The Myth Of White People - 1258 Words

The notion of â€Å"white people† has made a lasting impression in history both by their greatest achievements but also their long history with slavery. So much so, that many believe that there is everything to know about white people and giving them more attention than needed be was ethnocentric. In reality the idea and history of white people is very much unexplored. For a â€Å"race† that predominately have made breakthroughs in the sciences, it is relatively unknown of their past. Understanding the origins of this â€Å"race† would help immensely into why white people came to the understanding and acceptance that they were the superior race. Before whiteness was made into a racial category there was no such race or society named as white.†¦show more content†¦Winckelmann’s fascination with Greek beauty created a new white aesthetic to what in modern times call white people. Greek statues of the gods were carved in marble and people saw this wh iteness as a beauty ideal of the Greeks for which they hold great respect towards them for their intellect. Race was shaping into a physical appearance. Racial identity â€Å"Caucasian† was deep-seated in the book of Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, On the Natural Variety of Mankind, he saw it necessary to rank skin color hierarchically. At the top was the â€Å"white people† who he named Caucasian. A Caucasian had rosy cheeks, white skin and other features were listed. He was a scientist, so the concept of beauty was certified a racial trait and being Caucasian was the beauty ideal, this idea has adhered to this term throughout all these years. Being Caucasian was a name that Blumenbach attached whiteness to, mysteriously enough they were not originally â€Å"Caucasian.† Caucasian was the name for people who lived in Caucasus, ergo it is odd that these Europeans wanted to call themselves that when they were not even from that area. The intriguing part of this whol e decision to name â€Å"whiteness† a race is that European scholars were so assured and self centered that their unawareness of what they have done would be later reflected in later years. Racial hierarchy was the dominant form of classifying individuals in societies. The odalisques represented the ideal of white