Toward a theory of prenatal racism

While research on racism has a long history in the social sciences (Wilson 1978; McCleveland 1946; Mammogram 1963), relatively little attention has been devoted to racist child-birth patterns within America. This phenomenon, what I will forthwith refer to as Prenatal Racism, occurs when two parents of the same race/ethnicity give birth to a child of the same race/ethnicity.

Further, I suggest that as the parents’ fecundity increases, so does the potentially overt discrimination. In other words, if Alex and Sue are Caucasian and have two Caucasian babies, that is suspicious, but incipiently ambiguous. However, if Alex and Sue have five Caucasian babies, then we can reasonably observe a Prenatally Racist pattern. One may be an anomaly, two a suspicion, three a pattern, four a lifestyle and so on.

My arguments concerning Prenatal Racism are further buttressed by the fact that families of Mixed Ethnic Parentage are more likely to have children who displayed ethnically mixed characteristics. Research has shown, for example, that a black man and white woman rarely, if ever, produce an offspring entirely of one or the other race/ethnicity (Simpit 1953). I suggest that this phenomenon is due to more tolerant prenatal choices—the family producing such offspring is of mixed heritage and is more likely to exhibit openness to other races. On the other hand, I suggest that parents of the same race/ethnicity will be less likely to tolerate skin colors different from their own, and thereby, will be more likely to produce children of the same race/ethnicity. Thus, confirming their prenatal racism.

Stay tuned for the full paper, to be published in a leading journal this fall.

Best,

Prof F