The skin functions as the governing signifier of racial states

Evidence

One of the privileges of whiteness is the uncontested association of it with citizenship and its unquestioned rights to resources (Garner 2006): you are viewed and treated like a valued member of society, something that has been denied to racialized groups in the United States. Racialization of culture is not a new phenomenon. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva argues white Americans participate in cultural racism toward African Americans, where cultural differences replace biological differences. For example, the stereotype of African Americans as lazy or not hard working is attributed to deficiencies in black culture, so they are blamed for any inequities in education and wealth (Bonilla-Silva 2002). The pitting of Muslim values against American values is another example of cultural racism. Cultural racism does not replace the reality that skin tone still matters in a racialized society but highlights the importance of racialized cultural attributes. — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 299 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Racialized societies compel even resistance into skin-based codes — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1502; The racial state is instrumental in forming subjects and their bodies — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1707; The skin functions as the organizing referent of a political theology of race — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1501 (+13 more)

Broader Connections

• Racial identity as a sign must give way to positional, political subjectivities #complicates (0.78)
• Cultural attributes can be racialized even when skin tone matches whiteness #complicates (0.76) — Saher Selod, Forever Suspect_ Racialized…, 299
• The hijab functions like skin tone by marking bodies as racial others #complicates (0.75)
• Race operates to tie culture, body, and behavior together #complicates (0.74)