Race/Ethnicity Questions 101-110

THE QUESTION:
R110: I am a 23-year-old white female graduate student who was recently visiting a friend living in Mexico. I have very fair skin and was often referred to in Spanish as “little white girl” or simply “whitey.” My question is: How are these comments meant? I generally associate them with catcalls in the United States. Do people not understand they are offensive? Or should they be considered flattering?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Travis, Carbondale, IL

ANSWER 1:
As a white woman with a Mexican husband and in-laws, I have also struggled with this question. My husband insists that when his father calls me “huera” (white girl), it is not meant to be offensive, but is merely a descriptive term. He says that anyone (including other Mexicans) who has particularly white or dark skin is referred to as “whitey” or “darky,” respectively. It seems to be customary in the Spanish language to refer to people by distinguishing characteristics (skin color, hair type, body type, etc., i.e. “skinny”) rather than always by their name.
POSTED JUNE 22, 1998
Chris, 24, white female, Long Beach, CA

FURTHER NOTICE:
I am assuming the word you are talking about is “guerra.” If so, do not take offense. I have noticed from my upbringing that Mexicans often refer to individuals by their characteristics. For exampe, blacks = “Negros,” Asians = “Chinos,” thin = “Flaco/a,” and even in my case, fat = “Gordo.” I have an aunt who is 100 percent Hispanic with light hair and skin who is known to us only as “La Guerra.” There is absolutely nothing derogatory intended
POSTED JUNE 26, 1998
Oscar T., Mexican <oztel@gte.net>, Kailua, HI

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Chris’s husband (Answer 1) is telling the truth. Most of the time, Mexicans won’t use the name of a person, but a nickname, and many nicknames come from the person’s physical appearance. This is true even if the two involved don’t know each other (as long as it is an informal situation). My father, for example, will call anyone shorter than he “chaparrito” (shorty), and he has always referred to me as “flaco” (skinny) even though I am not anymore! And once at a gas station, the attendant called me “guerito” (whitey or blondy) even though his skin was fairer than mine. So you aren’t being name-called or cat-called. It’s just the usual way we talk, and it’s not meant to be offensive at all.
POSTED JULY 16, 1998
Francisco, 23, Mexican <fjortiz@usa.net>, Guadalajara, México

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
A question: Would this practice of referring to one in accordance with one’s physical appearance extend to physical abnormalities? For example, would someone in a wheelchair be called the Mexican equivalent of “cripple”? Or would a disfigured women be named “ugly”?
POSTED JULY 26, 1998
Marcia, 43, white, Venice , FL

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
It seems that a lot of “foreign cultures” do what you described. I know several societies, from Asian to European, etc., that describe people by their ethnicity. In addition, when a person talks that way, he also usually carries a lot of stereotypes regarding race in his speech. You obviously don’t find as much of that here in the United States because of the diversity here. I’ve been told by some “foreign” friends that they’re quite apprehensive and admire Americans in how they deal with people of other ethnicities. A European company, for example, recently announced that it is seeking Americans in leadership positions because of their ability to handle different types of people. That corporation’s obviously generalizing, but it does show a benefit of growing up American.
POSTED JULY 28, 1998
Jason <jason@spyring.com>, Bay Area , CA
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THE QUESTION:
R109: If you could guess, what percentage of black people smoke marijuana? Same for black females and black males.
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Mark W., 23 <wallacem@slu.edu>, St. Louis, MO

ANSWER 1:
I would say between 70 percent and 85 percent of blacks smoke marijuana. I believe this because my friends and associates smoke it every chance they get.
POSTED OCT. 6, 1998
Naomi, 19, black <gauldinn@pilot.msu.edu>, Lansing, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R108: Being a scientist, I’ve often wondered: Is it possible there is a physical difference between the races that would allow certain races to perform better at certain sports? For example, how many world-class sprinters are white?
Casey, 22, white, Reston, VA

ANSWER 1:
A lot of people think so. However, one must be very careful not to ask this question in the wrong way. Just ask “Jimmy the Greek.”
POSTED MARCH 29, 1998
Tim, Canton, MI

FURTHER NOTICE:
Like it or not, here in the United States Negroids were specifically bred for the qualities desired by their owners (strength, stamina and size being principal among these). The result of this generations-long program of selective breeding speaks for itself (Ali, Jordan, Jesse Owens, Jim Brown, Ken Griffey Jr. – need I say more?). These people, among countless other American Negroids, will dominate any sport they care to engage in. All other races (including African Negroids) must take a back seat.
POSTED SEPT. 1, 1998
Dan (white) and Chuck (white), Newport News, VA

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
All of the world-class sprinters were white until a few decades ago, when black athletes were allowed to enter the lists. Those who are excluded from expressing their abilities in one sport will gravitate toward another. Blacks had been excluded from most sports, but, as one venue after another began to open up, blacks would concentrate on those sports in which they had role models. Just look at the number of blacks (and young people) who are suddenly interested in golf now that Tiger Woods has shown the way. To excel in sports requires an enormous amount of hard work. Searching for a racial anatomical difference belittles the training and practice these athletes undergo. After black sprinters began to win races, the press mused that perhaps blacks were good at sprinting, but that whites were better suited for distance running. Then blacks began to win marathons. The old myths developed to explain away black successes do not stand up to analysis.
POSTED DEC. 21, 1998
R. Stewart, black <rostew@aol.com>, Chicago, IL
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THE QUESTION:
R107: What do white men find attractive in women? In particular, what part of the female anatomy do they look at first?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Jeff S., 42, black <starlites@aol.com>
Pensacola, FL

ANSWER 1:
I cannot speak for everyone, but as a person with a “roving eye,” I always notice legs. Long, shapely, lean legs, to me, are a real turn-on. Then I will check out the face. What is important to me are seductive, youthful features. I do not pay particular attention to breasts. In fact, I prefer smaller ones.
POSTED MARCH 31, 1998
Dan M., 40, Los Angeles, CA

FURTHER NOTICE:
I don’t think there’s any differences between white guys and other guys – some guys are attracted by facial features, some guys are attracted by breasts, butts, legs, whatever.
POSTED MARCH 31, 1998
Alex, 39, white <aleavens@mindspring.com>
Lawrenceville, GA
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THE QUESTION:
R106: Why don’t white people use tissues or handkerchiefs (instead of bare fingers) to clean their noses? Black people consider this behavior rude and nasty.
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
M.J., Bloomfield Hills, MI

ANSWER 1:
So do white people. But I find it hard to believe that only white people pick their noses!
POSTED MARCH 29, 1998
Colette, 32, white <inkwolf@earthlink.net>
Seymour, WI

FURTHER NOTICE:
I strongly disagree that only white people pick their noses. I’ve seen quite a few people practice this, and they weren’t just white. Not all white people pick their nose, either. I for one think it’s disgusting and unsanitary. I prefer all people to use Kleenexes.
POSTED MARCH 29, 1998
Jessica, white, 21, Orion, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R105: Is the Pontiac Trans Am a type of status symbol in the Arab countries? Most of them own one of these.
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Johnny B., white, Clinton Township, MI
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THE QUESTION:
R104: Why can’t Chaldean men marry black women?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
J.D., MI
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THE QUESTION:
R103: Given the fact there are three races (Negroid, Caucasian and Mongoloid), where do Hispanics fall? Also, is “Hispanic” the proper general term for Spanish descendants, or is “Latino” more appropriate?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
B. Williams, Atlanta, GA, <PEE3000@aol.com>

ANSWER 1:
The problem is not in where each group falls, but in the original classifications. The “racial”‘ categories of Negroid, Caucasian and Mongoloid are actually European classifications, which have little bearing on reality. For example – where do people of Middle Eastern descent go in the categories? The classifications have more to do with prevailing European thought at the time (“Us-white-good, them-black-not good, other them-yellow-occasionally-useful”) than with any real genetic information. “Race” is really the wrong word to use when discussing different groups of people, for the simple reason that races cannot interbreed, or, if they can, will produce sterile offspring. If you can breed with another animal, then that animal is part of your race (and vice versa), and since all humans can interbreed, we’re all the same race.
POSTED MARCH 31, 1998
Alex, 39, white <aleavens@mindspring.com>
Lawrenceville, GA

FURTHER NOTICE:
The latest information from anthropologists is that there is only one race (homo sapiens) and that the “races” you mention are actually social constructs made up sometime in the 1920s for stereotyping purposes. In other words, there’s just the human race.
POSTED MARCH 31, 1998
Joan, San Francisco, CA

FURTHER NOTICE 2:
Additionally, what are called races based on geography are often extremely diverse or currently exist nowhere near where they once were. Archaeologists have found and documented people in the isolated regions of what is now China who have red hair, tartan/plaid clothing, riding horses, light eyes and torcs for jewelry. In other words, they are like Celtics, very much similar to the people who were in the British Isles at the time of Rome’s invasion. There are also strong cultural and artistic ties connecting ancient peoples of what is now Iran and Northern India with the Celts. Much of what is considered Germanic came from deep in Russia, perhaps from even farther away in what are now the “XXX-stan” countries, and were pushed out by the Mongols, who were right behind, wreaking havoc. People got around and interbred a lot more than the 1800s prejudical, white-leisured classes would have wanted to know.
POSTED APRIL 16, 1998
Brendon, 26, Buffalo, NY

FURTHER NOTICE 3:
There are actually four “races”: Caucasoid, Negroid, Mongoloid and Australioid. Hispanic people are a mixture of three of these, in one proportion or another. They are Caucasoid (from whoever came over to screw it up for the natives) Negroid (from the slaves that the Caucasoids brought with them) and Mongoloids (who had arrived 40,000 years earlier and established themselves as the natives).This proportion will vary from person to person in the Hispanic gene pool.
POSTED SEPT. 1, 1998
Dan, white male, Newport News, Va

FURTHER NOTICE 4:
I believe Alex has confused the term “race” with “species.” Two members of different races are still members of the same species. Even animals exhibit racial and geographical differences but belong to the same species and could produce offspring.
POSTED SEPT. 10, 1998
Elaine C., <eoder1@compulinx-net.net,> Columbus, OH

FURTHER NOTICE 5:
Hispanic and Latino both refer to a culture and are not racial terms. There are Latinos of all types. The president of Peru is an Asian Latino named Alberto Fujimori. The president of Argentina is an Arab Latino. Latino is usually preferred because it designates the region and reflects its diversity. Hispanic makes it sound like we are all immigrants from Spain, when in fact most of us are indigenous.
DEC. 18, 1998
A.C.C., Mexican and Indian, or Latino, San Antonio , TX
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THE QUESTION:
R102: Is it true that men in Middle Eastern countries feel that women are for procreating, and thus for sexual pleasure they (the men) will be with other men?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Christopher S., 28, gay, white, Seattle
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THE QUESTION:
R101: I’m attracted to the church services I’ve seen in which the congregations are African American. So far, I’ve only seen televised services because I’m not sure if it’s OK for whites to attend. I know it probably depends on the particular congregation or location (I live in Seattle), but generally, would it be uncomforable for others or considered improper if I attended?
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Ward W., 49, white, Seattle

ANSWER 1:
Any church I have attended would welcome you just as it would any other attendee. It is the Lord’s house, so it would not be uncomfortable or improper for you to attend, so please don’t hesitate! By the way, I lived in Seattle for a year, and the two churches I visited while there had white members and visitors each time I was there.
POSTED MARCH 28, 1998
Claire D., black, Stone Mountain, GA

FURTHER NOTICE:
I’m a white woman who belongs to two black gospel choirs, and I have attended many black churches. I can say without hesitation that I am always welcomed in a very warm way. At times, I do feel curiosity about my presence there, but I’m sure that would occur if I were a new black person as well. Be prepared to introduce yourself, and ask yourself if you will be comfortable if you are the only white person in attendance that Sunday. If you decide to go, I think you will find a rich experience awaiting you. There are a lot of differences (in rituals, in music, in congregational responses) between the black churches I have attended and the white ones. Keep an open mind, enjoy the experience and try to join in as much as possible with clapping, singing along, etc., if “the spirit moves you.”
POSTED MARCH 31, 1998
Joan, San Francisco, CA
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