Is Mulatto a bad word?

This seems to be a debate. Depending on who you ask, some will say something different about the word "mulatto".

Mulatto means someone who is black and white...but sometimes people say it means "half donkey, half mule". But that is just the derivative of the word, not the actual definition.

Words like "nigger" and "mongrel" are undoubtedly offensive. But one must ask, is mulatto really offensive? 10 or 20 years ago, when one said the word "biracial" we thought black and white. Sometimes its still like that, but the term "biracial" is becoming more and more vague.

With new kinds of mixed race people besides "black and white", there is an ever growing need to have words to specifically speak of one kind of race. Saying "biracial black and white" gets too wordy and too tiresome.

There are already words being created to refer to specific mixes. Mulatto, Mestizo, Blasian (or Afro-Asian), Eurasian, then the lesser known term "blaxican".

Mulatto, has the most known history in America, but unless a new word comes into existence to refer to people who are white and black, Mulatto is all there is to use.

Whether or not the word is offensive, is left up to the individual to interpret.