White people, rather than being a straightforward description of skin color, is a term denoting a specific set of ethnic groups and functions as a color metaphor for race.
The definition of "white person" differs according to geographical and historical context. Various social constructions of whiteness have had implications in terms of national identity, consanguinity, public policy, religion, population statistics, racial segregation, affirmative action, eugenics, racial marginalization and racial quotas. The concept has been applied with varying degrees of formality and internal consistency in disciplines including sociology, politics, genetics, biology, medicine, biomedicine, language, culture and law.
Read more about White People: History of The Term, Census and Social Definitions in Different Regions
Famous quotes containing the words white and/or people:
“Would you ascend to Heaven and bodiless dwell?
Or take your bodies honorless to Hell?
In Heaven you have heard no marriage is,
No white flesh tinder to your lecheries,”
—John Crowe Ransom (1888–1974)
“Is it true that one travels in order to know mankind? It is easier to get to know other people at home, but abroad one gets to know oneself.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)