White Skin
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 Skin: History of The Term, Census and Social Definitions in Different Regions
Famous quotes containing the words white and/or skin:
“Realism absorbs the ideal by adding a few small imperfections. Example: it paints a few specks of mud on the white gown of the Lady in the Garden.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Behind you swiftly the figure comes softly,
The spot on your skin is a shocking disease.’”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)