Rarely asked, "What are you?"

Not exactly, but I do often get asked if I'm Italian (which I'm not) and mixed reactions when I tell people I'm mostly of Scottish/Mexican descent. Hispanic people will often ask when they find out my last name, though other people assume my last name is Italian instead of Spanish.

I'm mostly Scottish on my mom's side. I'm Texan Mexican on my dad's (specifically Aztec and Spanish, from as far back as when Texas was a part of Mexico). I'm honestly not really sure if I fit in with this because I keep getting told "Hispanic(/Latino/Mexican) isn't a race, so you aren't mixed", but then I would still be a not insignificant part Aztec. Besides, in the US, it is effectively treated as a race regardless of what verbal semantics are being used. My dad and my sister are very dark skinned compared to me and noticeably of Mexican ancestry. I, however aparently, look Italian (even my wife's Italian family thinks so).

I do get a very ranged reaction from people when I tell them my name is Spanish and I'm half Mexican/Texano. Most people think I'm saying "half" when I really mean "part", but no, I'm half. I usually get asked if I speak Spanish immediately, which I really don't. Most Mexican people I've met don't seem to care too much, but non-Mexican Hispanic people will usually get bent out of shape about it. Sometimes I feel like I get judged more for not speaking Spanish than my darker skinned family (who also don't speak Spanish), but I also don't think I get as much racial judgment from the way I look.

/r/mixedrace Thread