I am Slavic , and I’ve have heard people from both sides of America/Eastern Europe say that Slavs are white, but then some say that they are not white, just “Slavic”. But I am considered white in the US, but if you look closely enough, you can see my Slavic traits (slightly half-folded eyelids, high cheekbones, etc). But does that mean I am not white (even though I have white skin)?
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I consider them white. Not sure why you wouldn’t. Their skin doesn’t have much melanin.
Yes
Most people would probably consider you “white” but maybe if they hear an accent they’ll then think of you as Russian (because we often assume anyone with an eastern European accent is Russian, unfortunately)
This probably needs more context for an accurate answer. What situation are you worried about
Yes.
Even our white supremacists apparently disagree with European white supremacists about that.
It’s ‘what color is your skin’ and that’s it.
Are you asking just to be curious?
So the racial distinctions we tend to talk about in the US generally distinguish between the historically racially disadvantaged groups in our history: blacks (most of whose ancestors were settled here as slaves), hispanics (who were the descendants of the Spanish conquisitores and the Indians they conquered), and American Indians. We sometimes also include include into these categories the Irish (who were treated poorly in the 1800’s) and the Chinese (who again, were treated poorly, as very cheap labor to build the railroads)–but, and not to be totally indelicate here–our distinction tends to be about “disadvantaged” minority groups, and neither the Irish nor the Chinese are, in the present day, “disadvantaged”, and so we no longer really care.
The same thing happened with Asians and with Jews in the United States: sure, they were poorly treated–and to some extent currently are–but because they have managed to reach a socioeconomic level comparable to the rest of society (despite those disadvantages), we tend to classify them as “white”–which has become a bucket for all those races and cultural groups who are no longer statistically poorer than the rest.
So you’d be considered “white” not because you’ve got light skin color but asiatic features–but because you’re not in a historically disadvantaged group.
Yes, it’s political, and to some extent, rather stupid. But there you go.
Besides some white Supremacist sects, 99.9% of Americans consider most slavs white. Only exception if you have some what darker skin like some southern slavs.
I myself being of polish decent find it funny how 100 years ago I wasn’t considered white.
People of European descent are considered white. You could be Sicilian with dark features and an olive skin tone but still are “white” since you’re just Italian.
So yes you’re considered white here
The U.S. Census Bureau considers Arabs to be white, for god’s sake. Slavs are definitely white.
I don’t even think about it, to be honest, not even trying to be mightier than you or anything .
Definitely. If you’re a dark skinned Bulgarian maybe you could be confused for Arab occasionally but otherwise you’ll be perceived as white.
Generally speaking, in the US if you are “straight from Europe with no stops in between”, you are considered to be “white”. So yes, Americans would consider you white because you fit into that category.
Yes they are typically seen as European but like with everything else there are exceptions.
Yes.
Yes, the concept of “race” is confused.
Yes we do.
melania trump is considered white
Generally if you’re European you’re white. Slavs are extremely white
This thought had never crossed my mind.
Yes, very. You’re of European descent, you’re white here
Different cultures have different ways of categorizing people.
You have a lot of posts about appearance and ethnicity, it’s…a little alarming tbh. When you’re thinking about who considers whom to be part of what group, please take a look at the historical context of these markers and what the reasoning behind it was.
For example, the term “Caucasian” was created by a German anthropologist who was creating a derogatory system of racial classification. Blumenbach and von Humboldt were extremely influential on how Europe looks at ethnicity up to today. They weren’t using anthropology as a non-judgmental science, they were using it to divide people for not great reasons.
Anything from European descent is considered white. I’m a mix of Slavic and Western European but both are considered white.
Yes.
Slavs are racially white.
Race is as much about your experience in society as is it self-identity. Slavs experience America as any white person does.
Of course, you’re ethnically unique. But nobody can tell that by looking at you here.
It isn’t any more complicated than “what color is your skin.”
I love how Europeans will call us racist, then discriminate based on the most minuscule of traits that can only be defined if you look closely enough.
You should go visit mental illness department.
I guess? I can’t tell them apart so I don’t see why not.
Yes. Facial structure would also play into it, but then again, I’m not white, so Eastern Europeans are pretty white to me regardless of what the mainstream says.
Polish-American here, my mom says she experienced a fair bit of anti-slav settlement in the 80’s and 90’s growing up, but that was more due to fears of communist political ideology in people fleeing the USSR and its sattelite states rather than racism. I haven’t experienced any sort of discrimination based on having a Polish name and looking like a slav, I identify and am accepted as a white American.
Yeah, those ‘Slavic features’? Those are white features. You’re white.
I mean to truly answer we’d have to figure out the philipinos first
Race is so dumb, but there are so many that obsess over it. Put a Slav, Turk, an Irishman, and a German in the same room together and no one would tell the difference.
The area of California where I live has a pretty large Slavic population, most of whom are first or second generation immigrants. In my observation, they are considered white, but also foreign. They are not generally the target of racism in the same way that a person of color might be, but they can be the target of xenophobia for being culturally different compared to white people who have lived here for many generations.
Yes.
And to be fair I don’t think it matters
OP, are your ancestors from the Caucasus region of Europe, is your ancestry Caucasian… that is the literal definition of what “white” means in the US, and is the other descriptive for someone who is considered “white”
Yes.
Yes
Anyone who looks white is considered white to me.