White Latin American - Blanqueamiento (bleaching) Racial Classification

Blanqueamiento (bleaching) Racial Classification

Mixed race categories are often used to whiten the racial classification of black individuals, that is to identify or be identified as whiter than how someone would currently be racially positioned, such as a black person identifying or being identified as mixed race. Mixed race categories are also used to darken the racial classification of white individuals, that is to identify or be identified as darker than how someone would currently be racially positioned, such as a white person identifying or being identified as mixed race.

Research has found that the growth of the mixed race population is in part due to large numbers of blacks "whitening" (blanqueamiento) their racial classification by reporting to be mixed race. The growth of the mixed race population can also be in part credited to white people "darkening" their racial classification. Studies have found a large trend in reclassification (blanqueamiento/whitening) from black to brown in the 1950 to 1980 period, a much smaller one from white to brown (darkening), and a similar but less pronounced pattern between 1980 and 1990. Academics attribute this switch from black to mixed race to high rates of black upward mobility during the 1970s, consistent with a "money whitens" hypothesis that blacks will whiten themselves by self reporting as brown (mixed race) as they become wealthier. Differences found in the percentage of blacks between census results demonstrate that many blacks self-classify as mixed race. Further research confirmed a tendency for what is called blanqueamiento, that means that blacks tend to self-classify as whiter. In this case, differences found in the share of blacks between two surveys suggest that blacks tend to self-classify as mulattoes (mixed race), while the differences found in the shares of blacks and mulattos pooled suggest that very few blacks or mulattoes self-classify as whites. Attempting to split people in three groups, namely blacks, mulattoes and whites, might get seriously biased results due to an incorrect classification of blacks as mulattoes (Florez et al., 2001:30). Reclassifition from white to brown (darkening) also demosntrates that some whites self-classfiy as mixed race. The darkening of the racial classification of whites appears to be growing. Analyses of changes between censuses show that people reclassify themselves from white to mixed race more often than from mixed race to white. Academics attribute this switch from white to mixed race to poverty among white people, consistent with a poverty darkens (i.e. the flipside of money whitens) hypothesis that whites will darken themselves by reporting to be mixed race the poorer they become.