caucasoid but with significant Mongoloid admixture.

[captainusa1]

I don't care. It doesn't matter to me. Most of my ancestors came from Ireland or the UK, but I don't look like most of the people from those countries except for the dark types. My NA ancestry gives me a semi-Hispanic look that might stick out a bit in the British Isles.

[zemelmete]

People actually think you are pure Chinese or any other type of East Asian? I could see you passing for 1/2 or 1/4, but not 100%. That's crazy . You look to me like what you are. Mostly Caucasoid but with significant Mongoloid admixture.

Yes I have wondered about it too. Interesting that here, in Baltic states, native people guess me as "foreign", but when here comes some real foreigner, he/she usually guess me as regular baltic inhabitant LOL. Exception are scandinavians, who clearly see that I differ from baltic people and usually guess me as fiinish.

[Ilmatar]

I would have answered the question exactly the same way that murphee or anunnaki did. However, I've noticed that people in generally do tend to find my looks exotic in a way or another. I do get a lot of "You don't look like a Finn" comments even here in Finland. At the very least people think that I'm half something, usually French, Italian or Russian. When I'm abroad people rarely see me as a Finn - even the ones that have been to Finland or worked with a number of Finns- or Nordic either if I'm not in one of my blond periods. It's carzy, actually !

[zemelmete]

I would have answered the question exactly the same way that murphee or anunnaki did. However, I've noticed that people in generally do tend to find my looks exotic in a way or another. I do get a lot of "You don't look like a Finn" comments even here in Finland. At the very least people think that I'm half something, usually French, Italian or Russian. When I'm abroad people rarely see me as a Finn - even the ones that have been to Finland or worked with a number of Finns- or Nordic either if I'm not in one of my blond periods. It's carzy, actually !

That's really crazy, that you, finnish, classify as non-finnish, but me, non-finnish, often classify as finnish!