Brazilian racial labels shift with the white evaluator’s goodwill

Evidence

There is a saying in Brazil: “If you’re not white you’re black.” That’s not really true, you know. Here, you can be other things, like me, I’m a moreno. But to a white man, I’m a moreno only if he likes me; if he doesn’t like me, I’m a mulatto, or I’m even a preto. They play that game, you know? I guess the real saying should be, “If you’re not white, you lose.” — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3635 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Brazil’s racial democracy celebrated mixture while keeping whiteness as the standard of value; Brazil’s nominal racial democracy masks stark black-white structural disparities; Brazilian racial categories shift with a white person’s disposition toward you — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3635 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Brazilian racial categories shift with a white person’s disposition toward you #expands (0.95) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 3635