A statistext is a

demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...

category that is artificially contrived in pursuit of a political or ideological goal, particularly when categories are created that respondents would not otherwise apply to themselves. This 1993 publication is based on a conference held in 1992. The term was created by Audrey Kobayashi, a Canadian geographer, in 1992.

Canada

Legal definitions

The ''Employment Equity Act'' of 1995 contains a definition of visible minority: This definition can be traced back to the 1984 Report of the Abella Commission on Equality in Employment. The Commission described the term visible minority as an "ambiguous categorization", but for practical purposes interpreted it to mean "visibly non-white". The Canadian government uses an

operational definition An operational definition specifies concrete, replicable procedures designed to represent a construct. In the words of American psychologist S.S. Stevens (1935), "An operation is the performance which we execute in order to make known a concept." F ...

where they classify as visible minorities the following groups: ''Blacks, Chinese, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, Latin Americans, Pacific Islanders, South Asians'', and ''West Asians/Arabs.'' However, a few exceptions are applied to some groups, according to the explanation given by the ''Visible Minority Population and Population Group Reference Guide'' of the 2006 Census: The use of the term "non-white" controversially refers to those who are not considered by the Canadian government to be Caucasian, and does open the door to ambiguity. For example, people who are Lebanese, Berber, Latin American or South Asian may consider themselves to be white, yet the federal government forcibly imposes upon Arabs and Latin Americans the status of being visible minorities.

Examples of use

Examples of statistexts used by the Canadian government include the forced categorization of non-Europeans as "

visible minorities In Canada, a visible minority () is defined by the Government of Canada as "persons, other than aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour". The term is used primarily as a demographic category by Statistics Canada ...

", particularly Caucasians from

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. Another example of a statistext is the category "Canadian" as an ethnic choice on Canadian census forms. One demographer has speculated that as an ethnic identity, respondents might choose this to voice patriotism, or to rebel against ethnic classification, or to voice an anti-separatist opinion, and furthermore, that the term has very different connotations in English versus French. (See footnote 5 in.) An earlier version with a slightly different title is available a

These terms do not match the nomenclature such individuals would ordinarily apply to themselves, although sometimes statistexts gain acceptance among the people to whom the term is applied. The nomenclature of minority groups has a number of effects. Statistexts can empower some ethnic or linguistic minorities in some instances, while marginalizing and prejudicing them in others. Some may be demoralized by the nomenclature applied to them, as when a Canadian feels the government-imposed "visible minority" label highlights one’s "outsider" or "exotic" background. In other instances, nomenclature applied to a minority group may enable them to present a united front for political mobilization. Another problem is that these categories lump together distinct groups that might otherwise not perceive each other together in the same group.

Statistexts as state-sanctioned racism

The classification "visible minorities" has attracted controversy. In March 2007, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) is a United Nations convention. A third-generation human rights instrument, the Convention commits its members to the elimination of racial discr ...

described the term as racist because it singles out a group. Another criticism arises regarding the composition of "visible minorities" as defined by the Canadian government. Critics have noted that the groups comprising "visible minorities" have little in common with each other, as they include some disadvantaged ethnic groups and other groups who are not disadvantaged. The concept of visible minority has been cited in demography research as an example of a statistext, i.e. a census category created for a particular public policy purpose. Since 2008, census data and media reports have suggested that the "visible minorities" label no longer makes sense in some large Canadian cities due to immigration trends in recent decades. For example, "visible minorities" actually comprise the ''majority'' of the population in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, Markham,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

, Greater Vancouver A, and

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. However, the term "visible minority" is used for the administration of the ''Employment Equity Act'', and refers to its statistical reality in Canada as a whole and not any particular region.

United States

In the United States, examples would be

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

Pacific Islander American Pacific Islander Americans (also colloquially referred to as Islander Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the Indigenous peoples of Oceania). For its purposes, the United States census also cou ...

and

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans with ancestry from the continent of Asia (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of those immigrants). Although this term had historically been used fo ...

. The word "Indian", allegedly created by

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

for the

Indigenous people of the Americas In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

may be considered as another example of a statistext.

References