Are Spaniards white?

[MentalGiant]

Anyone of a European background is considered "white" regardless if they are pale skinned or not. My husband has a lot of Spanish in him. His skin is brown, his hair is very dark brown and his eyes are very dark brown. I am of (to the best of my knowledge) German, Irish and Swedish decent. Next to me, my husband isn't white. Even the parts of him that don't get tanned in the sun aren't as light as I am. 

The reason I made this thread is because when taking about history, all of the evils of the Spanish empires get thrown into the evils of "white history" bit when we talk about Americans of Spanish descent then there a non white group that must be protected. A clear answer to this would be great.

Most Spaniards (from Spain) don't look like hispanics or latinos. No one cares if Spaniards are a protected class, it's the hispanics and latinos they're talking about. Hispanics/latinos (for the most part) have similar skin/hair/eye colors, but different facial features, build ect... Yes, hispanics and latinos have some Spanish blood and often spanish last names because of the inquisition, but they also have pre-european native genes in them too.

[Regina]

Latin America is perhaps the most racially diverse region on the planet. There are white people in Latin America who are mostly or totally of European ancestry (especially in Argentina, where whites are a majority, as well as a large minority of Brazilians). There are also Africans, Natives, and people who are a mixture of two or even all three of these races.

That's why the American classification of a "Latino race" is silly. It's like referring to everyone born in The USA, regardless of their race, as one "American" race, or calling them "English" just because that's the language most of them speak. I feel like referring to all Latin Americans as this homogeneous "brown" group erases the important fractious race and class politics that ravage the region (far more severe than in The USA). Countries like Brazil (not Hispanic, but Latino) have immense issues with class politics and societal divisions. If you are a Brazilian, then the idea of Americans seeing you as one homogeneous group is downright baffling. I think this is one of the best examples of what poor geographical knowledge The USA (stereotypically) tends to have of other countries.

[Lemonvariable72]

Latin America is perhaps the most racially diverse region on the planet. There are white people in Latin America who are mostly or totally of European ancestry (especially in Argentina, where whites are a majority, as well as a large minority of Brazilians). There are also Africans, Natives, and people who are a mixture of two or even all three of these races.

That's why the American classification of a "Latino race" is silly. It's like referring to everyone born in The USA, regardless of their race, as one "American" race, or calling them "English" just because that's the language most of them speak. I feel like referring to all Latin Americans as this homogeneous "brown" group erases the important fractious race and class politics that ravage the region (far more severe than in The USA). Countries like Brazil (not Hispanic, but Latino) have immense issues with class politics and societal divisions. If you are a Brazilian, then the idea of Americans seeing you as one homogeneous group is downright baffling. I think this is one of the best examples of what poor geographical knowledge The USA (stereotypically) tends to have of other countries.

I actually made a another thread on this, specifically why the term people of color is ignorant and silly

[Wyrd of Gawd]

My experience in Spain was that most Spaniards were about as white as myself, though blonde hair and blue eyes were pretty rare.

Are Basques Spanish?

[Regina]

My experience in Spain was that most Spaniards were about as white as myself, though blonde hair and blue eyes were pretty rare.

Are Basques Spanish?

They get Spanish nationality because they're born in "Spain", but they're highly nationalistic about their Basque heritage and wouldn't like being called Spanish. Same with a lot of the Catalans, they would have an independent Catalan state in a heartbeat if Spain would let them.

You also have the culturally distinct Celtic Galicians of North-Western Spain, although (might be wrong on this) I don't think they're quite so eager for independence.

So long story short, Spain is really not homgeneous at all, and probably the most fractious country in Western Europe today.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Are Basques Spanish?

They get Spanish nationality because they're born in "Spain", but they're highly nationalistic about their Basque heritage and wouldn't like being called Spanish. Same with a lot of the Catalans, they would have an independent Catalan state in a heartbeat if Spain would let them.

You also have the culturally distinct Celtic Galicians of North-Western Spain, although (might be wrong on this) I don't think they're quite so eager for independence.

So long story short, Spain is really not homgeneous at all, and probably the most fractious country in Western Europe today.

So you've just answered the OP.

[Regina]

They get Spanish nationality because they're born in "Spain", but they're highly nationalistic about their Basque heritage and wouldn't like being called Spanish. Same with a lot of the Catalans, they would have an independent Catalan state in a heartbeat if Spain would let them.

You also have the culturally distinct Celtic Galicians of North-Western Spain, although (might be wrong on this) I don't think they're quite so eager for independence.

So long story short, Spain is really not homgeneous at all, and probably the most fractious country in Western Europe today.

So you've just answered the OP.

Well not really, the OP was just asking if Spanish people are white, which there's no right or wrong answer to. I simply said the region we call "Iberia" (which includes Portuguese and South-Western French people too) is very diverse culturally, which is a fact and not really debateable.

[bennyboy]

Only if they vote Republican. Just saying.

[Dystopia]

I'm Portuguese and I've always considered myself white. I have found no reason not to, at least considering the social construction that is whiteness. Portuguese and Spanish owned slaves under the pretense that we were better and should educate Africans, we were no better or worse than central or northern Europeans. There's nothing wrong at all in saying we are white - Some Portuguese refer to themselves as latino but it has little to do with race, it has more to do with language culture. I think people can be reacist towards each other inside the same ethnic group. You can find lots of Spanish with blonde hair and blue eyes, it's not that uncommon - No group is homogeneous, there's always diversity. There's Portuguese people with blonde hair who resemble Vikings and there's others like me who fit the ethnic background of someone like Al Pacino. It just depends. But if the question is about slavery and justifying it, yes we are in the same boat as other Europeans - There's no reason for PC culture to treat Portuguese immigrants as oppressed just because we have a different language

[Regina]

I think it depends. Yes it's clear Portuguese and Spanish played a massive role in the subjugation of other people historically, but then I also think there are still deep-rooted prejudices against Southern Europeans within Northern European culture. We look at things too simply these days, just because the Spanish and the Portuguese had empires, that doesn't mean Southern Europeans are respected and treated well among Northern Europeans. There has been a long history of Northern European superiority complex and seeing Southern Europeans as "tainted" white people. It's rampant in Nazi ideology and was there in British colonialism too. "White" is used as a unifying word that homogenises us. It puts me in the same category as ethnically British people, who colonised "my country" (Malta).

Growing up Southern European in the UK, I've seen it. I'm pretty sure some (not all) British people have this really rigid image in their minds of what I'm supposed to be; brown-skinned, thick as shit, flapping like I've come straight out of a telenovela. I get to enjoy the look of utter bemusement and confusion on their faces when they're met with a very pale-skinned, blue eyed boy who speaks English as a first language better than they do. Granted, I do consider myself white (who wouldn't looking at me, tbh) so my experience is not one of severe racial oppression by any means. But in terms of stereotypes it is there and it's real.