White adjacency

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White adjacency is the theory that some groups of non-White people are aligned with White people, and that this adjacency gives them special privileges that are denied to people who aren't white adjacent. [1]

Contents

Non-white people may be considered white adjacent by choice, or by cultural factors that have stereotyped them as white adjacent, such as the model minority stereotype. [2] [1] White adjacency is most often sought by non-Black minorities who want to distance themselves from Black people. [1] Mixed-race black people may, however, seek white adjacency. [3]

Asian Americans, and in particular, Asian women, are often viewed as the most white adjacent minorities. [2]

United States

In the United States, critical race theorists increasingly view East Asians as white adjacent. [2]

Within white spaces, diversity is typically represented by Asian women, or images of Asian culture. [2] Images of White men and Asian woman are so common that they have come to symbolize White American manhood, [4] and the extremely high rate of interracial marriage has led some to suggest that Asian Americans are becoming White. [5]

However, according the Brookings Institution, 63% of Asian American respondents identify as people of color, and nearly 80% say that they are not proximal to whiteness, suggesting that Asian Americans, as a whole, do not see themselves as white adjacent. [5]

Diversity within white spaces is rarely represented by Black people, which some critical race theorists view as driving a wedge between minority communities by incentivizing Asians to retain their special status while reinforcing stereotypes. [2] However, some Black people may present themselves as white adjacent, presumably to enjoy the benefits of whiteness. [3] Such people are typically light-skinned enough to pass as White or anything but Black. [3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tecun, Arcia; Lopesi, Lana; Sankar, Anisha (October 21, 2022). Towards a Grammar of Race: In Aotearoa New Zealand. Bridget Williams Books. p. 4. ISBN   978-1-990046-60-5.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Tecun, Arcia; Lopesi, Lana; Sankar, Anisha (October 21, 2022). Towards a Grammar of Race: In Aotearoa New Zealand. Bridget Williams Books. pp. 87–100. ISBN   978-1-990046-60-5.
  3. 1 2 3 Romo, Rebecca; Daniel, G. Reginald; Sterphone, J. (October 2024). Between Black and Brown: Blaxicans and Multiraciality in Comparative Historical Perspective. U of Nebraska Press. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-4962-4066-8.
  4. Woan, Sunny (March 2008). "White Sexual Imperialism: A Theory of Asian Feminist Jurisprudence". Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. 14 (2): 2, 19. ISSN   1535-0843.
  5. 1 2 "Are Asian Americans people of color or the next in line to become white?". Brookings.