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White people

White people: The factual accuracy of this article or section is disputed.
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White people (also white race or whites) is an informal label given to a segment of the human population based on inconsistently-applied characteristics such as ethnicity, country of origin, skin tone, language, and religion.[citation needed]

People who are considered white in one part of the world during a certain time period may not be considered white in other parts of the world, or in a different time period. However, some people, such as the descendents of the Germanic people are almost exclusively labeled as white.[1]

The designation has social, cultural, political, scientific, medical and legal implications such as on a nation's census, anti-miscegenation laws, racial segregation, affirmative action, eugenics, racial marginalization, and racial quotas.


Contents

Social vs. physical perceptions of white

See also: Race, Social interpretations of race, and Race and multilocus allele clusters

In many countries, such as the United States, the definition of white has changed over the years. [1] Even though the natural sciences may have been used throughout history to justify varying treatments based on racial background, race today is largely considered a sociological construct, whose definition is subject to change as socity evolves.[1][2]


United States

Main article: White American

David R. Roediger argues that the construction of the white race in the United States was in direct effort to mentally distance slaveowners from slaves.[3] By the 18th century, white had become well established as a racial term. In the United States, confusion over the designation white or Caucasian is considerable, due partly to the introduction of the term Hispanic in the 1980 United States Census.

The 2000 United States Census, speaking of race categories, states, "They generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country. They do not conform to any biological, anthropological or genetic criteria."[4]

The United States Census parameters for race give national origin a racial value. This can be confusing in regards to people of Middle Eastern Americans and North African American — who are commonly classified as Caucasian. Another difficulty is that by responding "Israeli" in the U.S. Census, a person will be categorized as white, even though not all Israelis are of European descent (Ashkenazi or Sephardi); they may be Jews of Ethiopian (Beta Israel), Middle Eastern (Mizrahi), Yemenite (Teimani, considered by some a Mizrahi subgroup), or Indian descent (see Jewish ethnic divisions for more information on Jewish ethnic diversity), or may instead be Israeli Arabs or Druze (who may or may not identify themselves as Arabs).

Canada

Main article: White Canadian

In the Statistics Canada Census, white is a racial category in Canada. It is possible to mark more than one box on the Canadian Census and the boxes for Arabs, Latin Americans, and West Asians are separate from the "white" box.[5] One publication by Statistics Canada (but not necessarily representing the views of Statistics Canada) defines a white person as a Canadian of European ancestry.[6]


Europe

In the UK, the Office for National Statistics uses the term White as an ethnic category. The terms White British, White Irish and White Other are used. White British includes Welsh, English and Scottish peoples, as well as residents of Northern Ireland who identify as British. Irish people may describe themselves as White Irish. The category White Other includes all white people not from the British Isles.[7][8] People of Middle Eastern ancestry are not seen as white people in the UK.[9]

According to the Norwegian Social Science Data Service, white is an ethnic category and is used interchangeably with European and includes all Europeans besides Norwegians, Sami, Finnish and other Nordics. Other categories are Asian, Black/African/Caribbean and other.[10] Statistics Norway considers the Asian category to include Turkish people.[11]

China

In China, an ethnic minority known as Bai, refer to themselves as "white people" and the term Bai, meaning "white", became their official name in 1956. [12] The Bai People hold the white color in high esteem and call themselves "Baizi", "Baini" or "Baihuo", which means white people. In 1956, of their own will they were named the Bai Nationality by Chinese Authorities.[13]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Adams, J.Q., Pearlie Strother-Adams (2001). Dealing with Diversity. Chicago, IL: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. 0-7872-8145-X.
  2. ^ Thompson, William, Joseph Hickey (2005). Society in Focus. Boston, MA: Pearson. 0-205-41365-X.
  3. ^ Roediger, Wages of Whiteness, 186; Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (New York, 1998).
  4. ^ Questions and Answers for Census 2000 Data on Race from U.S. Census Bureau, 14 March 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2006.
  5. ^ Fellegi, Ivan P. Statistics Canada. 2001 Census. 2001. November 8, 2006. [1]
  6. ^ Finnie, Ross. Statistics Canada. Minorities, Cognitive Skills, and the Incomes of Canadians. [2]
  7. ^ Identity, Ethnicity and Identity, National Statistics online. Retrieved 03 November 2006.
  8. ^ Census 2001 - Ethnicity and religion in England and Wales, Ethnicity and religion. Retrieved 03 November 2001.
  9. ^ Kissoon, Priya. King's College of London. Asylum Seekers: National Problem or National Solution. 2005. November 7, 2006.
  10. ^ http://www.nsd.uib.no/data/ny_individ/norStudy/norVariable.cfm?norVarID=7989
  11. ^ http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/02/01/10/innvbef_en/
  12. ^ http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0097-7004(198801)14%3A1%3C51%3AAOBCCA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M
  13. ^ http://www.travelchinayunnan.com/minorities/bai.htm

Further reading

Categories


Accuracy disputes | Articles with unsourced statements | Baltic peoples | Ethnic groups | Ethnic groups in Europe | Ethnic groups in the United States | Race | Romance peoples

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