Iranians functioned as a racial hinge in early naturalization cases.

Evidence

Chapter 2 offers a chronological account of Iranian racial construction in the United States, dating back to the turn of the twentieth century. Long before their physical presence in America, Iranians had become racial hinges in the margins of racial prerequisite cases through which different populations’ claims for naturalization were predicated on an applicant’s ability to successfully prove his or her whiteness. Middle Easterners such as Syrians and Armenians sometimes successfully argued in court that their similarity to Europeans and dissimilarity from dark, “fire-worshipping,” and inassimilable Iranians was proof of Arab and Armenian whiteness. — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 69

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the key term ‘racial hinge’ — an essentialist identity device where one group’s whiteness is proven against another’s presumed non-whiteness.
• XREF: ‘Racial hinge’ is a core definitional tool for the reader’s mapping of essentialist identity positions; ties to race-prerequisite court doctrine literature. — connects to: Iran functioned as a racial hinge in US citizenship law — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 547; Iranians functioned as a racial hinge anchoring others’ claims to whiteness — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 117; Iran functioned as a racial hinge deciding Asian whiteness in US courts — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness: Iranian…, 70 (+2 more)
• QUESTION: Worth chasing the naturalization prerequisite cases (Ozawa, Thind lineage) as the formal legal substrate beneath ironic strategy.

Broader Connections

• Iran functioned as a racial hinge in US citizenship law #corroborates (0.95) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 547
• Iranians functioned as a racial hinge anchoring others’ claims to whiteness #expands (0.85) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 117
• Earlier immigrants argued their own whiteness by distancing from Iranians #expands (0.85) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 33
• Early US courts defined Middle Eastern whiteness by reference to Iranians. #corroborates (0.85) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 58
• Iran functioned as a racial hinge deciding Asian whiteness in US courts #qualifies (0.75) — Neda Maghbouleh, The Limits of Whiteness, 70