Color metaphors for race

In some societies, color metaphors for race, often originating from differences in human skin color, are used in racial classifications.

Western classifications

In the West, particularly the United States, the primary color metaphor for race is the classification of persons of Africanancestry as "black" and persons of Europeanancestry as "white". In Australia, Indigenous Australiansare also called "black". The terms negro, colored, and Negroidalso served as color metaphors except in some places, such as South Africa, where colouredpeople were those of mixed racial descent. Even the racial slur"nigger" has etymological roots denoting color.

Similarly, persons of east Asiandescent were, during the late 19th century, called "yellow". The yellow perilwas a perceived threat from East Asian immigration. In Germany, the "yellow peril" was translated literally into "gelbe Gefahr".) Native Americansare called "red", "Redskins", and "Red Indians". Other racial groups have fallen under similar classifications with brown being a general term for nonwhites. During the American occupation of the Philippines, Governor-GeneralWilliam Howard Taftreferred to the native Filipino peopleas his "little brown friends".

In the United States, color metaphors are so commonplace that many anti-discrimination statutes use the phrase "race, color, or creed". A branch of the civil rights struggle by African-Americans was known as the "Black Power" movement; by extension, a similar civil rights movement among American Indians was (much less commonly) referred to as "Red Power". The metaphors are used somewhat informally in academic writing as well as reflected, for example, in the title of Gary B. Nash's book Red, White, and Black: The Peoples of Early America (1974).

One point of objection to these terms for race is that they can be subconsciously associated with a color's other metaphorical meanings and reinforce positive and negative self-images. ^{[{{fullurl:Template:FULLPAGENAME}}#endnote_Moore]} The numerous negative uses of black and favorable uses of white have led many people to promote alternate terminology for "black" people, for example "African-American". Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and Ralph Ellisonidentify a number of negative metaphors in Western cultures associated with the color "black"; see Black#Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions.

Russia

In Russia, persons of Caucasusdescent are called Black. "White", apart from its racial meaning, is also a term denoting opponents of the Bolsheviksduring the Russian Civil War(see White movementfor this usage). Sometimes, Belorusiansare (incorrectly) referred to as "White Russians."

India

The Sanskritword for "caste" is ???? (var?a) which has several literal meanings including "color".

• Brahmins (white-symbolizing Sattva), priests, teachers
• Kshatriyas (red-symbolizing Rajas), kings, princes, warriors
• Vaishyas (yellow-symbolizing Rajas), merchants/craftsmen
• Shudras (blueor black-symbolizing Tamas), workers, farmers

China

Huang(yellow) is a common surname, but does not refer to the East Asian race as was popular in Western languages until recently. However, the Yellow Emperorwas a legendary founder of China. Yellow is also identified with the "center" cardinal direction, while China is known as Zhongguo"middle country".

Hua (?), one of the most common terms for "Chinese", literally means "multicolored", "flowery", or "splendid".

White(? bai) means "plain" or "free of charge" in many common expressions and was not traditionally used to refer to Europeans or descendants, who were indentified as "people from [across the] ocean" or some variety of "barbarian". Contemporary Chinese, has, however, adopted Western usage to a large extent. Black(? hei) is typically applied to those of African race today. However, the term "black person" (??) also refers to unregistered rural migrants in cities (as in black market).

Names of ethnic minorities sometimes contain colors, not to indicate skin color, but simply for identification, possibly based on traditional clothing or geographical direction.

• Red, Black, Blue/Green, White, Flowery (multicolored) Miao(Hmong)
• the Bai(literally White) are a sedentary lowland people of Yunnan
• Black Bone and White Bone Yi
• The Qingdynasty Manchumilitary were divided into Eight Bannersidentified by color and with ethnic associations

Central Asia

The five cardinal directionswere historically identified with colors. This was common to the Central Asiancultural area and was carried west by the westward migration of the Turks. These directional color terms were applied both to geographic features and sometimes to populations as well.

• North: Black
  • Heilongjiang"Black Dragon River" province in Northeast China, also the Amur River
  • Black Sea: north of Turkey
  • Kara-Khitan Khanate
• South: Red
• East: Greenor Blue(? "q?ng" corresponds to green or blue)
• West: White
  • White Sheep Turkmen
  • Ak Deniz "White Sea" in Turkish indicates the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, or the Mediterranean Sea
• Center: Yellow
  • Huangshan"Yellow Mountain" in central China
  • Golden Horde: "Central Army" of the Mongols

Notes and references

1. ^  Moore, Roger B., Racism in the English Language, 1976; Hughes, Langston, "That Word Black", The Return of Simple

See also

• Ascribed status
• Achieved status
• Conspicuous consumption
• Power
• Social class
• Social hierarchy
• Social structure of the United States
• Status class
• Status group
• Status symbol

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color+metaphors+for+race Wikipedia article Color metaphors for race.