Change of Ethnicity Form

[gusl]

Change of Ethnicity Form (stolen from isomorphisms.org)

By the way, are there any bureaucratic barriers preventing me from claiming to be say, a gay black female? It could be advantageous for the sort of positions I'm interested in. Lay non-American readers, look up "affirmative action".

Comments

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

Wait, you're considered Latino, right? But not Hispanic. And who's to stop you from being gay; it's not like they have any way to verify that.

I doubt affirmative action will be around much longer, in any case. It's already been dismantled in California, Michigan I think, and probably some other states.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I'm considered whatever you want to consider me.
You can see my picture on this post, and you know that my first name ends with an "o". I can also tell you that my family is probably more than 90% of Portuguese origins, and that I was born in Brazil.

Most of the time I can get away with not answering the ethnicity question. If I'm asked, I'll provide the questioner with information to decide. If they don't want to decide for me, and I *still* have to choose a box (I think this happened exactly once), I'll probably say "white".

[alsoname.livejournal.com]

I was just trying to address what you said about how changing your ethnicity could be 'advantageous' for you. I take it your opinion on ethnic categorizations is a negative one?

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

yes

[thepublicguy.livejournal.com]

Couldn't you use the Latino box? Just because they assume it's all Spanish doesn't mean you can't use it.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

I probably could. But it's not as advantageous as being black.

Re:

[thepublicguy.livejournal.com]

In that case, you'll have to Photoshop your picture.

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

I think that bureaucrats would have a problem with 'female'.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

The interesting question is whether they would put me through an examination. Of course, if were indeed "female", this would be abusive. And I could claim that.

[candid.livejournal.com]

I have it on reasonable authority that if you apply to grad school and check, for instance, "African-American," the school isn't allowed to question you.

In other words, if you say you're black, then for the school's purposes you're black.

(This gives me some ideas.)

The only one you can't claim to be is "Native American," because they can check that with tribal registries.

[gustavolacerda.livejournal.com]

Some white people in Brazil (especially in Bahia)claim to have a "black soul", and it's not meant as a joke.

[thepublicguy.livejournal.com]

During a holiday in Rio, I somehow picked a Portuguese phrase which I remembered in Spanish as "Sonria, Sonria, como si fuera de Bahia".

I used this on a white Brazilian girl up at the statue of Christ but for some reason she didn't smile.