Are Romanians White?

Question

Are Romanians considered white/caucasian? This boy who is a friend of mine is Romanian and he says that he isn't white. He looks like a typical dark-skinned greek or Italian (maybe even darker), with dark hair and dark eyes. He tells me that whenever someone see's him they mistake him for a hispanic or a light-skinned black. He also says that since he and his family look nothing like white people that Romanians shouldn't be considered white, or caucasian because the terms are misued in the U.S.

Yes, he does have ancestry of Gypsies.

Answer 1

Romanians are white, Caucasians. Their population also includes a large number of Gypsies. Gypsies are a mixed race that originate from India. Your friend may have some Gypsy blood.

It is important to note that you don't have to be "white" to be Caucasian. Greeks, Turks, Sicilian, are all Caucasian.

Answer 2

Are Romanians White

Answer 3

I'm sure Romania like many countries throughout the world have immigration and thus now have 'Romanians' who are born white, black, and all the united colors of Benetton. I even have an Israeli friend who puts herself as white even though she has olive skin, dark hair, dark eyes and looks very Middle Eastern. My personal take is that I agree with him although for a different reason. I think the need to label race proves to be devisive and our world has changed so that this vast generalizations of race are of no longer any use. There are very asian looking people in Russia. There are black people in the Philippines and there are white people in Africa. Whether Romanians should be considered white is completely dependent on whether he is white not that he is Romanian.

Answer 4

Romanians are white and Gypsies of Europe are non-White.Gypsies are Indian.
Romanians also have zero nationalism and patriotism and thats the reason they will vanish as ethnic group in less than 50-90 years.

Answer 5

The trouble is that "whites" aren't white - if they are then they are dead. The skin of most caucasians is more or less pink. People from Southern Europe tend to have a darker skin colour, but that's just an average judgment. Some Greeks are really light-skinned and fair-haired, while I've seen Swedes with a really dark complexion.
Roumanians look like most other South Europeans, mostly with more or less dark hair. But, as I said, you'll find other people too.

Answer 6

The choice of 'Caucasian' as a racial distinction was phenomenally poor 'science' from the 17- and 1800s. (The 'explanation' was based on a single skull and the ideology behind it was a romanticized quest for 'racial purity'). The term was abandoned long ago. For a potted history, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_race
(look under Origins of the term)

The Caucasus region holds the states of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia and several Russia republics including Chechnya. The cultural diversity of the area is tremendous. The term 'Caucasian' is best limited to the peoples, cultures and geography of this region.
For maps, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_peoples
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus

Anthropologists, linguists and geneticists have dropped the concept of race altogether. It is so incredibly misleading. But the rest of us persist in trying to stick each other in these ridiculous boxes.

Your friend is saying that his experience doesn't fit in a box. That's far more accurate than any label.

Answer 7

unfortunately, princess_dnb, you have no clue about Romanians history and culture. You might wanna change your source, or your studies are in vain. The neo word for gypsies is 'Rrom' not 'Rrom', a nonsense word introduced in order to combat discrimination but to make a difference beetween them and Romanians. I call it nonsense because proud gypsies will always call themselves gypsies not rrom. It is a big difference in appearance, skin color, language, wearings, culture in general, because gypsies origins are in India. You can find similarities if you do a bit of proper research.

Answer 8

Caucasian is actually a term that is used to describe people from the Caucus Mountain region. (Near Russia). It has been turned into a generic term meaning white to most people (especially Americans). Since Romania is in that general area, he may take offense to that because he is not from the Caucus area, but actually Romania. It's like saying someone is from Georgia when they are really from Louisiana. Same general area, but totally different.

I work with a woman who is "off the boat" Romanian and she is as "white" as they come. I think people get tied up in generalizing about a culture.

A lot of the Eastern European culters were nomadic at different periods in time. They were also conquered by many other cultures over and over again. This can account for different appearances amongst Romanians.

Finally, in regards to the "Gypsy" comment, the word you were looking for is Rom, not gypsy. Rom are no different than other Eastern Europeans in regards to appearances. It's more of a lifestyle than an ethinicity. Do a bit of research on the Rom. It's pretty interesting.

Answer 9

Well, obviously we are white. The boy you are talking about must be a romanian gypsy or something.

Answer 10

Romanians are white but half of them have Gypsy blood they are unaware of. Inna, Alexandra Stan etc. look Gypsy to me.