Ethnic option is a term coined by sociologist
Mary C. Waters to express her conception that ethnic identity of the descendants of
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
European immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
is flexible, symbolic and voluntary, not a definitive aspect of their identity. Waters argues that with the achievement of middle-class suburban status, ethnicity becomes a lifestyle option, a costless form of community.
See also
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Acting white
In the United States, acting white is a pejorative term, usually applied to black people, which refers to a person's perceived betrayal of their culture by assuming the social expectations of white society.
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Cultural appropriation
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European Americans
European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent E ...
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Symbolic ethnicity
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White ethnic
White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...
References
American middle class
Ethnicity
Middle class culture
Suburban culture
White American culture
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