The 2030 census is coming up: What will you do?
Johnny and Jason explain their interpretation of what it means to be white and answer similarly to our definition of race. As a reminder, our definition of race is the socially constructed way of categorizing people based on what society deems as relevant.
As we see, society often deems skin color and other phenotypic characteristics as the most relevant. When Jason and Johnny were asked about why they would not identify themselves as white, they both pointed to white as the color not matching their own skin. Johnny goes further to hint that this perception might be shared by others, stating that he doesn’t think other whites would “accept him as their own”.
Other’s perceptions of whiteness as well as Jason and Johnny’s own perceptions of what it means to be white contribute to their ultimate identification as MENA.
By: Rachelle Bishay