My white MIL called my baby a mutt and I feel some type of way about it
So as a mixed race girl growing up I’ve been called a mutt plenty of times in my youth and it never felt good but I had to smile through it because it was usually family that said it and I don’t believe they meant harm by it… it took me a long time to work through how dehumanizing it was and how it effected how I viewed the different cultures I was mixed with. I just remember wanting so desperately to be white/light skinned and made to feel othered by my very own family.
Fast forward 25 years and my MIL called my son a mutt and idk if it’s just the remnants of past trauma that got me worked up but I shut it down immediately and said we’re not going to call my child a mutt and there are better words to describe a mixed race child, especially when it is a white grandmother talking to a brown grandchild. She tried defending it by saying my husband is a mutt too because he’s like 8 different kinds of white, but it’s still not a word I want used directed at my son, especially not by a white person, related to us or not.
I don’t think my MIL is racist (at least not in a hateful way) but she can be ignorant about other races and has made comments that would make eyebrows raise…
Idk, am I overreacting? I just don’t want my son to have to feel othered by one part of his culture and rejected by the other due to being raised in America.
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You are def not overreacting and handled it beautifully and with class. Keep holding that boundary and call her out everytime. Politely:) she can go f*** off.
You’re not overreacting! As a stranger I’m proud of you for having the courage to speak up and advocating for your son
It can feels so intimidating to stand up to in laws
You're absolutely not overreacting!
I'm not from America, and I'm white, so I can't speak from personal experience, but I've never heard anyone call a person a "mutt" before. It absolutely sounds racist and dehumanising, regardless of how she intended it.
You did the right thing shutting it down and protecting your son. Good for you for standing up for him. He deserves to grow up knowing he's loved, valued, and protected! Good job, Mama 💕
I didn’t know people used that word anymore 🤔
Hopefully she doesn’t use it again and that she respects your wishes.
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