Ok so I cant get that fucking "white passing mixed ppl are white" take o saw a while ago outta my head so fuck it let's go

NO, WHITE PASSING MIXED PEOPLE ARE NOT WHITE AND DO NOT HAVE WHITE PRIVILEGE.

To begin, if you don't know I'm mixed/biracial, my mom is a white American

and my dad is a Salvadoran mestizo. I am very much NOT white passing.

The idea behind the bad take is that your race is determined by how you are seen by others since race is sociological and thus yours must be determined by your treatment within society.

This explanation of race is pretty much true, unlike gender your race isn't determined by an internal sense, but rather outwardly constructed. Where the explanation goes wrong is that it takes the word "seen" a little too literally, and it presumes that on sight discrimination is

the only vehicle for racism. This is of course ridiculous, systemic racism can be imposed in a variety of ways. Just because a white passing person is perceived as white in a particular moment does not erase past discrimination towards their family, socioeconomic conditions

produced by historical racism, or the fact that this better treatment is predicated on people not knowing their background and will be erased in that setting if other people learn of their background. Additionally, being white passing is not an "you are or you aren't" situation.

Perceptions of what whiteness looks like can vary from place to place, and a multitude of other factors can affect how ppl are perceived. Just because someone can pass as white in some situations doesn't mean they always do.

Even beyond the fact that no, white passing ppl are not treated as white within society, the very idea that mixed ppl are "one or the other" race is rooted in racism. Race is complicated and mixed ppl fuck up a lot of simplified depictions of race, but that's not a reason

to be lazy and just try to cram them into one of your colonial boxes. You're not being woke, youre just recreating racism.

And none of this is to say that white passing ppl CANT be shitty. Ppl of all backgrounds can be shitheads, grifters, and sellouts. This also isnt to say

that being white passing cant confer certain advantages, it absolutely can! However neither of these contradict the fact that no, white passing mixed ppl are NOT white.