White Other

I was filling out a registration form recently to access information on a U.K. government website, when I was asked to indicate my ethnic group. You know the old saying that England and the U.S. are two countries separated by a common language? It appears we're separated by more than just that. Check out the list...

Which ethnic group would you describe yourself as being in?

White British
White Irish
White Other

Black British
Black Caribbean
Black African
Other Black background

Asian British
Chinese
Indian
Pakistani
Bangladeshi
Other Asian background

White & Asian
White & Black African
White & Black Caribbean

Other mixed background
Other ethnic group

Prefer not to say

This list tells you a lot about the U.K. and the history of the British Empire, doesn't it? I'm guessing the 2010 U.S. Census will have different choices.

My Ambiguous Ethnicity

I was filling out an on-line questionnaire from a London arts center the other day. I haven't been to Britain for a few years, but I bought my concert ticket on-line, so they still had my contact info.

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When I got to the end of the questionnaire, they asked the usual demographic questions about age, race, and the like. But I was taken aback somewhat by the list of ethnicity choices. It says something interesting about the difference between Britain and the U.S.

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Here's the list:

Which ethnic group would you describe yourself as being in?

• White British
• White Irish
• White Other
• White & Black Caribbean
• White & Black African
• White & Asian
• Other mixed background
• Asian British
• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Other Asian background
• Black British
• Black Caribbean
• Black African
• Other Black background
• Chinese
• Other ethnic group
• Prefer not to say
  

For the first time ever when filling out a questionnaire, I didn't know what race I was. I finally settled on "White Other," which seemingly could leave me Hispanic, Icelandic, or Italian.