“Yet increasingly our obsession with whiteness is clashing with science and medicine, which have begun to question the idea that cleanliness and sterility—the values that give white its symbolic power—are better for our health. Hygiene is critical in certain contexts, like a hospital room, but carrying its power…
The Problem With White Dolls

I met my first Cabbage Patch Kid at show-and-tell in Kindergarten. Julie Jones brought in the cherubic April Lynn and passed her around. There must've been something slightly creepy about the way I fondled the doll's shiny plastic head and crunchy blond ringlets because before my time was up, Julie snatched her out of…
When It Comes to Weight Loss, Black Girls Don't Get as Much Out of Exercising
The general principle of losing weight — for everyone — seems to be eat less, exercise more. But a new study shows that when it comes to the effect of exercise on weight loss in adolescent girls, race matters. The researchers found that while there was a strong link between physical activity and weight loss in white…
Mitt Romney Seeks an 'Incredibly Boring White Guy' to be His Vice President
When it comes to his campaign for president, Mitt Romney will be damned if he's going to make the same mistakes as John McCain before him. Instead, he's committed himself to making all new, totally original gaffes. As anyone who was alive in 2008 will remember, one of McCain's most stunning errors was selecting a…
It Looks Like Girls Is Going to Have a Black Character After All
People have been talking 'til they're blue in the face about how HBO's Girls is so white, but it turns out we spoke too soon: there are going to be characters of all different races—and some of them aren't even 100 percent stereotypical. A tipster sent along this casting notice which proves the show has plans to…
Someone Paid an Insane Amount of Money for Marie Antoinette's Shoes
What is the most you would ever pay for a pair of shoes? Maybe $1,000 if they were so beautiful they made you cry? Well, one bidder at an auction just paid more than $57,000 (43,225 euros) on a pair of shoes that they'll probably never even wear. The shoes are believed to have belonged to Marie Antoinette.…
One of These Hillary Clintons Is Not Like the Others
Hillary Clinton showed up for a meeting of the G-20 Foreign Ministers in Mexico and lived every party guests' nightmare: wearing the wrong outfit. The State Department said there was no dress code issued that they'd missed; so it wasn't by design that she wore a bold color while everyone else wore boring old white.…
A Bunch of White Dudes Decide Who Wins at the Oscars
It's probably obvious to anyone who's ever watched the Oscars and constantly exclaimed, "What the f*&k?!" when the most boring, mediocre piece of crap cleans up in every category, but now a new study has confirmed that the people who decide the winners of the coveted movie industry awards are strikingly Caucasian and…
Arizona Politician Proposes a Special Holiday for White People
When it comes to holidays, the theory is generally that you can never have enough of them. Though one Arizona lawmaker might be pushing the limits of that rule. During a conversation on the floor of the Arizona House Rep. Richard Miranda proposed a Latino American Day in Arizona, to celebrate the accomplishments of…
Caffeine Messes With Your Hormones Differently Depending On Your Race
New research has found that young women who drink caffeinated beverages on the daily experience changes in hormone levels. How much will your Starbucks and Diet Coke addictions affect your chemical ladyhood? Like being arrested in Arizona, the way caffeine treats your lady hormones depends on your race.
Watch Rachel Dratch Lose Her Mind Trying to Name 20 Famous White People
Rachel Dratch is always a blast to watch, but Billy Eichner, of Billy on the Street, really brings out the best in her. He puts her in a Snuggie and gives her a simple challenge: name 20 famous white people. It proves to be a very difficult task for her. I won't spoil the ending, but suffice it to say, she must not…
My Son Thinks I'm White
Being ethnically ambiguous in 2011 is not as easy as it looks. Living in what some have deemed a "post-racial" society, it seems a mixed person would have it made. Technically I was born post-racial, right? Except our society is, of course, not post-racial. There are more mixed people and multi-racial families than…
I Wanted To Marry A Latino And Fell For A White Guy
In college there was no doubt in my mind that I would marry a Mexican. I didn't want my culture to be diluted. I wanted to live in a Spanish-speaking household. I wore Ché Guevara berets with rebozos and Tehuana blouses. I just stopped short of wearing a poncho and purchasing a donkey just to really make a point. I…
Race And Craigslist Dating: An Experiment
I'm a tall, half Asian woman. I'm a performing artist and a healer. I dance in nightclubs, as well as talk to people about their problems. I have tattoos. I dress in black and chrome a lot. I'm Buddhist. I speak Texan fluently. All of these could be qualifying or disqualifying factors depending on who you're talking…
The Racialization Of Mental Illness
In a new book called "The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia became a Black Disease," psychiatrist and cultural critic Jonathan Metzl draws on a variety of sources — patient records, psychiatric studies, racialized drug advertisements, and popular metaphors for madness — to contend that schizophrenia transformed…
How Different Races Intermarry
Recent studies show that inter-racial and -ethnic marriages are on the rise. Not all groups, however, intermarry at the same rate. Asians are more likely than Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites to marry someone of a different race or ethnicity.
Sandra Lee's Virginal White Fetish
In picture after picture, Sandra Lee is like a virgin. Suggests Stacey London, "there's the idea of purity and the fact they aren't married and she's trying to not look like the girlfriend."