I feel like Race, Ethnicity, and Nationality get confused too much on this app. Let’s provide some examples: a thread

Generally speaking, people are assigned to different racial categories by their physical, unchangeable traits, like skin color, hair texture, eye shape, and facial features.

Race is often a VISUAL and social construct, someone can benefit from White privilege who is “mixed” with multiple races if they are White passing. This is why “race” alone does not determine genetic / biological factors for a person though it may indicate ancestral overlap

Ethnicity is someone’s regional and cultural heritage. Ethnicity is not always visible. This includes a person's native language, their religion, the holidays they celebrate, and their cultural practices.

Ethnocentrism — is when a person or group discriminates on or judges another for their cultural values and standards because they believe their own culture is the norm or standard

An example of Ethnocentrism would be condemning someone for speaking their Native language because it does not fit the culture of their current location. Another is asking a Muslim Woman to remove her Hijab (don’t ever do these btw)

Nationality quite literally is related to citizenship of yourself. Sometimes Nationalism may also extend to where your family were previously citizens, because this can impact your own cultural upbringing

Nationalism — is the belief that the Nation State in which one resides should be considered above all other attributes. The issue is that most Nations are quite diverse, this results in the pressure to assimilate for minorities and those not in immediate social control

Now let’s get into examples!

Ex: Two people can be the same race, but have different ethnic backgrounds

Ryan
Race: White
Ethnicity: Irish
Nationality: American
Language: English

Race: White
Ethnicity:
Nationality:
Language:

Ex: I see this confused a lot. Hispanic vs Latino. You can be the same race and have different ethnic backgrounds

Paulo
Race: White
Ethnicity: Latino
Nationality: Brazilian
Language: Portuguese

Sofía
Race: White
Ethnicity: Hispanic
Nationality: Spain
Language: Spanish

Ex: People can be different races, but the same Nationality.

Joaquim
Race: Black
Ethnicity: Afro-Latino
Nationality: Brazilian
Language: Portuguese

Lucas
Race: White
Ethnicity: Latino
Nationality: Brazilian
Language: Portuguese

It is important to note the racial variety within Latina/Latino/Latinx ethnicities because by not doing so, racism/colorism experienced within the community cannot be effectively addressed

Ethnicity, nationality, and race can overlap to create harmful assumptions. Ex: after 9/11 many Indian-American Sikhs experienced Islamophobia. Whereas White-Passing Arab Muslims who chose not to wear cultural and religious cover/dress may have had vastly different experiences

It’s also important to note if you are Latino / Latina / Latinx / Hispanic, but visually you are White passing and you face discrimination it IS NOT racism, you are most likely facing the negative sides of ethnocentrism or Imperialism

Many Jews Westernized their names between 1942-1980s to combat antisemitism in the workspace. Whereas, many Black descendants of Chattel Slavery carry European first/last names to this day. Antisemitism has existed deeply in history, but racism is coded into our constitution

These constructs, demographics, and biological factors have so many nuances. This thread barely scratches the surface of course

This info is important, because intersectionality means we can have a variety of identities. Acknowledging both privileges and disparities based on your visually presumed race, ethnicity, and nationality create healthy discussions

And of course these identities examples are examples, I know there are soooo many more groups, sub-groups, and identities.

This was inspired by, “You’re Black?? I thought you were Jamaican?”

Also saying, “you benefit from White privilege.” Is not a dig to discredit your Ethnicity and cultural upbringing. It means that the struggles you face will most likely not be a result of your skin color or features.

An example would be the time at a photoshoot when cops pulled up for “suspicious activity.” The boy with us who was White passing was greeted differently than everyone (better). It was only when the cop saw his ID and found out he was Mexican that the vibe changed

Did he face discrimination, yes. Did he also benefit from White privilege, yes. Did he face racism?No. He was not discriminated on based on his racial appearance, but based on ethnicity info provided. His privilege is: choice. He can change his name and forgo most experiences.

Whereas I can be Jennifer Smith tomorrow and still get pulled over