Gadgetgirlie went off to Tooting with a young Asian friend of mine to have her hand decorated in celebration of Eid ul-fitr today. As they walked around Tooting apparently Ggirlie asked why there were only 'coloured' people there and declared that she didn't like the smell of curries.
On the way to her cub swimming gala this evening we talked about why the word 'coloured' is offensive, and that 'Asian' would be a more appropriate word to use in the above situation. We talked about 'Hushna' in her class being Asian, even though she speaks German, and 'Niesha' being African, but the problem came, as far as she was concerned, with how she should describe 'Dayle', because he is 'very light brown'. 'He's mixed race,' I replied. Then there was the....'But mummy, Nailah is from Pakistan, why would we say Asian when she is from Pakistan? ...and before I could reply....'Look mummy, there's a scouts sign over there. Is that where we are going?' I realised that we would need to work on her politically and racially correct use of language a little bit more....another time.
