Are Middle Easterners considered white?

People in the middle east are Caucasian.

Considered by who?

Some Middle Easterners are very light in colour, so they may look white.

Yes, people from the Middle East are white, unless we are talking about someone transplanted who just happens to live in there and they are actually East Asian or black. For instance, we can’t say north Americans are all white, but the way we use the term Middle East currently, they would be white. My husband is Mexican and his national background is half Middle Eastern, quarter Spanish, quarter French. On the US census he is Mexican and Caucasian. The definitions for these things are kind of archaic now in my opinion.

If you are American, Asian means East Asian, which is the old Oriental (places like Japan, China, Vietnam, etc.). If you are talking about the continent of Asia, you would have to throw continent in there to clarify you mean the continent. It’s a matter of communicating well, rather than knowing geography well. The Middle East is in Asia, but no one uses Asian to describe a Middle Easterner. Not in America. Other countries might use the words differently.

I’m not sure what ‘considered white’ means. In terms of colour they are naturally darker than Europeans or white Americans. To say you consider someone to be Middle Eastern or Asian, again I am not sure what this could mean other than they come from that part of the world.

@JLeslie I disagree.

I work in a hospital in NY. People from the Middle East have their race entered as Asian on their hospital demographic flowsheets. Same with birth certificates for new babies born of a mom from the Middle East.

I would think the birth certificate would follow a nation-wide definition.

They are Asian.

@Cupcake I think they are Asian too, Well, actually I am not sure I agree they are Asian race, just from Asia, but anyway, say Asian to almost anyone and they are only thinking what used to be considered Oriental. Indians are Asian too. I think NY is in a class by itself to be honest. I think my sister enters Asian also for Middle East and maybe even east Russia, we talked about it once a while back. But, I don’t think that is a US standard. On the census Middle Easterner countries are not listed under Asian. There is a write in section of course, but I doubt people write it in. I really paused when I was filling it in for my husband. I mean, if we stand next to each other we look like we are from different parts of the world for sure. He has different genetic health risks than me because of the different regions we are from. I have no problem saying he is a different race, but the US considers people in the mediteranean region white as far as I know. Is someone Sicilian white? Israeli? Spanish if they are dark? It would be interesting to know what nurses in other states write.

Here are the current definitions in the US.

I realized I could have linked the Census form since I referred to it. It basically says the same as the other link, althought the other link specifically says Middle East is considered white. If enough Middle Easterners start coming to America they might start getting a separate category I guess. If the government becomes interested in tracking them as a group. It will be interesting if they put it under race or make it a category like Hispanic.

@JLeslie Huh… Interesting. I wonder why we classify so differently than others. I am surprised.

@Cupcake I’m not sure you do. I don’t know what other hospitals do. It’s like there is some law either. Pretty much people identify however they identify at this point, it isn’t like the race police are out there somewhere. Were you trained on how to classify people? Possibly all hospitals associated with yours under the same parent company do it that way across the nation, or maybe all hospitals do period. The only time it really gets into technicalities is when the person wants some entitlements. Like Native Americans get free college tuition and other benefits, they have to prove their lineage. I guess if for some reason a person claiming black or Hispanic and receiving some sort of minority benefit came into question maybe they would have to show some proof? Not sure. I never heard of those minorities being challenged. Maybe we should do a Q?

My boyfriend is 100% Armenian. His Armenian parents came here from Syria in the 60s. His race is caucasian, as is in his medical records here on Massachusetts.

My Lebonese stepfather always considered himself caucasian, too.

Yes. Middle Eastern people are considered Caucasians, which makes them white in the most commonly accepted sense of the term. However, their skin tone runs the gamut from dark tan to pale, so not all of them will have a light complexion.

If you look at the history of defining race it had to do with the shape of the face more than the color of the skin.