Declaring Ethnicity

[Mary Ann]

Plus, I could give J and macloudt a run for their money on whiteness!

I can vouch for that. When we met your hair was its natural colour, I think, and your naturally dark hair makes your skin look lighter. The more my hair turns white the more my face takes on a ruddy tinge, but back when my hair was its natural mousy brown colour I'd sometimes be asked if I was ill as I looked so pale when I was hale and hearty.

 

[Nick086]

Now if someone is Turkic which box do they put a check? Some look Asian, Middle Eastern, and some look European, but not your typical European. I know some who are Jewish declaring it ethnicity. In the 20th century Israel is a country can one call themselves Jewish or Middle Eastern?

 

[thestrangequark]

Plus, I could give J and macloudt a run for their money on whiteness!

I can vouch for that. When we met your hair was its natural colour, I think, and your naturally dark hair makes your skin look lighter. The more my hair turns white the more my face takes on a ruddy tinge, but back when my hair was its natural mousy brown colour I'd sometimes be asked if I was ill as I looked so pale when I was hale and hearty.

You should see my little sister! She makes me look positively blowsy! (Fuck you, spell-check, that's a word!)

She recently went platinum blonde, but before that her hair was dark like mine. She is so pale, that my friend once saw a photo of her, our older sister, and me across the room, and thought my little sister had been Photoshopped to be in black and white!

 

[Captain Kathryn]

You can choose "Other" on many of those menus. Some have a Mixed Ethnicity option as well. Also since I have been applying massively to new jobs lately, I noticed you can always choose "Decline to specify".

 

[RoJoHen]

Race: Human
Ethnicity: American

At what point does that become an option? Sure, my ancestors came from Europe like 200 years ago, but neither my parents nor I identify with that background whatsoever.

Go back far enough, and we're all Africans.

 

[auntiehill]

Plus, I could give J and macloudt a run for their money on whiteness!

I can vouch for that. When we met your hair was its natural colour, I think, and your naturally dark hair makes your skin look lighter. The more my hair turns white the more my face takes on a ruddy tinge, but back when my hair was its natural mousy brown colour I'd sometimes be asked if I was ill as I looked so pale when I was hale and hearty.

You should see my little sister! She makes me look positively blowsy! (Fuck you, spell-check, that's a word!)

She recently went platinum blonde, but before that her hair was dark like mine. She is so pale, that my friend once saw a photo of her, our older sister, and me across the room, and thought my little sister had been Photoshopped to be in black and white!

I have you beaten in the pasty department, I'm afraid. In grade school, one of the teachers thought I was an albino. Not only have people thought I was ill, but when I visited a friend who works at MD Anderson, a few of the office staff thought I was a patient. They kept telling me, "Patients are allowed back here!" Um, not a cancer patient; thanks for the confidence boost.

At a big warehouse store, we had id cards made. They tried several times to get our pictures put on the cards but I'm so pale that the camera wouldn't pick up my image for the black and white photo on the plastic. All you can see are my eyes!

All my life people have made fun of me for being "too white" or "too pale." At the dermatologist's office, the nurse was handing out free sample of sunblock. When she got to me, she stopped, looked me up and down, and said, "Oh, honey. You don't need sunblock. You need a ROOF."

 

[RoJoHen]

I have you beaten in the pasty department, I'm afraid. In grade school, one of the teachers thought I was an albino. Not only have people thought I was ill, but when I visited a friend who works at MD Anderson, a few of the office staff thought I was a patient. They kept telling me, "Patients are allowed back here!" Um, not a cancer patient; thanks for the confidence boost.

At a big warehouse store, we had id cards made. They tried several times to get our pictures put on the cards but I'm so pale that the camera wouldn't pick up my image for the black and white photo on the plastic. All you can see are my eyes!

All my life people have made fun of me for being "too white" or "too pale." At the dermatologist's office, the nurse was handing out free sample of sunblock. When she got to me, she stopped, looked me up and down, and said, "Oh, honey. You don't need sunblock. You need a ROOF."

Maybe you should eat some carrots.

 

[auntiehill]

I eat lots of carrots. I'm just genetically transparent.

 

[Mary Ann]

I'm stealing the term "genetically transparent". It's too awesome not to.

 

[Santa Kang]

Race: Human
Ethnicity: American

At what point does that become an option? Sure, my ancestors came from Europe like 200 years ago, but neither my parents nor I identify with that background whatsoever.

Go back far enough, and we're all Africans.

Never probably. (Though maybe if Dr King's dream becomes reality) Neither answer really provided the information the questions are looking for. We're all human, so unless another species come sentient or ET arrive, it goes with out saying. American is a nationality and I doubt given America's diversity there'll ever be and American "ethnicity".

Do you identify with the homo sapiens who lived in Africa 200,00 years ago on a cultural or any other level? if not then you're not that type of "African".

 

[Captain Kathryn]

Because it's no longer a big deal to marry and reproduce among people from different parts of the world, those questions should really just be removed entirely. Except maybe in a general census or population data survey. But not on EVERY form we freakin fill out. It's dumb. I get that they use ethnicity on medical forms to figure out "Light-skinned people are more likely to develop _____!" and "People of African descent are more likely to develop _____!". But eventually this information will be needless as all people will be ultimately intermixed.

Race is a made up ideology anyhow. The only reason people look physically different is because our genome evolved to best thrive in the environments that people long, long ago existed in. It's stupid to even TRY to divide people into "races". Eventually, people will be so intermixed because of progression and globalization that it will become pointless and needless. Since we know that and since scientifically there's really no difference in our genes, we should just stop categorizing people like that. Just identify with whatever you feel closest to and by your country of residence or origin.

 

[Amaris]

I usually check the "white," "very white," or "color of this document" box.

I need a "reflects back all light particles" box. I'm so pale I can't find foundation cream or face powder light enough for my skin tone.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you have this foundation cream in blank?"

 

[urbandefault]

I could claim Native American because of my paternal grandparents, but I don't. This blond-haired blued-eyed white boy just doesn't really care one way or the other. So I usually just either leave it blank or tick the Caucasian box.

It's all for government demographic study, and ultimately alloting taxpayer money to special interests anyway, so if I can screw that up ...

 

[thestrangequark]

I usually check the "white," "very white," or "color of this document" box.

I need a "reflects back all light particles" box. I'm so pale I can't find foundation cream or face powder light enough for my skin tone.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you have this foundation cream in blank?"

It took me ages to find a foundation pale enough for me, but I finally did. This is seriously what I use, in "Goth White": http://www.manicpanic.com/dreamtone.html

I have naturally red lips and pink cheeks, else I'd look like death.

 

[Amaris]

I need a "reflects back all light particles" box. I'm so pale I can't find foundation cream or face powder light enough for my skin tone.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you have this foundation cream in blank?"

It took me ages to find a foundation pale enough for me, but I finally did. This is seriously what I use, in "Goth White": http://www.manicpanic.com/dreamtone.html

I have naturally red lips and pink cheeks, else I'd look like death.

Oh my god, they really do have a foundation cream in blank!

I like it!

 

[Santa Kang]

I need a "reflects back all light particles" box. I'm so pale I can't find foundation cream or face powder light enough for my skin tone.

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you have this foundation cream in blank?"

It took me ages to find a foundation pale enough for me, but I finally did. This is seriously what I use, in "Goth White": http://www.manicpanic.com/dreamtone.html

I have naturally red lips and pink cheeks, else I'd look like death.

Like this?

 

[Tom Hendricks]

The only problem I had was that looking as white as I do, for a time I struggled to identify with my Indian half. Not because I didn't personally identify with it, but because it almost felt unfair to Indians. I saw the kind of abuse my mother and brother received for the sin of black hair and dark olive skin, and I heard all the obnoxious white people who were "one sixteenth Apache," or whose great great great grandmother was a Cherokee Princess, and I didn't want to be one of them.

I swear I had to listen to this all the time grown up. How some great, great, great aunt or something like that was "Indian." I would always roll my eyes and say, "Yeah, sure." I never understood this need for my family to co-op this other culture. Like if we met some Indian's we could whip out this phantom relative who was supposedly Indian. What would that gain us?

 

[Amaris]

I like knowing about family history. My great grandfather, for example, was blackfoot. My great-Uncle was a direct descendant of John Alden, a passenger on the Mayflower. That doesn't make me anything great, though, and I don't get the people who proudly declare that they have "indian" blood in their family, or their whole family came over on the Mayflower, like it's supposed to make them special or something. That's what always cracks me up about people who are supremacists, as if their blood is untouched and "pure." Please. I don't doubt that most people in the U.S. have some kind of native American blood in them somewhere along the line, because our ancestors were horny bastards.

 

[Santa Kang]

All I know is my family have been in America a long time. I had to go back to the 1600s to find someone actually born in Europe.

 

[thestrangequark]

"Excuse me, ma'am, do you have this foundation cream in blank?"

It took me ages to find a foundation pale enough for me, but I finally did. This is seriously what I use, in "Goth White": http://www.manicpanic.com/dreamtone.html

I have naturally red lips and pink cheeks, else I'd look like death.

Like this?

Heh...


...

I swear that was not intentional.