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i'm as white as the driven snow. the whole family is from the british isles. my husband was white. his father was a blue eyed, blonde haired pole, and mom was sicilian. he was sort of olive/beige with deep brown eyes and dark brown hair. when he had a tan and grew a beard, some thought he was arabic. that usually happened in europe.
i can't imagine where that came from. i first met his uncle in december, and i thought he'd just come back from a long vacation in florida. he hadn't.
there's white, and then there's white.
My aunt is English, born and bred Birmingham, West Midlands, she married an Iranian man in the 1970's, They were never treated as whites in the UK back in the 80's, and moved to the states because of lots of racism. In the US, my cousins are still not considered white, and identify as middle eastern origin, as they were raised as such in culture and religion. they have a darker complexion though they have caucasian features.
As this relates to this discussion, Puerto Rico is a mixed culture out of imperialism of the 20th century.. and currently defined as "Hispanics".
But what I am saying is that OTHERS seem to consider us white, regardless of what we look like.
Why don't they consider those Puerto Ricans who look like us (or lighter) white as well?
depends on who you associate with.. i've witnessed very waspy people who don't even consider irish people white. i'm 75% anglo/germanic, and 25% italian, and i've at times throughout my life not been seen as completely white bread. their defintion of white being full blood white anglo saxon protestant.. there are many definitions of white depending on association.
if you live in nyc, a hispanic, asian or black ethnic minority will probably generalize all europeans, jews, mediteranean, light skinned north african/middle easterners as white... it really depends on who you ask
not everyone has the same sensitivities when it comes to discussion issues like this as most americans have been trained to have. puerto ricans tend to be more open about their differences.
but puerto ricans who were born and raised in PR and ones born and raised here generally have significantly different cultures.
Children of immigrants born in the USA, will have a different culture, than the ones born in the country of their parents.
Friend of mine who is PR looks very white says he doesn't feel white at all. He doesn't speak Spanish but eats Hispanic food all the time. It doesn't matter if you're born here nor speaks the language you are affected by your environment and family.
hmmm my wife is puerto rican and she considers herself white. i remember when we were in school an african american girl tried to make it clear to her that she isnt white, she is a minority like them.
a lot of what happens depends on the groups you associate yourself with.
If you read back into Puerto Rican ancestry and discovery, you will find that lots of Dutch, French, and other "WHITE," nationalities lived in PR., for centuries.
The population of Puerto Rico has more light skinned people, that would consider themselves to be White, than lets say, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Santo Domingo, etc., which have many, many Black citizens.
In the case of the people from Santo Domingo, they get very upset, if someone tells them that they are Black, even though they would appear to be.
Why don't we ask Justice Sotomayor? or Jennifer Lopez? or Marc Anthony? or Ricky Martin? or one of those Puerto Rican women who are the most successful competitors in the history of the Miss Universe pageant. Marisol Malaret, Miss Puerto Rico 1970, the first Puerto Rican to win the Miss Universe title. The four other Puerto Rican delegates who have won the Miss Universe title are Deborah Carthy-Deu (1985), Dayanara Torres (1993), Denise Quiñones (2001), and Zuleyka Rivera (2006). Or we can ask JOSEPH M. ACABA, NASA ASTRONAUT, or former US Ambassador Cesar Cabrera of Mauritius. The list goes on and will continue to grow! I am Puerto Rican and moved to New Jersey in 1979. I grew up in Jersey and graduated from Rutger's-Newark with High Honors. I have been a Public Servant for 17 years fighting crime in mainstream U.S.A. and I am one of the few Hispanic GS 15's represented in the Federal Government. If this isn't mainstream, I don't know what is. Lastly, your question regarding being considered "white" socially doesn't warrant a response as it is misleading.
I came to this country, from Puerto Rico, in the late 40's, have blue eyes, and blonde hair, and was eight-years'-old when I came to this country, and still have a slightly-accented-speech, and obtained a PSY.D, at a fairly-good University, and I am still questioned to this day, how come I am so light.
It will never stop. Now, that many of my compatriots have reached the top of the ladder, they are still questioned by some insensitive people, about one thing or the other.
My aunt is English, born and bred Birmingham, West Midlands, she married an Iranian man in the 1970's, They were never treated as whites in the UK back in the 80's, and moved to the states because of lots of racism. In the US, my cousins are still not considered white, and identify as middle eastern origin, as they were raised as such in culture and religion. they have a darker complexion though they have caucasian features.
As this relates to this discussion, Puerto Rico is a mixed culture out of imperialism of the 20th century.. and currently defined as "Hispanics".
my brother married an arabic woman who is rather dark. my nephew has caucasion features, but with the not quite white complection, dark eyes and black hair, he definitely has an ethnic look about him. my niece, on the other hand, looks much more like her mother. you'd never guess that her dad was english, welsh, irish. i doubt anyone considers her white.
my brother married an arabic woman who is rather dark. my nephew has caucasion features, but with the not quite white complection, dark eyes and black hair, he definitely has an ethnic look about him. my niece, on the other hand, looks much more like her mother. you'd never guess that her dad was english, welsh, irish. i doubt anyone considers her white.
i think the point of this discussion is basically i'm sure there are 100% white Puerto Ricans, like there are 100% whites in Hong Kong (there is a minority European and British population there from age of imperialism and also recent opportunist/ex pats). That doesn't make the land of Hong Kong white even though some British and Euro's have mixed into the local population. In terms of general majority demographic, Puerto Ricans are hispanics.. that a 1-5% of the population can claim 100% white heritage, (like a black swan), doesn't define the nation as white. I don't know where this obsession by Puerto Ricans claming they're white.. I think it's a function of media brainwash, believing white status is superior..
Derek Jeter has a white mother, and black father.. He's not looked upon as a white guy. Obama has a white mother, and multicultural father.. he is not white either.
i think the point of this discussion is basically i'm sure there are 100% white Puerto Ricans, like there are 100% whites in Hong Kong (there is a minority European and British population there from age of imperialism and also recent opportunist/ex pats). That doesn't make the land of Hong Kong white even though some British and Euro's have mixed into the local population. In terms of general majority demographic, Puerto Ricans are hispanics.. that a 1-5% of the population can claim 100% white heritage, (like a black swan), doesn't define the nation as white. I don't know where this obsession by Puerto Ricans claming they're white.. I think it's a function of media brainwash, believing white status is superior..
Puerto Rico and the U.S. were both colonized by European countries (Spain and England).
Just as some American whites are mixed with native Americans and Africans, some Puerto Ricans are mixed.
But that doesn't mean that all Puerto Ricans (or even most Puerto Ricans) are mixed with native Americans/Tainos and/or Africans.
Puerto Rico and the U.S. were both colonized by European countries (Spain and England).
Just as some American whites are mixed with native Americans and Africans, some Puerto Ricans are mixed.
But that doesn't mean that all Puerto Ricans (or even most Puerto Ricans) are mixed with native Americans/Tainos and/or Africans.
yeah but native americans who have mixed in or not with whites don't consider themselves white. the vast majority of puerto ricans are mixed. i don't think most of you posting here have really experienced puerto rican culture, either by living there or as a tourist. 90% are mixed within context of it's history as an invaded and occupied territory. puerto rico is similar to indonesia, and the phillipines.. in many ways, people of those nationalities have difficulty defining themselves within today's classifications. in asia, phillipinos are a mix of polynesian, spanish/portuguese, and chinese. as to what you'd classify them, they're phillipinos.. reason there is no specific classification for puerto ricans and phillipinos is their small relative populace within broad categorizations.
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