When I come across the term "people of color," I can't help but note that it's disconnected from the reality of ethnic and cultural identities outside most countries that are not the U.S. I acknowledge its usefulness in American culture and history, but it is when people treat it as the default or politically correct way to refer to non-white people that I start to take issue with it.
First, the idea of "people of color" is intrinsically centered around the notion that white skin color is the "default." There is no logical reason that non-black skin tones aren't considered "of color" instead of non-white ones, for instance, aside from the usage of white skin as the basis for the term--something I find self-defeating considering that the term is often implied to be inclusive and anti-racist.
Second, the whole concept of categorizing various ethnic groups based on skin color or whether or not they are "of color" seems to me quite simplistic, arguably racially charged, and potentially dismissive of the multifaceted aspects of ethnicity and culture. I'm Arab and African, and my skin tone is quite pale to the point where it may pass off as "white" in some countries. I don't identify as a "person of color"; I identify with my ethnicity and cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. My skin color could be purple with golden stripes and I'd still identify the same way as I do now as far as ethnicity went.
Third, trying to use a term that largely originated and developed in a markedly American context to refer to people from other countries and group them into "colored" categories based on that is, again rather self-defeatingly, ethnocentric in an American-focused way. The term may be useful in the context of American politics and culture, but it's not even remotely relevant in many other countries. Yet due to the global influence of American media and public figures, the term has gained a bit of ground even in some countries where it is not useful, accurate, or germane to the reality of ethnic identities and public discourse.
What are your thoughts on the above points, as a fellow non-American who would be categorized as a "person of color" in the U.S. or as an American who would fall under the umbrella of the term?
First, the idea of "people of color" is intrinsically centered around the notion that white skin color is the "default." There is no logical reason that non-black skin tones aren't considered "of color" instead of non-white ones, for instance, aside from the usage of white skin as the basis for the term--something I find self-defeating considering that the term is often implied to be inclusive and anti-racist.
Second, the whole concept of categorizing various ethnic groups based on skin color or whether or not they are "of color" seems to me quite simplistic, arguably racially charged, and potentially dismissive of the multifaceted aspects of ethnicity and culture. I'm Arab and African, and my skin tone is quite pale to the point where it may pass off as "white" in some countries. I don't identify as a "person of color"; I identify with my ethnicity and cultural, linguistic, and historical heritage. My skin color could be purple with golden stripes and I'd still identify the same way as I do now as far as ethnicity went.
Third, trying to use a term that largely originated and developed in a markedly American context to refer to people from other countries and group them into "colored" categories based on that is, again rather self-defeatingly, ethnocentric in an American-focused way. The term may be useful in the context of American politics and culture, but it's not even remotely relevant in many other countries. Yet due to the global influence of American media and public figures, the term has gained a bit of ground even in some countries where it is not useful, accurate, or germane to the reality of ethnic identities and public discourse.
What are your thoughts on the above points, as a fellow non-American who would be categorized as a "person of color" in the U.S. or as an American who would fall under the umbrella of the term?
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