White people (in American English also Caucasian) is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin. Rather than a straightforward description of skin color, the term white also functions as a color terminology for race, often referring narrowly to people claiming ancestry exclusively from Europe.
The definition of a 'white person' differs according to geographical and historic...
more
White people (in American English also Caucasian) is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin. Rather than a straightforward description of skin color, the term white also functions as a color terminology for race, often referring narrowly to people claiming ancestry exclusively from Europe.
The definition of a 'white person' differs according to geographical and historical context, and 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.
A common definition of a 'white person' is a person of primarily, or wholly,...
less