Perceived physical differences are themselves shaped by cultural and economic status

Evidence

In practice, the distinction between a racial and an ethnic group is sometimes blurred by several facts. Cultural traits are often regarded as genetic and inherited (e.g., body odor, which is a function of diet, cosmetics, and other cultural items); physical appearance can be culturally changed (by scarification, surgery, and cosmetics); and the sensory perception of physical differences is affected by cultural perceptions of race (e.g. a rich Negro may be seen as lighter than an equally dark poor Negro, as suggested by the Brazilian proverb: “Money bleaches”). However, the distinction between race and ethnicity remains analytically useful, (van den Berghe, 1967:10) In other words, van den Berghe’s demarcation between race and ethnicity may rest on what is really a blurry and dynamic line at best. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 709

Categorization

• CANDY: The Brazilian proverb ‘Money bleaches’ is a compact, shareable illustration that economic status changes how dark-skinned people are perceived.
• XREF: Connects to broader sociology of perception and to scholarship on how ‘race’ is visually constructed (e.g., racial passing, skin-color stratification research). — connects to: The same physical effort presents completely different phenomenological experiences to different people. — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 389; Intimate bodily togetherness flattens perceived racial difference — Amit Singh, “Carnal conviviality” and the end of…, 18; Lifestyle differences between status tiers are structurally inevitable — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 146 (+1 more)