Hi there

I am half Jamaican half white English and I have always had people asking me about my "tan" or trying to make polite enquires about where I am from with quite a range of guesses as to whether I am Spanish, Greek, Indian....

I just have said like you - no I haven't been away, this is my what I look like all year around and people are usually a bit embarrassed like they should have known or something, but if they've just met you then why would they? I wouldn't think that these kinds of questions are racist. Really it shouldn't matter where someone is from, but if it is said as a friendly & genuine compliment then it wouldn't seem fair to take it in any other way.

Hope this helps

My 5 year old dd gets this a lot. Again she is half hispanic, has blue eyes, and straight chestnut hair. Her facial features are more European, except for the colour of her skin.

So yes, she gets asked why she has such a lovely tan very fequently.

I don't get offended, as I don't think this constitutes racism. There aren't as many latin americans in this part of the world, so this kind of colouring is not so easy to place. If I am honest, she does look like she has a tan.

I reply in much the same way that you do. There is not much else you can do.

This has had the effect of making her very aware of the colour of her skin but thankfully people's comments have always been very complementary.

Hi,
I'm American, ethnically half hispanic, half northern european. Back home in California anyone would assume I was hispanic or mixed with a glance, and for certain if they know my (spanish) surname.

Here however, people dont seem to know what to make of me. I often get asked, "what a lovely tan! have you been somewhere nice on holiday?". I just give a bemused smile and say no, I've been here in rainy england all winter just like you, this is just my normal skin colour.

DH (white british) thinks it's an incredibly racist comment. I always thought it was just naive. More recently I wonder if its actually a very indirect way of enquiring as to my ethnicity.

Does anyone else ever get this? What do you say?