The moment I am asked to fill in the bubble next to my ethnicity, panic ensues. I’m not Latino, Asian American, African American, nor Pacific Islander. That leaves… white. White? My skin isn’t the color of the paper I’m writing on. And the attempt at being more politically correct: Caucasian. I’ve never heard of Caucasia. (Is that a country?) What I know is that my ancestors were immigrants from Holland. And my skin is one of the lighter tones of brown among those I have seen. But what does being “white” or “Caucasian” have to do with anything? I am a Dutch-American who happens to have a lighter tone of brown skin.
This word “white” implies that the thing it describes is the polar opposite of what is called “black.” So, European Americans are the opposite of African Americans? In what ways are they different?
A long, messy, painful history of social injustice and stereotypes are lurking beneath this label. Some believed that those with darker skin are descendants of the biblically recorded Ham, son of Noah, who was cursed by God. They argue that the darkness of their skin is a mark of God’s curse on them. This idea has been used to justify slavery (Ham, Sarfati, & Wieland). Although most people now recognize the absurdity of this claim (there is nothing in the Bible that implies that certain nationalities are inherently biologically better than others), ideas similar to this outdated one are perpetuated by the dichotomous language of “black” and “white.”
In the dictionary, one definition of “white” is “a symbol of purity, goodness, truth, joy…” (“White, N.1”). Can you guess what is listed under “black”? Three definitions include:
“Dark, sombre, dusky, gloomy. …Deeply stained with dirt; soiled, filthy, begrimed. …Very evil or wicked; iniquitous; foul, hateful. …” (“Black, Adj. and N.”)
Presenting this definition to a child referred to as “black” is a sure way to damage that child’s self-esteem. Actually, explicitly presenting the definition is unnecessary, as these connotations of the term “black” show up in the classroom when discussing literature, and even in everyday conversation. It is not much of a stretch to imagine the effect on an impressionable child’s psyche of hearing the same word that describes evil and dirt applied to themselves. In fact, I know one black young man who had a similar experience as a child in the classroom.
I’m not sure what’s so good about the color white, other than something that is already white not being stained with something that is not white. White things actually have the incredibly irritating quality of being easily made non-white—white shirts that get pit stains, white shoes that become “cream-colored” after one walk around the block, white papers that become dingy from being rubbed against other, graphite-covered papers.
As far as white as a skin color—to me, white skin represents disease or fear or the precursor to losing consciousness. White is not the color of a healthy human being (despite the Victorians’ valuing of pale skin as beautiful). A truly healthy human goes outdoors and gets Vitamin D and glows brown from the sun’s kisses. Most West-coast Americans seem to want to be tan, and warm brown skin tones imply that a person is down-to-earth, not afraid of work and physical activity, and in touch with the environment.
In reality, all human beings are shades of brown. I am golden-graham-cracker, he is espresso, and she is milk chocolate. Even the palest human being is more the shade of eggshell than the color of a cloud. This understanding highlights the commonality of all human beings. Within this frame, I am tempted to pencil in, in the space marked “race,” human. We do not belong to individual “races” or species—we are all part of the human race. As Matt Soniak explains, the word “‘Caucasian’ lacks any real scientific meaning.” Why emphasize the differences between phenotypes, especially in light of the painful, historical practices of phrenology and eugenics? If it is clear that no human can be classified in terms of those who look like them, why should we even lump them into such a category to begin with?
Culture. Cultural differences, they argue, are significant. If culture is what we are attempting to pinpoint with ethnic language, is Caucasian really accurate? The word “Caucasian” is fairly arbitrary, a term invented by a researcher who was classifying different phenotypes into groups and selected the Caucus mountains in the European country Georgia to represent those with lighter skin, among other characteristic features (Soniak). Holland is 2,213 miles away from Georgia. I do not identify with the Caucus mountains. In fact, I barely identify with “Dutch-American.” I like Dutch apple pie. But other than that, I’m not sure how my “ethnic” heritage has affected my culture. My African-American friend knows more about Holland than I do. He speaks some Dutch and is familiar with Dutch foods. His stepmother and grandparents are Dutch. I probably know more about Africa than he does. I studied in Tanzania for three months, learning much of the language, history, and culture of East Africa. Ethnic language does not take into consideration the non-biological factors that impact our culture. Culture is a multileveled phenomenon that is made up of our whole life’s experiences, not merely the socioeconomic group we find ourselves born into, and certainly has very little to do with our phenotype.
The solution? Stop using the language of “white” and “black.” Perhaps survey-writers ought to omit the question of ethnicity altogether. Or maybe they should leave it open-ended and ask, “What is your ethnic background/culture?” This form of the question acknowledges the breadth of factors that influence a person’s identity and does not dwell on biology, which, as we have seen, is oversimplified and insufficient.
An even better question might be, “Which shade of brown are you?”
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Works Cited
“Black, Adj. and N.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Ham, Ken, Jonathan Sarfati, and Carl Wieland. “Are Black people the Result of a Curse on Ham?” Ed. Don Batten. ChristianAnswers.net. Creation Ministries International, 2001. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
Soniak, Matt. “Why are White People Called Caucasian?” Mental Floss. 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
“White, N.1.” Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2013. Web. 15 Nov. 2013.
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