[J. L.]

Why do many white people have shaky hands and jerky body movements? Compared to most Asian, black and Latino people, white people seem to have more abrupt, harder, stiffer and less fluid body movements.

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Name : J. L., Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 26, City : Jersey City, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Nelson-A20179]

Because that's how they were brought up. Do you want to see white people with suave, cool movements and who also dance like pros? Then go to Miami, where 90 percent of those who are white are Latino. We (I'm also a white Latino) have smooth movements because we were brought up that way; it has nothing to do with race. White Latinos (Cameron Diaz) move just as cool as brown Latinos (Jennifer Lopez) or black Latinos (Sammy Sosa). So there you have it: the jerky, stiff moves are just passed from parents to kids and so on.

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Name : Nelson-A20179, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 32, City : Caracas, State : NA Country : Venezuela, Occupation : Lawyer/business, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Rick29910]

Considering that in the United States, the vast majority of ballet dancers, gymnasts, mimes, professional billiard players, divers, swimmers and surgeons are white, your question seems to have no basis in reality.

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Name : Rick29910, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ike]

I think it is genetic. I have noticed some Caucasian friends whose hands shake a lot and have less manual dexterity than myself (I am mixed Irish/Cherokee, Chinese). I think Asians do have fine manual dexterity. This would suit them for precision work like dentistry. Also, women tend to have finer manual dexterity than men (an argument for female surgeons). My current dentist is a petite woman whose hands are very precise.

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Name : Ike, Gender : F, Race : Asian, Age : 26, City : Jersey City, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Michelle]

It may be true that women have more manual dexterity than men. It is just a fact of life that people with smaller stature and finer bone structure are going to have more delicate and precise hands. Women have been barred from surgical professions for a long time. The surgeons that I met when I was hospitalized for a fracture were all men. Out of all the surgical residents at the hospital, I met only one woman surgeon, and she was just a resident in training. I believe that women have more precise, delicate hands. I would feel safer being operated on by a woman with fine manual coordination than a tall, burly man who graduated with distinction from medical school.

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Name : Michelle, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 20, City : Melbourne, State : NA Country : Australia, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Jennifer]

Perhaps it has to do with genetics, like the size and weight of their bones. I know that most white swimmers' bones are lighter than other ethnic groups, so they're good at swimming. That, and if they were raised to feel comfortable with their bodies, which it seems to me most white people weren't. White women seem more comfortable dancing and what not, but not many white men. Dancing the way other groups do is 'sexual' to them, it appears. I'm sure it all comes down to physical anthropology and culture. Ballet is a perfect example of this. Your body has to be kept stiff, rather than the fluid movements you see with say, breakdancing.

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Name : Jennifer, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 26, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Writer and Activist, 

[Rick29930]

My answer showed, since the professions that most demand steadiness and dexterity are dominated by whites, that shakiness and jerky body movements are not more characteristic of whites than non-whites. You cite no objective scientific studies that indicate otherwise. Your own observations are only anecdotal, thus proving worthless.

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Name : Rick29930, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ira]

Your response has no basis in reality. Shakey-handed white people who manage to become 'ballet dancers, gymnasts, mimes, professional billiard players, divers, swimmers and surgeons' do so in no small part because of the privilege being white affords one in the United States. Look at George W. Bush. He's a complete, blithering idiot but his whiter-than-white, skull-and-bones, blue blood background has taken him further than intelligence and talent ever would've.

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Name : Ira, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Atheist, Age : 35, City : Oak Park, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : software engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Shane28073]

I dunno about the shaky-hands thing, but the fact that there're so many more whites in America than any other race, and also that they generally in a higher class, makes it more likely for there to be a greater number of white ballet dancers and surgeons. I'm sure there may be better arguments againt the shaky-hands thing, but this one is kinda skay itself.

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Name : Shane28073, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Christian, Age : 20, City : Chapel Hill, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Leslie-B]

In a crowded public park in China once, I spotted a white person. This person was too far away for me to tell if it was male or female, but of their racial group, I had no doubt. Yeah, we're jerky.

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Name : Leslie-B, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 50, City : Stirling, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Hayat-R]

Growing up in Chicago I've observed all sorts of races. I don't think the jerky body movements attributed to some whites is genetic, but rather has to do with whether they're athletic, comfortable with themselves and how others around them move. In high school we could always tell a basketball player, be the person white, filipino, black or hispanic, by the way they moved. Some sports gear a person for fluidity and others for solidity. Many white people traditionally are raised with football and baseball, both of which require specific stances, moves, and a way of carrying yourself. Also, many of my white friends were generally uncomfortable in their own skins. In the racially diverse neighborhood where I lived whites were at the bottom of the social pool because they had so little culture and self-confidence to draw from. I guess not having much tradition, culture and a feeling of belonging caused them to go introverted. Anyways, no matter what race you are, if you're not comfortable with yourself, your movements are bound to be jerky, inhibited and self-conscious.

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Name : Hayat-R, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Muslim, Age : 19, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rhea]

My husband does this on occasion, Its just a habit, like some people have a bad habit of bitting there nails, certain leg movements are just a habit, that and I think it has to do with genes.

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Name : Rhea, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : Albany, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Middle class, 

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