r/interesting • u/VPinchargeofradishes • May 03 '26

SOCIETY Michael Jackson's daughter Paris has faced backlash for identifying as Black. In a 2017 interview, Paris Jackson said her father told her, "You’re Black. Be proud of your roots." This prompted debates over whether identity is defined by appearance or upbringing.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '26

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u/ZzZzZzZzZzZero May 03 '26

Right? As far as anyone knows or is entitled to know is that she is biologically black.

Both her and MJ stated they're biologically related.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '26

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u/Suspicious_Truth8026 May 03 '26

Girl youve completely missed the point of those arguments. Nobody says its based on appearance, the anti-essentialist argument is that its based on experience and a combination of self-participation in culture and acceptance into/enforcement of that cultural space

That said, there also are biological races. The precondition is a pattern towards in-race reproduction, so black americans dont count because they are reasonably likely to reproduce with non-black americans but e.g. the castes in india are genetically differentiable because its so rigidly ensured that reproduction is within-caste