whiteness

[ hwahyt-nis, wahyt- ]

noun

1. the quality or state of being white.
2. paleness.
3. purity.
4. a white substance.

Word History and Origins

Origin of whiteness¹

before 1000; Middle English whitenes, Old English hwītnes. See white, -ness

Example Sentences

Per Wayne State School of Law professor Khaled A. Beydoun, “Money drives the yearning for a white contender who can capture the imagination of new audiences and the maximum dollars only whiteness can bring.”

From Salon

Part of this white supremacist racial project involves making “whiteness” a prerequisite for citizenship and national belonging as established by the Supreme Court in the infamous Ozawa and Thind cases.

From Salon

“What a variety of whiteness we have here,” he said at the Zoom gathering, which raised about $4 million for the Democratic nominee’s campaign.

From Los Angeles Times

The racial hierarchy meant that the closer you were to whiteness, the more social capital you had.

From Salon

Census reports suggests that the old civic-cultural norm in “whiteness” is fading and that no other official color-coding can tell us who “we” really are.

From Salon