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Is American an Ethnicity?

Is American an Ethnicity?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 19.1%

  • No

    Votes: 38 80.9%
  • Total voters
    47
Bob Blaylock said:
I have to wonder how much meaning there really is to the concept of “ethnicity”.

I suppose it's obvious that there is some meaning. Stand me next to a black guy, and you can see there's a difference. I'm a Caucasian, while he's Negroid. These are two different ancestral lines, that carry different and obvious genetic traits.

But what about President Obama? He's usually identified as “black”, but is he really? His father was a Negro, but his mother was a Caucasian. It would seem to me that this makes him as much “white” as “black”. If you bring culture and heritage into it, he's not really either. By culture and heritage, he has more in common with the average “white” American (being descended through a “white” American mother) than he has with the average “black” American (being descended through a father who was “black”, but not an American at all). But in fact, he has less in common culturally with either the average “black” American or the average “white” American than the average “black” and “white” Americans have with each other.

Of course, here in America, it happens all the time that people of different ethnic backgrounds marry, and have children. I wonder how far away the day is that there will be so much of the population composed of so many different mixed ethnic backgrounds that it ceases to be possible to meaningfully classify most people into specific ethnic groups.

I'm already prepared for that day. When faced with a form that asks for my race, I nearly always check the “other” box and fill in my correct race: “Human”.
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Nice to see that you live in the good old state of 1950. Unless you are from the Caucasus region (Caucasus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) you are not a Caucasian. Please stop saying that you are.

On topic, no, American is not an ethnicity. It is not a minority group with in a larger population. American is a nationality.
 
Tigger said:
No... AMERICANS are all born here in the United States. We do share a common culture, custom, language, dress, and history....
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wrong. someone who is born abroad and becomes an American-citizen, is an American.

we do not all share a common history, nor dress, culture, foods, etc.

there are foods that are typical of New England while not typical of Texas. There are customs typical of Oregon that are not typical in Cape May, NJ.

nevermind the clear fact that we do not share a common origin.
 
Metaphorically, sure. In American intellectual thought from the 19th century onward, there has most certainly been the notion that one would strip away one's ancestral past in favor of creating a "new race."
 
Ethnicity:
noun, plural -ties.
1. ethnic traits, background, allegiance, or association.
2. an ethnic group: Representatives of several ethnicities were present.

Ethnic or Ethnical:

— adj

1. relating to or characteristic of a human group having racial, religious, linguistic, and certain other traits in common

2. relating to the classification of mankind into groups, esp on the basis of racial characteristics

3. denoting or deriving from the cultural traditions of a group of people: the ethnic dances of Slovakia

4. characteristic of another culture: the ethnic look ; ethnic food

— n
5. chiefly ( US ), ( Austral ) a member of an ethnic group, esp a minority group
[C14 (in the senses: heathen, Gentile): from Late Latin ethnicus, from Greek ethnikos, from ethnos race]
usage: Referring to a person as an ethnic is broadly acceptable in the US, Australia and Canada, but could well cause offence in the UK and elsewhere

noun, plural -ties for 1, 2, 5, 6.
1. the status of belonging to a particular nation, whether by birth or naturalization: the nationality of an immigrant.

Nationality:

2. the relationship of property, holdings, etc., to a particular nation, or to one or more of its members: the nationality of a ship.

3. nationalism.

4. existence as a distinct nation; national independence: a small colony that has just achieved nationality.

5. a nation or people: the nationalities of the Americas.

American is a nationality, your race is your ethnicity.

From Dictionary.com
 
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Thunder said:
Err....not correct.

White people are not an ethicity. Nor are Africans. Nor are Asians.
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Caucasion would be your race (of germanic descent as an example) would be your ethnicity

Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are of Hispanic or Latino origin (ethnicity).[1][2]

The racial categories represent a social-political construct for the race or races that respondents consider themselves to be and "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country."[3] OMB defines the concept of race as outlined for the US Census as not "scientific or anthropological" and takes into account "social and cultural characteristics as well as ancestry", using "appropriate scientific methodologies" that are not "primarily biological or genetic in reference."[4] The race categories include both racial and national-origin groups.[5]

Race and ethnicity are considered separate and distinct identities, with Hispanic or Latino origin asked as a separate question. Thus, in addition to their race or races, all respondents are categorized by membership in one of two ethnicities, which are "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino".
from Wikipedia
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You're deliberately nitpicking.
 
Had to go with Nationality on this one my friends. No reasonable way to guide the argument to "American" being an ethnicity. Well, said another way if one were to argue well that "American" is an ethnicity then I'll go a step further and suggest that applies to the State, Local Level, even your house for that matter. Or, the slippery slope argument. Besides, why would we want "American" to be an ethnicity anyway? Can't imagine that being good for all the legislation on the books, right now, having to do with one's ethnicity (all of which comes with a series of consequences.)
 
Thunder said:
Caucasian is a race. German is an ethnicity.
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So - being a Caucasian white female living in Dixie for most of my life in the US - what ethnicity am I?

For how much of a drama or discussion the terminology 'ethnic' and such related terms tends to stir it seems surprising that numerous people don't have one.
 
Americans are not an ethnic group, but a national one and a cultural group.

Germans can be ethnic cultural and a national group (Germany does have sub ethnic and cultural groups ie Bavarian)

Chinese are national, cultural and ethnic group/s

Ethnic groups are dependant on ones genetic ancestry. While cultural and national groups are dependant on ones location and can be choosen. One can not choose their ethnic group
 
Aunt Spiker said:
So - being a Caucasian white female living in Dixie for most of my life in the US - what ethnicity am I?...
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I don't know, where are your ancestors from?

Its not my fault that folks in much of the USA have forgotten their roots, while those of us in the Northeast know exactly where we are from. :)

.......the ironic thing is that we are one of the first parts of the nation to be settled.
 
Aunt Spiker said:
So - being a Caucasian white female living in Dixie for most of my life in the US - what ethnicity am I?

For how much of a drama or discussion the terminology 'ethnic' and such related terms tends to stir it seems surprising that numerous people don't have one.
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Most likely of mixed european ethnicity. Most Caucasian and african Americans are of mixed ethnicity. Should America no longer accept immigrants and the current various ethnic groups intermingle and have childern rather then stick with their specific ethnic groups (ie german or european, han or asian, etc). Then over a long period of time American would become an ethnic group
 
As I understand it, the human race is divided into three basic physical ethnic groups - Caucasoid, Mongoloid, and Negroid. What we regard as the various 'ethnicities' are all contained within those three. The indigenous people of North America, for example, are Mongoloid, having crossed the Bering Straits from Asia in prehistoric times. The Australian natives appear to be basically Negroid, and many quite dark skinned people from the Indian sub-continent, and North Africa, are Caucasoid.

If one is to be punctilious, I do not believe that British, German, Italian, Russian or American, may properly be described as ethnicities, even though we use that term quite liberally. They are simply nationalities, as one may have Englishmen, Americans, or Russians, who are Negroid, or Mongoloid, as well as Caucasoid.
 
Leo you're correct. I would be considered 1/2 Caucasoid and 1/2 Mongoloid. My nationality is American. Easy.

@Thunder. What makes you assume that only people in the NE know their roots? I certainly know mine, and can date them back for centuries.
 
spud_meister said:
Ethnicity is a social construct, that doesn't make it any less relevant,
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I agree. But it does make it subjective. The boundaries of an ethnicity are mostly defined by whether or not the people who belong to it BELIEVE that they are the same ethnicity. For example, here in the US, many people didn't consider Irish immigrants "white" until about 100 years ago. To many Americans, Italians have only been "white" for about 50 years. Regardless of the actual color of their skin, these people were viewed as outsiders and therefore of a different ethnicity.

also there are thousands of different ethnicities in China, the Chinese, or Han, are just the majority, a similar situation exists in Japan, with the Yamato people being a dominant ethnic group, but native Japanese also include the Ainu and Ruykyuan peoples.
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These distinctions are mostly culturally based too, as the physical differences between these groups are generally much smaller than the differences within the groups. I agree that you can find subcultures in any nation; for example, here in the US, the Amish have a distinct sense of identity and cohesiveness. Does that make them a separate ethnicity, even though they're mostly descended from the same European cultures as other white Americans? I would say that it does.
 
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Dear White People,


Unless you are from the Caucasus region or can trace your ancestry back there (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus) you are not a Caucasian. Being of Germanic, Italian, English, Irish,etc. descent does not make you a Caucasian. Please stop saying that you are.


Sincerely,

Mr. Invisible
 
Proud South Korean said:
Defining themselves as "American" in nationality won't be a problem, but being an "American" as in ethnicity overgeneralizes and leaves much confusion as to whether the person is African, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, Arab, or any other types of ethnicities.
Don't you understand?
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But those distinctions are mostly based on superficial traits...and only loosely at that. That's why I think it's more about self-identification and cultural history than anything else. For example, according to the American perception of ethnicity, Snooki is "white" and Beyonce is "black," even though Beyonce clearly has the lighter skin of the two of them.

100712_snooki_ap_522_regular.jpg Beyonce-concert.jpg
 
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ecofarm said:
In Kenya (and the surrounding countries at least, and west and South African people I've met), we have black and brown designations. When telling someone about someone else I've met (and I can't remember the name), brown or black is most always expected in the description. After that comes tribal looks (or if I can hear a mother tongue). The above looks like noble savage wrapped anti-west blahblah. Kandahar, go to Africa and see if anyone notices your skin color. haha. Did you make that stuff up yourself, or did someone tell you it.

They don't even notice skin color in Africa.

haha

And yes, skin color is related to tribe in some cases. It might not designate an "ethnicity", but it is far more paid attention to here than anything I experienced in the US.
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You know, I was actually going to thank you for an interesting post after I finished reading your first two sentences, and give it a thoughtful response. But as usual, you just couldn't help yourself but to be an ass. You're going on my ignore list.
 
Another question. These two individuals have almost exactly the same skin tone, and even look somewhat alike. Yet they are often considered as belonging to two separate ethnicities. If you didn't already know the answer, do you think you could tell which is "white" and which is "Arab"? If not, I would suggest that this demonstrates that ethnicity is based more on cultural perception than it is on physical characteristics.

muhammad-hosni-mubarak_1844.jpg Silvio-Berlusconi_1406789c.jpg
 
Haha - well that's depressing. I'm nothing because I don't know my genetic history because my ancestors were too busy living in a new land rather than keeping a book of who's who. BOOO!

I declare my own, then - shall I be creative? How about 'void' - sounds fitting. "Void" ethnicity and "Void" race. But that's boring in English. How about 'Lücke' Looks like lucky - but it's German for 'void' . . . I think it's fitting. OR 'Inritus' - which is Latin for 'void'

"INRITUS TOTUS PRETERITUS" (which means "void of all past")

That leads to more linguistics fun "PRETERITUS INRITUS HOC FECIT TOTUS" (roughly translating to "The past made this void")

Giselbertus would be so proud of me right now - *tear*
 
Kandahar said:
Another question. These two individuals have almost exactly the same skin tone, and even look somewhat alike. Yet they are often considered as belonging to two separate ethnicities. If you didn't already know the answer, do you think you could tell which is "white" and which is "Arab"? If not, I would suggest that this demonstrates that ethnicity is based more on cultural perception than it is on physical characteristics...
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Today's Arabs are a mixture of ancient Arabs, Berbers, Turks, Circassians, Bosnians, Kurds, Egyptians, Assyrians, and many other groups that converted to Islam. This is why some Arabs have light skin, light eyes...and even blond hair.
 
Mr. Invisible said:
Dear White People,


Unless you are from the Caucasus region or can trace your ancestry back there (Caucasus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) you are not a Caucasian. Being of Germanic, Italian, English, Irish,etc. descent does not make you a Caucasian. Please stop saying that you are.


Sincerely,

Mr. Invisible
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you are right, Caucasian is a silly term. Its based on a faulty premise that "the white race" originated in the Caucusas region. A more appropriate term would be "European".
 
Thunder said:
you are right, Caucasian is a silly term. Its based on a faulty premise that "the white race" originated in the Caucusas region. A more appropriate term would be "European".
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So we have a complaint equal to that of the Indians.

We're all in such sweet bitter company.
 
Thunder said:
you are right, Caucasian is a silly term. Its based on a faulty premise that "the white race" originated in the Caucusas region. A more appropriate term would be "European".
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Not all ethnic groups who would be classified as caucasian have their roots in Europe, the Caucasus region is split betweew europe and asia, and you have the arabic and persian ethnic groups who developed outside of Europe

Caucasian is just a new version of stating caucasoid, probably in use because of the negative connotations involved with negroid and mongoloid terms
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
Not all ethnic groups who would be classified as caucasian have their roots in Europe, the Caucasus region is split betweew europe and asia, and you have the arabic and persian ethnic groups who developed outside of Europe

Caucasian is just a new version of stating caucasoid, probably in use because of the negative connotations involved with negroid and mongoloid terms
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you know, I was about to say that using the term "European" rather than Caucasian make sense, as white folks clearly developed white skin in Europe.

but the fact is that many primates have white skin under their dark hair, rendering such an argument void.
 
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