Wow. An interesting Snopes link...

[conuly]

Well, not really interesting, but I thought some people might be interested in it regardless. It's about fraternal twins who are, to the naked eye, two completely different races (despite having the same parents).

Of course, this also explains (I assume) why in non-mixed black families, you have children of all different colors - African-American people (excepting recent immigrants from Africa, who often don't seem to fall under the same heading, for reasons I don't understand if race is supposed to be a vaguely scientific instead of social concept) are all, to an extent, mixed (due of course to the tragic nature of slavery, do I have to say this?).

Comments

[leora.livejournal.com]

They're cute. But I wouldn't say the black baby has all-black genes, as she doesn't look that dark.

It's really not that shocking except that our culture is screwed up. Coloring, as far as I know (with a big I don't know much and there is much no one knows yet) works a lot like height. And no one is that surprised if one sibling turns out to be short and another tall. It takes longer to find out, but it's not hugely bizarre, and this is pretty much equivalent to that.

[maelorin]

genetics is cool.

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

I knew a set of fraternal twins in high school -- mother Korean, father Anglo -- the girl looked "white" and her twin brother looked "Asian."

And on the subject of race: I have a friend who on the 2000 US Census, with its 19 or so different categories, still didn't have a category for her. She was Kenyan, black, non-American. There was African-American and Black Hispanic. But no category for plain old "African."

I also know a woman who was born and raised in Zimbabwe. She is white. She now lives in the US. If she becomes a US citizen, will she be African-American?

Yah. This is why I refuse to answer the "race" category.

[leora.livejournal.com]

They're cute. But I wouldn't say the black baby has all-black genes, as she doesn't look that dark.

It's really not that shocking except that our culture is screwed up. Coloring, as far as I know (with a big I don't know much and there is much no one knows yet) works a lot like height. And no one is that surprised if one sibling turns out to be short and another tall. It takes longer to find out, but it's not hugely bizarre, and this is pretty much equivalent to that.

[maelorin]

genetics is cool.

[jedirita.livejournal.com]

I knew a set of fraternal twins in high school -- mother Korean, father Anglo -- the girl looked "white" and her twin brother looked "Asian."

And on the subject of race: I have a friend who on the 2000 US Census, with its 19 or so different categories, still didn't have a category for her. She was Kenyan, black, non-American. There was African-American and Black Hispanic. But no category for plain old "African."

I also know a woman who was born and raised in Zimbabwe. She is white. She now lives in the US. If she becomes a US citizen, will she be African-American?

Yah. This is why I refuse to answer the "race" category.