How long have they been in the house? Can you not rememeber someones name?

Thats all in saying for now…

Perhaps colored is semantically more accurate, but there is not a description as pungent as black. I like the taste of it. I like that is categorically different from white or any other color. Because none of us will be true black, It’s like a conscious choice to identify with a (un) common experience. African-American is a lame attempt at being P.C. and Jesse jaskson-ish. Colored is outdated and I think that some of the older members of society it can seem divisive. Say it Loud, I’m colored and proud, yeah not quite the same punch, kiss my colored A$$, you see where I’m going. Let's make it simple and be black, but then again I have described myself as tawny or caramel, but that was just in fun and only over the phone.

They were in the house less than a day when he made that comment. As far as colored goes, I don't have a problem with the term, and find it way more accurate than the grating african american.

Whether the term was inappropriate aside, he surely did not mean any of his commentary to be complimentary. And he wouldn't have referred to another housemate as that white guy.

That he called her out by color… just doesn't sit well with me.

I always struggle with not using racial descriptors. Why can't it be something like the one with the red shirt or the one with long hair…

I don't agree with the cast member calling her colored. I don't believe he meant it in a benign way; it had the weight, contextually, of a slur.

Oh yeah, and the castmate who uttered the slur is a gay guy from LA. I'm not saying he should know better, but I think he'd be more sensitive to those things that could be perceived as an insult. I don't suppose he'd like to be referred to as a "fag" or "queer".

My grandparents grew up in the Jim Crow south where term "colored" was used to support a demeaning system of separation between blacks and whites.

That term in the context of referring to black folks in the United States has a legacy us of enforcing a power dynamic between blacks and whites.

From this clip, I see that the guy uses this term interestingly enough, in the context of a presumed power struggle. He feels that the his housemate has too much power and he’s pissed. It’s very obvious to me that he is, even if it is somewhat unconscious, using that term to empower himself by belittling her.

Now if he would have said, “wow she’s a beautiful color” or she said, I prefer the term colored, and he called her that, that would be fine with me. But it’s very obvious that he did it to be demeaning and belittle her.

Yes- she’s technically colored, I guess…but I think that just a whole new can of worms since most people are colored to some degree. I have yet to meet anyone who I can hold up a piece of computer paper to and get an exact match….but let’s be real, he wasn’t using that term to describe how she looked or her racial make-up, he used it because he was having power struggle issues.

@ Qui - THANK YOU!!! The castmate who referred to the woman as colored is from Louisiana…I think he's aware of the meaning of the word and used it in a fitting context, for him.

uh no, he meant it to be insulting, if he was Southern African I'd understand and chalk it up to cultural differences but he knows that in the US calling someone colored is a big no no.

I don't like it. It makes 'white' the norm… and then we're 'colored' like there was some extra color added to make us. Like 'plain' and 'sweetened.' Or 'plain' and 'frosted.' Or 'plain' and 'tinted." That -ed thing would be us.

@J: Your examples make the -ed much more appealing,IMO.

I think that the name "coloured" has been tainted by the racism of the past. In my opinion, I think the name "Black" has also been tainted.I just cringe whenever I hear White people say Black and especially Blacks (actually I hate it when anyone says Blacks and prefer the term "Black people" so that they never forget that we are people and not things). I prefer African attached to whatever country you have citizenship in. Yeah, maybe many people have negative thoughts about Africa, but thats where our ancestors are from. I just think any reference to colour has been tainted by racism and negative connotations.

I agree with the Times letter-writer who said “colored” is perhaps the best word to use to describe African Americans

OH REALLY

I have no idea why so many African-Americans want to celebrate or take pride in the fact that someone raped our great great grandmothers. How many white folks do you see at the family reunion. So what, you got a few drops in you, big deal. Most places on this planet where you have two races or ethnic groups of people living closely together have mixing to some degree.

Yawn. Ploy to give this stupid show some attention. Don't fall for it.

Calling yourself african american doesn't mean your great great grandmother was any less raped. And unless you have relatives from Benin, nigeria, or the congo showing up to your family reunion, you're not african.

Like i've said many times, I have yet to meet a white person (born here), who refered to themselves as european american.

As far as the dude on the show goes, i'm sure his intent was as a slur, but it doesn't negate the fact that colored is still a more apt description of black people.

Whatever.

LOL Summer! OK then. Hmmmm. Let me think of some unappealing, nasty ones, then…

'clean' - 'dirtied'
'new' - 'used'
'fresh' - 'wrinkled'
'pure' - 'sullied'

better? LOL

I never watch this show [I'll watch a lot of stuff, but this show is THE most boring reality show, IMO.]

I'm not surprised at the comment but I do NOT think that colored is an appropriate adjective for people. Who isn't colored in some way anyway? Used in its truest definition, it ceases to be a useful descriptor. Used to signify race, it has enough bad history to remain a codeword/slur of choice for many.

If you enjoy being referred to as colored, that's lovely, but I certainly hope folks aren't encouraging white people to use the term. I don't think it'd go over well with most of us. Mixed or otherwise.

"COLORED" = non-white
People of color = non-white people

I've been called "colored" by an Eastern-European woman, a friend's mom. Since then, I use it liberally. It just seems so… vintage. Seriously though, panties in a bunch over nothing. Someone just needs to sit down with the Louisiana boy and give him the primer he clearly didn't get in school.

And yeah, the show is SO boring. It's like they're trying to bore them badly enough so that they'll all start screwing.

"I don’t like it. It makes ‘white’ the norm… and then we’re ‘colored’ like there was some extra color added to make us. Like ‘plain’ and ’sweetened.’ Or ‘plain’ and ‘frosted.’ Or ‘plain’ and ‘tinted.” That -ed thing would be us." J

I agree with J.

Some how hearing the N-word in music by black rappers upsets me more.

Wooooow…

Seriously Cord (as well as the others who agree)? All I gotta say is that if any of them niggas (yeah I said it… what? ) reffered to me as "that colored boy" there'd be some serious drama in that house. So much drama, that the ratings on Big Brother would be sky high.

The contempt with which he used the word and the way it was spat out in regards to her are what made it offensive, IMHO. And, yes, as a gay man he should know better, but he is white first and gay second, and don't think white gay men aren't aware of their white privilege.

Oops, here's my updated blog link

The most interesting thing is that none of the other two men sitting there called him on it, and I know they know the negative connotations of the word post 1960's America.

I have a Dutch friend who asked me what was appropriate to call black people here in the States. She said American blacks seem very sensitive about what they are called so she didn't want to offend anyone. She said that when she was living in Amsterdam she knew a black girl that either referred to herself as colored or said it about others. I told my friend to not EVER say it here b/c she will get punched in the face. She shook her head at "silly" Americans, started laughing, and said "…black it is then!"

Honestly, I would have to agree that I am in favor of using 'colored' to describe myself, but I also use it to describe other people who are considered 'people of color,' after all, they're pretty much the same thing and mean the same thing. Only thing is, I find myself being very wary of using 'colored' around white folks because I know that it can be taken the wrong way at the current time and because I know that just cause I refer to myself as colored doesn't mean that someone else will approve.
And regardless of how people feel, white in America is the norm and everyone knows it, which is why colored Barbies are special edition. It's also the reason why if you saw a colored person on TV and it wasn't not a comedy or didn't perpetuate a stereotype, we would all be very happy.
We've never really had any chance to define ourselves so we have continued to struggle with words to identify by. Just like white folks aren't paper colored, I'm not tar colored, I'm brown, but that term has been 'reserved' for people from the mid-east. Whatever.
Fact remains that it is what it is and I'd rather identify as colored before I identified as African American, because just the same way I have ancestors from Africa, I have ancestors from Europe too, so now what?

Context. That's the thing here. I don't even have a huge issue with him using the word "colored." But anytime you use a racial descriptor beyond its function of identification, the intent MUST be considered. The convo was regarding the reigning head of household and since he and all the other housemates were already discussing the HOH, who happens to be black, it was uneccesary for him to call her that "colored girl." He was making a point and I got it loud and clear.

@ Cord: "Colored" may be more descriptive, but even if it is, it comes with heavy negative historical weight, as others have pointed out. We have to concede that the way we assign racial categories to people is cultural and not truly descriptive, and accept that the words we use (black, white, etc.) signify more than their original meanings.

@ Joselita: I disagree about using race to describe people. I think it's a logical detail to include if you can't remember a name or need to describe an unknown person. The key is to do it evenly and descriptively: Whomever you're describing, say their race, their skin tone (because Terence Howard and Wesley Snipes are both "black," but I could tell them apart from a mile away), and give enough relevant details to identify the person you're talking about. If there's only one white person in a given group, it's fair to say, "The white guy." If I'm asking the bartender if my wife got there before me, it's fair for me to say, "Did you see a short white woman with shoulder-length brown hair come in here?"

He was trying to be offensive… No one calls a Black person "colored" anymore… and why didn't he know her name?????