{"id":336,"date":"2024-08-28T18:51:15","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T22:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/abrdietetics\/?post_type=chapter&p=336"},"modified":"2026-08-16T17:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T21:35:27","slug":"2-3-what-is-whiteness","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/abrdietetics\/chapter\/2-3-what-is-whiteness\/","title":{"raw":"1.3: What is Whiteness?","rendered":"1.3: What is Whiteness?"},"content":{"raw":"

Why don't we use the term \"Caucasian\"?<\/h1>\r\nThe term \u201cCaucasian\u201d was introduced in the late eighteenth century by German anatomist and anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach. Through his study of human skulls, he proposed that there were 5 distinct human groups, including \"Caucasian,\" \"Ethiopian, \u201cOriental,\u201d \u201cMalay,\u201d and \u201cRed\".<\/span> Then he concluded that people from the Caucasus region\u2014located between the Black and Caspian Seas and including parts of present-day Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan\u2014possessed the most symmetrical and aesthetically \u201cideal\u201d cranial features. Based on these assumptions, he identified the \u201cCaucasian variety\u201d as the original and most aesthetically desirable form of humanity (Picart, Bonner & Sandhu, 2025; <\/span>Polluck, 2008; Shamambo & Henry, 2022).\r\n\r\nBlumenbach\u2019s classification system emerged within the broader context of eighteenth-century racial science, which sought to categorize human populations into biologically determined, hierarchical racial groups. Contemporary genetic research has since overwhelmingly discredited the concept of biological race as scientifically invalid (Polluck, 2008).\r\n\r\nToday, the term \u201cCaucasian\u201d is widely recognized as a remnant of colonial-era racial classification systems that were used to legitimize ideologies of white superiority. As a result, many anthropologists, sociologists, and medical organizations discourage its use because of its historical association with racism and colonialism (Shamambo & Henry, 2022).\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_1969\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"658\"]\"19th-century 19th-century racist illustration arguing for the superiority of \"Anglo-Teutonic\" over \"Negro\" and \"Irish Iberian\". \"Scientific Racism-Irish\" by Jason Quest is licensed under Public Domain[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIf you would like to expand your understanding of the history of scientific racism in Canada, here are some resources to get you started:\r\n