if you’re only a quarter of something? Timster’s blog brought up an interesting point. I’ve known a person who was 1/4 black and he looked white as toast. Another guy I grew up with was a quarter Japanese and also looked white as butter. I imagine that a vast majority of people who are 1/4 nonwhite and 3/4 white look overwhelmingly white. Maybe once you know they’re not fully white you may be able to see some nonwhite features, but that’s probably with the benefit of already knowing.
HOWEVER race is an ever evolving construct, so back in the day when the one drop of blood rule applied, you could be considered black for as low as 1/8th, 1/16th, and even 1/32nd black heritage. So one black great great great grandparent could have made you black. And considering how many white people have nonwhite ancestry, that’s wild. Of course it’s even much more common for nonwhite people to have white ancestry, due to colonization and slavery.
Let’s not even get STARTED on the Latinx community, since it literally encompasses every race under the sun. For example, one of my childhood friends claims to be Latina since her grandmother speaks Spanish and was born in South America. Yet her grandmother is actually of Palestinian descent while her grandfather is Japanese. Her grandparents on her other side are Jewish and Italian. She does not look traditionally white at all even though she’s half white, maybe even 3/4 if you go by the US census and consider Middle Eastern and North African white. And yet she identifies as a Latina because of her grandmother, who’s from South America but of Middle Eastern descent.
But I think Timster brought up an interesting point. IMO appearance shapes so much of how you’re treated that no mere percentage can indicate whiteness or not. For example, I doubt someone like Cameron Diaz has been discriminated against even once in her life for being Hispanic. Halsey is half black but is passing as fuck, however most people who are half of something look at least a little like both. So I say take it on a case by case basis, but if you’re less than half of something I’d feel iffy about claiming it. Then again, percentages don’t dictate your culture, your experience, how you were raised etc. So idk lol.
For the record, I am half European and half Middle Eastern. I identify as Middle Eastern, but most people assume Im full European because of how I look, although when I tell them I’m part Middle Eastern they say they can see it. But mostly I get mistaken for Italian or in rarer instances as Jewish, even though I’m only a tiny bit Italian and not Jewish at all. But that’s what I get mistaken as. #Race y’all. It’s wild.
6 SurvivoroftheTocans, Aug 1, 2015
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Darriusdabest - 1
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First one to get it gets points #race
