Why It's Time To Ditch The Term 'BAME' - Refinery29

Skip navigation!ADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTWhy It's Time To Ditch The Term 'BAME'Gena-mour Barrett23 May 2018, 6:10 photographed by Natalia MantiniBAME is a term long used in the UK to refer to black, Asian and minority ethnic people. Its origin derives from "political blackness", an idea that various ethnic groups united behind to fight against discrimination in the 1970s. But when political blackness was criticised for lumping everyone together under a single label, the term was slowly replaced by BAME. Now, more than 7.6 million people in Britain come under this category.It is ironic but not at all surprising that a wealth of the arguments waged against political blackness can also be applied to its successor. In an interview with BBC Radio Kent in March, former cabinet minister Priti Patel called the BAME label "patronising", "insulting" and "totally unhelpful". "Everybody wants to be recognised for their individual merits," she argued, and to a certain extent, I agree with her.AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTThe arguably overused term leaves little room for individuality or distinction. I don’t refer to myself as BAME in my day-to-day life, but when I was an aspiring journalist searching for work experience and internships, it was often the term used by companies desperately seeking to diversify their newsrooms. I then faced accusations from my white counterparts that the only reason I was there was because I was from a BAME background. The label has been a catch-22 for me ever since.Despite being something that was given to me rather than chosen, I disagree that the term BAME is entirely unhelpful. When institutional racism unconsciously (and consciously) funnels its way through to university intakes, job hiring and salaries, you often learn the hard way that the "individual merit" Patel speaks of isn’t enough in this country. It may not be conducive to dispelling the myth that ethnic minorities are a monolith, but we clearly need something when speaking to racial inequality in the UK.“

I don’t know why black is first…so I am for getting rid of it.

Candice Carty-Williams”Candice Carty-Williams, a senior marketing executive at Vintage Books and author of the forthcoming novel Queenie, is the creator of the B4ME short story prize. The competition offers black, Asian and minority ethnic writers the chance to win £1,000 along with online publication. Candice said she doesn't feel 100% comfortable using BAME and understands why the term should be phased out. "It’s uncomfortable because 'minority ethnic' covers so many people that it seems reductive to just say," she told Refinery29. "I don’t know why black is first…so I am for getting rid of it."Wei Ming Kam is the cofounder of BAME in Publishing (a network set up to address the lack of diversity in the industry) and isn’t enamoured with the term either. "I’m not a massive fan of the term, but you do need a general term for ease," she said. "I think I prefer POC, but again that has issues too." A commonality between Candice and Wei Ming is that when they were naming their respective projects, they used BAME not because they wanted to but because it was government terminology. "We’re not all the same and when it comes to actual policies, it’s dangerous to treat ethnic minorities as if we’re homogenous," Wei Ming added. "But for certain situations…we still need a general catch-all."While acronyms like BAME are useful in some cases, it’s understandable why people dislike being referred to by a term that immediately identifies you as "other". In terms of scrapping it completely though, Wei Ming asks: "What’s the alternative?" Candice prefers "minoritised" ("because we are not a minority people, we have been minoritised"), but she’s hopeful for a future where a label isn’t necessary. "I would like to think that we’re moving towards a point where we don’t need to use the term BAME at all," she said. "The way things are moving, the way relationships are, and the children that come from those relationships, those terms don’t need to be so strictly put into place. It doesn’t need to be BAME people and white people anymore."AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT UnbotheredFaith Kipyegon Just Ran The Fastest Mile In Women’s History Again...“It’s good to be tired after you’ve done something special,” said Kenyan, three-time Olympic champion, Faith Kipyegon to Unbothered, smiling ear toby L'Oréal BlackettNewsShame Has Changed Sides: Gisèle Pelicot’s Bravery Will Impact All...Trigger warning: This article contains descriptions of or allusions to rape, sexual abuse and gaslighting. We all have a Gisèle Pelicot in our life. She?by Susan DevaneyUnbotheredThe World Is In Crisis & We’re All GrievingEvie Muir is a nature writer, founder of Peaks of Colour and author of Radical Rest. In this op-ed, they share their perspective on the importance of havinby Evie MuirAdvertisementADVERTISEMENTNews“I’m Fearful For My Life”: 5 Women Of Colour On The Far-Right Riotsby Varsha PatelHomepageRefinery29, Unbothered & Somos Have Been Acquired By Sundial Medi...It’s a new day for Refinery29, Unbothered, and Somos. We have been acquired by Sundial Media Group (SMG). SMG is a powerhouse media company that owns braby Refinery29 StaffUnbotheredThe Attack On Diane Abbott Is An Attack On All Black WomenDiane Abbott is frightened. Let that sink in. On Monday, Britain’s longest-serving Black MP learned that Frank Hester, the Conservative party’s biggestby L'Oréal BlackettHealth NewsNobody Is Talking About Male Infertility & It’s Bad For Us AllThere’s a story we’ve been told about Britain’s falling birth rate. It goes something like this: women are too focused on their careers, having childby Vicky SprattGlobal NewsI’ve Been Running A Vital News Source For Iranian Women — H...It’s been almost three months since the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini. In September the 22-year-old Iranian was arrested in Tehran by the country’by Lauren Crosby Med...LivingThis Is Why Glasgow Is Being Called “The UK’s First F...Glasgow is being hailed as “the UK’s first feminist city” after councillors passed a game-changing town planning motion. Submitted by Greby Nick LevineNewsQueen Elizabeth II Has Died At The Age Of 96Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and 14 other sovereign countries and head of the Commonwealth, has died aged 96, Buckingham Palace has annoby Refinery29 StaffWorld NewsA Third Of Pakistan Is Under Water — Here’s How To Help From HereIn Pakistan, ‘unprecedented’ rains caused by climate change have left a third of the country underwater, killing 1,100 people and leaving 10 miby Zahra Campbell-Av...NewsI’m A 17-Year-Old Ukrainian Refugee, Reminding You The War Is Far...Today marks six months since Russia invaded Ukraine. A conflict that the world hoped would end quickly following the initial invasion on 24th February has by Lauren Crosby Med...AdvertisementADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENTADVERTISEMENT