inequalities are “natural” (Bonilla-Silva 2006). In developing one of the first White racial
identity models (debated in Rowe & Atkinson 1995), Helms (1993) argues that, for Whites,
racial identity is about their perceptions, feelings, and behaviors toward other ethnic groups
rather than their perceptions of their own ethnicity. This presupposes an absence of actual ethnic
identity among Whites; presuming that Whiteness is merely the by-product of perceived
difference.
Scholars who have taken interest in the ethnic identity of white Americans have
documented its changing meaning and increasing importance (Alba 1990; Waters 1990; Kelly
1993, 1994; Drzewiecka and Lau 1999). Nagel points out that the contradiction with research
which also indicates a blurring of ethnic boundaries points to ethnicity as increasingly symbolic
(Gans 1979). In one of these works, Alba (1990) illustrates that ethnic identities are no longer
situated in ethnic social structures and have instead taken on symbolic form, which are easily
reshaped depending on the social context. He offers an example of European immigrants’
conversion to “European-Americans” to provide themselves with a broader, more comfortable
base as the nonwhite American population grows.
In tandem with the work on symbolic ethnicity, Waters (1990) was also concerned with
“identity shifts.” She problematizes the tenacity with which people cling to ethnic identities,
pointing out that the benefits of ethnic identifications are negligible for white people and
potentially harmful for people of color. She argues that ethnicity is something that people adopt
or neglect according to their own whims. She illustrates the process by which people of multiple
ethnic heritages switch back and forth between the ethnicity that they feel is most salient at the
moment (see also Nagel 1994). Hout and Goldstein (1994) assert that while most white
Americans are the descendents of Europeans, few are actually children of immigrants.
6
Convention