Are Middle Easterners considered to be 'white'?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

[Anonymous]

I recently heard that on med school applications if you put down Middle Eastern, you are assumed to be Iranian, which like Asian is considered an over-represented minority category at med schools. If you put down Arab, you are an under-represented minority, a positive for your application.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Absurd

[Anonymous]

For my undergrad application, I was told I had to check “white” and I’m middle eastern from muslim family (although not practicing). Also, a bulk of the Caucasus include much of the Middle East.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Hello 1935.

[Anonymous]

At my school, where we have a lot of children from Middle Eastern countries, most of their parents will self-select "white" on the race box. In fact, the same happens with most of our children from Egypt. Their parents almost always self-select "white" on our paperwork.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Are you kidding me? Religion?
Ughhhhhh I can’t take the simple mindedness!

[Anonymous]

Regardless of what box is checked, you know we don’t consider them white

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Are you kidding me? Religion?
Ughhhhhh I can’t take the simple mindedness!

PP here. I am an American of Middle Eastern descent and this is honestly how i feel we are perceived in the US. Yes, I agree that it's stupid, I think when it comes to the Middle East people mix up race, ethnicity, and religion in bizarre ways. I hope people aren't reading my comment as a promotion of that view, just an observation from my own experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Are you kidding me? Religion?
Ughhhhhh I can’t take the simple mindedness!

PP here. I am an American of Middle Eastern descent and this is honestly how i feel we are perceived in the US. Yes, I agree that it's stupid, I think when it comes to the Middle East people mix up race, ethnicity, and religion in bizarre ways. I hope people aren't reading my comment as a promotion of that view, just an observation from my own experience.

Ps see the comment above about "you know we don't consider them white"...that's the experience I'm talking about. But it's a lot easier to pass if you're not visibly Muslim.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are white and caucasian the same?

Are people from the Middle East, like Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc considered to be 'white' by the general world population?

Nope

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Are you kidding me? Religion?
Ughhhhhh I can’t take the simple mindedness!

PP here. I am an American of Middle Eastern descent and this is honestly how i feel we are perceived in the US. Yes, I agree that it's stupid, I think when it comes to the Middle East people mix up race, ethnicity, and religion in bizarre ways. I hope people aren't reading my comment as a promotion of that view, just an observation from my own experience.

+1 I totally agree with this comment. I also think that some of the terminology used by the state and federal government for demographics does not allow people to be factually correct in stating their race, ethnicity and (gasp) religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends on their religion. If Muslim, no. If Christian, yes (unless Palestinian). If Jewish, yes except by white supremacists.

-Christian Middle Easterner who is always read as white

Are you kidding me? Religion?
Ughhhhhh I can’t take the simple mindedness!

PP here. I am an American of Middle Eastern descent and this is honestly how i feel we are perceived in the US. Yes, I agree that it's stupid, I think when it comes to the Middle East people mix up race, ethnicity, and religion in bizarre ways. I hope people aren't reading my comment as a promotion of that view, just an observation from my own experience.

+1 I totally agree with this comment. I also think that some of the terminology used by the state and federal government for demographics does not allow people to be factually correct in stating their race, ethnicity and (gasp) religion.

I also think PP is on to something.

Will also note that I know some Christian Lebanese who do not view themselves as Arabs. DH has that origin (and is Christian) but is from another Middle Eastern country. He considers himself Arab.

I also know Assyrians from the Middle East who do not consider themselves Arabs; many Middle Easterners would agree.

[Anonymous]

I think it's complicated. I know folks from the Middle East who consider themselves people of color. It is true that Middle Easterners, especially Muslims, are subject to prejudice in the United States, especially if their skin is brown or black. On the other hand, a lot of Middle Easterners (not all) are just a generation and a name change from being considered white. Eg, if they're dressed like mainstream people in the US, no one is going to follow them in a store. But if they send a resume with an Arab and/or Muslim name on it, they might be rejected based on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Except in certain parts of the country. There are places in the U.S. where Italians are not considered white.

Hello 1935.

Ha what states do not currently consider Italians white? Can my DS check the other than white box at colleges in those states? We want all the hooks he can get.

My MIL (northern Italian) married a central italian. DH maternal side is blonde/blue eyes. Despite the mix, MIL very outwardly favored the northern traits. It was hilariously shocking to me. She died at 97 and I witnessed her "favoritism" toward her great grandchildren who were more Ashkenazi, Nordic European or Central European looking.

DH and I have a son who is clearly southern Italian...he has beautiful features and when very young was elusive as far as ethnicity. He was mistaken for a girl sometimes. Women would speak to him in Spanish. Many people saw Moroccan, Spanish, Italian even Asian. He got alot of baby Ricky Martin or Mark Consuelos, Adrian Grenier, none of which look similar. But he is for sure an Italian mutt lol.