Are Italians / Olive skinned considered white? No offense against any race or colour!?

Question

Are Italians / Olive skinned considered white? No offense against any race or colour.

I was just wondering because A friend of mine who is southern Italian was filling an application form and marked her race as 'other' not 'white'.

I told her to write 'white' but she said 'only eastern europeans and northern americans are considered white' I disagree!

Answer 1

Six, sixty, or six hundred

It all depends on how many races you want to claim there are.  I had one friend who regularly marked other and wrote Human in the blank.  If enough people do this, it'd make the question obsolete.

Oh, unless you've watched True Romance one to many times, then they aren't.

Answer 2

Technically, yes, they are white. But nationality wise, they are just Italians.

Answer 3

yes all italians are white

Answer 4

Human, just like every other person on this planet.

Your friend should know that in many places, asking such a question on a job aplication form is a violation of the law.  She should check this with the local authorities, and if that is the case, report this company.

Answer 5

it is all so pointless trying to differentiate humans based on the color of their skin, we are all the same race...human, just different cultures, it is a genetic fact that some Italians have black in them, question is which ones? fact is Sicily was overrun by Muslims...hence the curly hair and dark skin...beautiful people, who cares unless you are a racist, my parents were from Spain and if you do some research you would know that some Spaniards have African blood via the moors...I have no problem with that even though my family is from the Asturias region...not conquered by the Muslims, but who is to say what ethnicity I am, I EMBRACE ALL HUMANS AS BROTHERS, DO NOT CARE WHAT COLOR THEY ARE!

Answer 6

I would agree. They're not. But I'm from Spain myself so I'm a bit bias.  :) White usually means White Americans.

Answer 7

She's whatever she considers herself to be.

Answer 8

My father's family is from Italy and Sicily, so I am half Italian. I have always marked White/Caucasian. Italians aren't Anglo-Saxons, but they are Caucasian, so your friend is incorrect.

I resent being asked my race on forms, anyway, so it's not all that important to me that your friend marked "other" instead of "white."

But yes, even though our conception of race is almost entirely cultural (and not really genetic at all), it's not a big deal. Based on current definitions and understandings of race, though, she's white.

Answer 9

you have a problem your not white and you know it, besides the only thing white people like about italians are the food and the mafia movies otherwise they could care less what  you are. so be proud of your heritage and put other or italian.

Answer 10

Here is the issue.  White or other Racial categories are not biologically discrete (there is more variation within categories than between categories).  Add that to the fact that race is generally defined on a  very small # of genetic traits (skin tone, hair and facial features) and "race" really is not a biologically valid category.  

Keeping that in mind, different cultures define race differently (look at the link below for a short foray into brazilian racial categories).  Therefore there is no right or wrong answer on whether your friend is white or not, just like there is no right or wrong answer on whether I (Irish-English) am white.

  

Traditionally, Sicilians are not considered white in Italy, but I am less sure about Southern Italians.   However, in Mainstream US culture, she is white.

Answer 11

People from Italy are considered white or Caucasian. Many Caucasians have a suntan, but their are still white. Not that this is important.

Answer 12

she is white

Answer 13

Skin color is meaningless when applied that way.  The box is more for culture than actual exact ethnic descent. So I think you are correct unless she is culturally more another ethnic group. What is interesting that Italian descended Americans who have traditionally been viewed as "white" both by Italians and non-Italians now feel alienated enough to not be "white".

This is really interesting given that most Inidans, Arabs and Spanish (not to be confused with Hispanics who are very different culturally and ethnically than Spain) generally consider themselves "White" and are generally considered "White" by most people.  Even some Natives will check White on the ethnic box. Especially if there isn't a native box to check.  Your friend is culturally and ethnically close to "White" than many other people who check that box.

The term "white" culture is a misnomer. Europeans have developed a divergent culture from what they exported to the Americas. The US has developed it's own culture which is heavily shaped by all the peoples who have come here. So when a Hispanic for example rejects American culture, part of what they are rejecting is culture that is in part  imported from Hispanics as well as Asian and even disticntcly American additions.  American culture has long since morphed way beyond it's European roots.  There are some persistent European sub cultures that flourish in ethnic enclaves but they are not the dominate culture for a significant portion of "Whites" whether you use the term to describe Northern Europeans or in its more accepted usage of people not of Asian, Native, Hispanic or Black heritage.

Just to illustrate how divided and confusing this ethnic breakdown is making America the Phipinos are cut down the middle. Are they Asian or Hispanic? Ask 100 people of Philipino descent and you'll probably get %40 saying Asian, %40 saying Hispanic, %10 saying White and %10 with other designations.

To me it's a sign of a dangerous fragmentation of America. One that is giving a risk to destroy all the work done in the last 40 years to create ethnic harmony in the US. It is also I feel a pre-cursor to a loss of national identity which is brings out the spectre of ethnic strife and war.

Answer 14

I'm Italian American, in fact my grandparents are from Italy. So, when I fill out forms involving ethnicity I check nothing because it isn't required legally unless you are applying for something along the lines of a passport or other legal document. But, if that's the case I check the "other" box because who cares what color or ethnicity I am. I'm a human being (Homo sapein) just like the rest.

Answer 15

There are several answers to this question, depending on which background you are approaching it from.  Answering from a forensic anthropology background, skeletally your friend is considered to be of white ancestry.  

However, in today's world, if she doesn't feel like she fits in with her perception of the social concept of the 'white' race, she is under no obligation to choose it.  Social concepts of race are not biological, and so she can be anything she wants.  That being said, all Europeans, including those in Mediterranean regions, are typically thought of as 'white' by society in general.

If we were to look from a genetics point of view, she would be considered African, like the rest of the world (genetically speaking, all members of the human species are originally from the same population in Africa, commonly thought of as existing somewhere around 50-60 thousand years ago).

This is obviously a tricky subject.  I hope I have given you some food for thought about it :).