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''For other uses, see [[White (disambiguation)]].''
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A '''white''' person is generally considered to be one who is relatively light complexioned. What exactly is meant by it depends on the context in which the term is used. In the United States, it tends to be used for people of [[Caucasoid]] descent and [[Europe]]an heritage. In some countries the term may encompass non-Caucasoid groups of people which are otherwise [[phenotype|phenotypically]] European and of pale complexion, such as [[castizo|euro-mestizos]], [[quadroon]]s, [[octoroon]]s in the Americas; or non-European sub-groups of Caucasoids that may range from fair to dark and near "black" complexions, such as [[Middle East]]erners and [[North Africa]]ns.
<!--Gramaic, does this illustrate the absurdity of including the exceptions, when they in fact belong further down in the article. Reason as to why these populations are or aren't regarded and/or included as "White" is because every country and society has its parameters to that concept. “White” does not have a standard definition, and the American one is the least useful to be quoting in the opening paragraph. The article clearly states that "White people are associated to Western Civilization and Christian values"; this does not hold true for most Middle Easterners and North Africans (Caucasoids), but does hold true for light-mestizos or euro-mestizos and light mulattos, quadroons, octoroons (all non-Caucasoids, by virtue of their admixture, however distant) of the Americas that show nothing other than a European phenotype. Let’s just limit the opening paragraph for the simplest and earliest definition of the term, and then build up the article - including how some groups from place to place are either included or excluded - from there.
Agreed. I've rewritten the utter bollocks we had there -- Clair.-->
''White'' is sometimes also used to describe the purported common [[ethnicity]] of these people, generally as a term of self-identification.
In [[North America]], and to a lesser extent other countries, the term ''[[Caucasian race|Caucasian]]'' is used for "white" people. [[Anglo-Saxon]] is a less commonly used synonym, and generally implies, and inaccurately includes, other Northern European ancestries not deriving from [[England]].
== Historic use of the term ==
The term ''white'' has historically been used in contrast to other [[racial]] [[colour]] terms, such as [[black]], [[brown]], yellow ([[Far East]] [[Asian]] or [[Oriental]]), and [[red]] ([[Amerindian]]), etc, all of which tend to be defined with reference to "white". In other words, a "black" or "brown" person is simply defined by having darker skin than a "white" person, and any given "colour" may often apply to unrelated peoples. In America "black" denotes African ancestry and "brown" is usually attributed to non-white [[Hispanic]]s, the term "brown" is mainly used by Hispanics, [[South Asian]]s (people of the [[Indian subcontinent]]); where in [[Australia]], for example, "Black" denotes [[Aborigines]] and "Brown" to South Asians, Middle Easterners/North Africans, etc.
These terms were in more common usage in the beginning of the [[20th century]] as ethno-historians attempted to trace humanity's history through [[linguistics]], a process that has been largely superseded with the advent of [[Genetic fingerprinting|DNA analysis]]. At the turn of the 20th century, some scholars thought of white people as being the descendants of [[Indo-European]]s and divided them into two categories: [[Semitic]] and [[Aryan]]. It is now known that this early categorisation was highly flawed since; Semitic people, although Caucasoid, are not a sub-group of Indo-Europeans; "Aryan" was erroneously applied by European anthropologist upon themselves; and South Asians which are a caucasoid people, and in fact also a sub-group of Indo-Europeans as speakers of languages of that family, were (and by popular definitions still are) altogether excluded. Paradoxically, the term "Aryan", highly associated with [[White nationalism]], most correctly applies to South Asians.
Although the most prevalent term in casual conversation, the term ''white'' is increasingly rare in academic and formal discussions of racial demographics, but it is still often used in discussions of racial attitudes, particularly in the humanities, and in fields such as [[African American studies]] (Black studies), [[critical race theory]] and [[whiteness studies]].
== Who is white?==
The scope of the term ''White'' has changed over time, and varies from place to place. In the United States, the term usually applies to people of ethnic European descent or anyone that looks European with no other discernable non-European racial features. The strictest definition held by white supremacist groups around the world is that anyone of total ancient ethnic indigenous European ancestry is 'white.' (Although few actually insist on a genealogical record, and tend instead to make their judgement on relative skin colour.)
In [[Haiti]], [[Cuba]] and [[Brazil]], lighter skinned [[mulattos]] (people of mixed [[Africa]]n and [[Europe]]an descent) of considerably more European ancestry and appearance are often considered "white"; in the United States or [[Canada]], those same people would always be considered "black", while in Europe they would be classed as 'mixed race' - used a blanket term for all people with multiple racial heritages (such as golfer [[Tiger Woods]]), not just [[mulatto]]s. British Afro-Caribbean slang includes the terms 'Red' for those with half-black, half-white ancestry, and 'Yellow' for those who are 3/4 white, 1/4 black. ''See also: [[One drop rule]]''.
{| border="1" align="right" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="280" style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;"
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! <big>'''Race in the [[U.S._Census|US Federal Census]]'''</big>
|-
|The 7th federal census, in [[1850]], asked for '''Color''':[http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1850.pdf]
*white
*black
*[[mulatto]]
|-
|The 10th federal census, in [[1880]], asked for '''Color''':[http://c.ancestry.com/pdf/trees/charts/1880.pdf]
*white
*black
*mulatto
*Chinese
*Indian
|-
|The [[United_States_2000_Census|22nd federal census]], in [[2000]], had a "short form"[http://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d61a.pdf] that asked two race/ancestry questions:
1.Is the person '''Spanish/Hispanic/Latino'''?
2.What is the person's '''race'''?
*White
*Black, African American, [[Negro]]
*American Indian or Alaska Native
*10 choices for Asian and Pacific Islander
*Other
This census acknowledged that "the race categories include both racial and national-origin groups." See also [[Race (U.S. Census)]]
|-
! <big>'''Race in the [[UK_Census]]'''</big>
|-
|[[United_Kingdom_Census_2001|Census 2001]] asked for a person's '''ethnic group''':[http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/Classifications/ns_ethnic_classification.asp]
*White
** British
** Any other White background
*Mixed
** White and Black Caribbean
** White and Black African
** White and Asian
** Any other Mixed background
*Asian or Asian British
** Indian
** Pakistani
** Bangladeshi
** Any other Asian background
*Black or Black British
** Caribbean
** African
** Any other Black background
*Chinese or other ethnic group
** Chinese
** Any other
|}
Other difficulties of the term, in the [[United States]] for example, is that [[Turkey#Demographics|Anatolian Turks]], [[Arabs]], [[Iran]]ians, caucasoid [[Jew]]s (Northern/Eastern European [[Ashkenazim]], Iberian [[Sephardim]] and Middle Eastern [[Mizrahim]]), [[Irish Catholics]] may also be seen as non-White by a majority of people, even though some people in these groups may look similar to [[Southern Europe]]ans; and in the case of [[Ashkenazim]], to Northern Europeans.
In the United States, generally speaking, the biggest dilemma of ''White'' inclusion is for caucasoid Americans of [[Middle Eastern]] and [[North African]] descent; [[Berbers]], [[Turkey#Demographics|Anatolian Turks]], [[Arab]]s, [[Iran]]ians, [[Kurds]], [[Mizrahim]], etc. For the purposes of statistics they are always categorised as ''White'' by US government agencies and the US census, however, this racial classification does not always lead to a sense of inclusion for most of them, as they are often excluded from the general structural concepts of White-American society, and may even experience hostile rejection. Furthermore, while [[South Asian]]s are also anthropologically a caucasoid people - and recognized as such by the [[United States Supreme Court]] - not only are they excluded from the popular definition of "white" and the general structural concepts of White-American society as the above groups, but they are also excluded by US government agencies and the US census, and instead categorised as "Asians". ''For legal contradictions in United States Supreme Court rulings of "white" vs "caucasian", please see [[United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind]]''.
By contrast in [[Europe]], [[Canada]] and [[Australia]] those same Middle Easterners and North Africans are almost never regarded as ''White'', neither by society's general understanding of the term nor by government institutions. Instead, they are regarded as ''racial minorities''. This latter understanding of the term in Australia has little to do with [[White separatism|White separatist]] exclusionism, but rather a traditional (and still currently espoused) definition of ''White'' which has never encompassed Middle Easterners or North Africans, and which unlike the history of the definition of "''White''" in the United States, has undergone continuous alterations to include an ever growing number of people. ''See also: [[Wog]]''.
In the American context, where Middle Easterners and North Africans are grouped as ''White'' by government agencies, the [[Plebs|plebeian's]] contention of excluding these Caucasoid groups of North Africa and the Middle East from the "White" label is based largely on the argument that there is a significant Black sub-Saharan component in much of their populations; due to the importation of Black slaves, by Arab slave traders across the Sahara desert, with whom they mixed. It is undeniable that many Arabs in [[North Africa]] ([[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Egypt]], etc) and the [[Arabian Peninsula]] ([[Saudi Arabia]], [[Yemen]], [[Oman]], etc.) have enough black African ancestry or are dark enough - at times being as dark complexioned as some African Americans - to be considered "Black" by popular US standards. However, at least for the Arabs of the [[Levant]] ([[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Palestine]], [[Jordan]], etc.), though a good proportion can be as dark as Arabs from North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, just as many are lighter-complexioned by comparison, comparable to Southern Europeans, and can be more closely related to Persians – and vice versa – due to both the ancient slave trade and the wars that involved Macedonian, Byzantine, Roman, Holy Roman, Persian and other empires.
Additionally, the popular definition of ''White'' in the [[United States]] often excludes all [[Hispanic]]s, more so those from the [[Americas]] (even if of unmixed European descent, or of distant admixture but of European phenotype) and at times also questioning the ''whiteness'' of those from [[Spain]]. Of the countries of [[Latin America]], those that it can be said are composed of an overwhelmingly European population are [[Argentina]] and [[Uruguay]]. [[Chile]] and [[Costa Rica]] are also quite "European", and posses [[mestizo]] majorities in which the European element often dominates over the Amerindian, though very few would acknowledge that admixture and simply identify as "''White''". Countries such as [[Guatemala]], [[Bolivia]], [[Peru]], on the other hand, posses [[Native American|Amerindian]] majorities, and although they also harbour large mestizo minorities, these are on average much more Amerindian than European. Furthermore, [[Guyana]] and [[Surinam]] have significant [[South Asia]]n populations. Also, [[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]] are composed mainly of people of African or mixed African descent.
Bestowing the "non-White" label upon ethnic European peoples of [[Southern European]], [[Eastern European]] (Slavic) and [[Ashkenazi]] (Northern/Eastern European Jewish) descent, is a serious point taken in an ideology that is highly espoused by many White separatists. This occurs even within countries such as [[Italy]], where northern Italians have been accused of possessing racially motivated separatist sentiments stemming from allegedly irreconcilable differences with [[Southern Italy|Southern Italians]]. Polls suggest that most Italians see this as a bizarre and confusing attitude and reject any 'racial difference' between the North and South of Italy.
Quite a few White Supremacist groups in the United States, however, have accepted Southern Europeans and Eastern European Slavic peoples as White. This is demonstrated in the written requirements to be part of white racialist organizations such as the [[National Alliance]]. The requirement for membership is that an individual be of 'wholly European, non-Jewish ancestry.' In recent years some American White supremacists have have formed an alliance with the peoples from the Middle East, North Africa and Central/West Asia, nominally ''accepting'' them, in an attempt to more effectively target Jews. While White supremacists do not consider the latter mantioned people to be 'white', they do hold a somewhat positive attitude towards them due to the same strict and separatist attitudes also espoused by some of their members.
== Criticisms of the term==
One recent genetic study ''suggests'' that approximately 30% of self-identified Whites (non-Hispanic) in the U.S. possess some sub-Saharan Africa ancestry (from the population now called "Black" or [[African American]] in the U.S.). Among those Whites found in the study to have Black ancestry, they average an admixture of 2.3% Black (of 128 grandparents, 3 are Black and 125 are White). The author of the study, [[Pennsylvania State University|Penn State]] molecular biologist Mark Shriver, a self-identified White who had no idea that he had any African ancestry, discovered he was in fact 22% Black.[http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=15042002-084051-5356r] Many however have argued that the percentage rates are too small in most cases to warrant the abandonment of the umbrella terminology, contending that those Americans who retain some form of [[miscegenation|miscegenated blood]] due to [[interracial couple]]s are more often a rather invisible part of the populace. Indeed, Whites who have ancestors which settled in the [[Western United States]] during the 19th century may have American Indian and/or freed African American ancestors.
The broad usage of "White" is sometimes criticized by those who argue that it de-[[ethnicity|ethnicizes]] various groups, although the same charge is not leveled at the question of ethnic diversity within Blacks. During the era of [[Jim Crow Laws]] in the [[Southern United States]], facilities were commonly divided into separate sections for "White" and "[[Colored]]" people. These terms were defined by law, with people of northern and western European being labeled "White" and [[African-American]]s labeled as "Colored". The categorization of people of other ethnicities and mixed ancestries varied from state to state and in different municipalities.
A more contemporary criticism is that many Black people have lived in areas of North Africa associated with Arab and thus considered "white". Mostafa Hefny, an obviously Black Egyptian, is among those whose original ancestors were from North Africa and who is classified as White, despite the obviousness of his Black identity and his socialization as a Black man in America.
== Areas of habitation==
Countries with a majority of White ethnic Europeans include all the nations of [[Europe]], as well as some of the countries colonized by them through the [[15th century]] to [[19th century]]; such as the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Argentina]], [[Uruguay]], asiatic [[Russia]] and oceanic [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]. In these nations, the relatively small [[indigenous]] populations were overwhelmed by White colonists from one or more European "[[Motherland|mother countries]]". The distribution of Europeans worldwide may be explained by the traditional argument that Europeans thrive best in [[temperate]] climates above about 30° latitude in both hemispheres, but do not fare well in the [[tropics]], except at high elevations. Indeed, Europeans have colonized most of those portions of the north and south [[temperate]] zones which had low indigenous population densities at the time of their "discoveries", which excluded [[East Asia]] but included virtually all other temperate regions.
Whites are also nearly unique in that they exhibit a variety of hair and eye colours. In parts of the world north of 50° North latitude, sunlight is low and weak enough that people (and white coloured polar animals for that matter) with blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin have an advantage over those with darker colouration. Benefits include resistance to [[rickets]], possibly [[frostbite]], and a suggested [[aesthetic]] appeal. However, the only major part of the world where such conditions exist is in northern [[Europe]] and western [[Russia]]. Parts of [[Alaska]] and western [[Canada]], and, in the Southern Hemisphere (south of 50° South latitude), a small section of South America including [[Tierra del Fuego]] and the [[Falkland Islands]] would fit the requirement as well, but they were thinly populated at the time of discovery and are now dominated by the descendants of European settlers.
Significant minorities of Whites live in the various [[Latin America]]n and [[Caribbean]] countries, [[South Africa]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[Namibia]]. Many of these nations have experienced considerable political conflict between the White minority (descendents of settlers from the former colonial power) and a mixed or non-European unmixed majority, heightening the sense of White racial identity.
==See also==
*[[Caucasoid]]
*[[Caucasian race]]
*[[Human skin color]]
*[[Race and Intelligence]]
*[[Validity of human races]]
==Further reading==
* Karen Brodkin, ''How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says About Race in America'', Rutgers, 1999, ISBN 081352590X.
* Matthew Frye Jacobson, ''Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race'', Harvard, 1999, ISBN 0674951913.
* Noel Ignatiev, ''How the Irish Became White'', Routledge, 1996, ISBN 0415918251.
[[Category:Ethnic groups]]
[[Category:U.S. ethnic groups]]
[[he:האדם הלבן]]
[[pt:Branco (raça)]]
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