Are Italians Considered White?

Question

i've had several Italian friends and they all say different things

i've had friends with very dark olive skin and hair and eyes claim that they are white (I thought you had to be "white" to be White?)

and i've had the more pale skinned ones swear up and down that Italians are not white.....very confusing?

does any one know the right answer?

sidenote: yes I am aware Italy is in Europe but sometimes Italians do have very non-white features

Answer 1

Yes, they are white. However people from the Mediterranean region tend to have darker complexions and different features than 'typical' white people.



White is layman's terms for Caucasian, which includes Italians.

Answer 2

In the US, Italians are considered white. However, being white in the US has more to do with historical allowance of assimilation than actual skin color. Irish people were considered non-white for a long time, but are now considered definitely white. Lighter skinned middle easterners used to be considered white for the purposes of government paperwork, now they are encouraged to list themselves as Asian and are considered not white socially. There is a recent book that deals with how groups become white in the US, The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter which would be a good read if you are interested in the history of how certain people come to be considered white or nonwhite in the US.





*This post is very US centric, yes, but I am from the US and this forum tends to be US dominated. I apologize if my answer doesn't address the slightly different ways in which Europeans distinguish race*

Answer 3

the term white has changed since the roman/greek time , for example Persians were considered white and much lighter than southern Greeks but in our days white means you're a European descent....thought i still believe the majority of Italians are light skinned anyway it doesn't really matter for the few who can pass a middle-eastern look.



don't forget 1 out of 10 on the Mediterranean has Phoenician ancestry, Phoenician were in modern day Lebanon.



no one want to admit that they do have phencian blood kinda sad because Phoenicians are something to be proud of



j2 marker in southern Europe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Distribution_Haplogroup_J_Y-DNA.svg

a J is a middle-eastern y-chromosome



smartazz answers the moors only invaded Spain

Answer 4

I'm Italian,and my skin is as white as it can get,but in the summer it gets a deep tan tone,which is caused by the strong warm climate.And yes Italians are classified as White!

Answer 5

Yes

Answer 6

If I recall correctly, Italians used to predominately be blond/blue-eyed until the Moors (who were black) invaded Italy and impregnated Italian women, resulting in the darker looks that most southern Italians and Sicilians have today. But many northern Italians are blond/blue-eyed.



A person that is black and born in Italy would still be considered Italian, as that is their birth country.



v To guy below me:



"Eventually, the Roman Empire incorporated the region as the provinces of Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Tingitana. The area around Carthage was already part of the province of Africa. Roman rule was effective enough so that these provinces became integrated into the empire."



From wikipedia under "Moors". You are correct, they did not invade Italy, but were allies of the Romans.

Answer 7

We are technically white. The only reason some of us have darker features is because we are from SOUTHERN Italy (close to Africa). Still white, though. I'm Southern Italian, a little dark, but I am white. The ones with whiter features are from NORTHERN Italy, where it's not as hot/sunny and not as close to Africa.



ITALIANS ARE WHITE. WE ARE MEDITERRANEAN. MEDITERRANEANS ARE WHITE.



If we aren't white then what are we?

Answer 8

Italians are considered caucasian genetically. The term 'white' can be misleading, rather then using the term caucasian, as it leads you to expect a very light skin tone. Italy is quite close to Africa, especially Sicily, and as a result, there is indeed African genes in the majority of southern Italian and Sicilian families (much to the chagrin of my racist Sicilian grandpop!)

Answer 9

why the nazi germans, who based their regime on the racist theories of white supremacy, were allied with italians in the WWII???

i think you are the standard american dumb who never gone in europe

"i've had several Italian friends and they all say different things" i guess you are speaking about italian americans, that are not real italians

Answer 10

White is just a color ... Italian is a nationality ...



So I guess the answer would be no ???



Theres probally black people who were born in Italy which that would make them Italian ... So I say no.



???

Answer 11

the whole race labeling system is stupid, but they go under the caucasoid catagory so yes. even if theyre bone structure and skin was out of the box. they are on of the few reasons why race labeling causes conflict and confusion :-/

Answer 12

In Amerca yes. Just recently though.

Answer 13

yes, but if we acept italians we might as well accept certain middle easters like people from iran, and afghanistan too.



iranian- http://ivmp.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/36_861003_l600.jpg

he looks very italian, but he is iranian



italians are caucasoid but they have different features from other europeans. for example, italians tend to have longer noses, darker hair, and denser eyebrows, and more body hair, very much like certain middle easterns

Answer 14

yes

Answer 15

I wholly agree; after all olive is some sort of green, isn't it?

Answer 16

No, we are GREEN, not white, but GREEN !

Greetings from Italy '

Answer 17

considerd humans