Throwing in my own two-cents on this. I'm Indian, but kinda light-skinned for a Bengali woman (probably due to fraternizing with white people in my family a few generations back), and my bone- and hair-structure aren't the most obviously Indian.
I get asked what my race is ALL THE DAMN TIME because people have trouble telling - and I usually don't tell them, but make them guess. It is incredibly rare for anyone to guess Indian, or even Asian. Most people first assume Hispanic (which, brown girl living in Los Angeles, it makes sense). After that, they go all over the damn planet trying to guess my race, often taking over a dozen guess to get there (or just never getting there, giving up, and then being surprised when I tell them).
I've been mistaken for everything from "very tanned white person" to "half-black", with just about every ethnic minority under the planet thrown in.
It takes surprisingly little to throw people off about race.
no subject
I get asked what my race is ALL THE DAMN TIME because people have trouble telling - and I usually don't tell them, but make them guess. It is incredibly rare for anyone to guess Indian, or even Asian. Most people first assume Hispanic (which, brown girl living in Los Angeles, it makes sense). After that, they go all over the damn planet trying to guess my race, often taking over a dozen guess to get there (or just never getting there, giving up, and then being surprised when I tell them).
I've been mistaken for everything from "very tanned white person" to "half-black", with just about every ethnic minority under the planet thrown in.
It takes surprisingly little to throw people off about race.