hyperdescent

Etymology

From hyper- + descent.

Why this word is great

HYPERDESCENT — [Noun] The practice of classifying a child of mixed race ancestry into the more socially dominant of the parents' races. From hyper- ("over, above") + descent ("lineage, ancestry"), it is the arithmetic of privilege made flesh. Unlike "hypodescent" (which presses downward into marginalization) or "self-identification" (which asserts autonomy), hyperdescent is the silent machinery of assimilation, a societal sleight of hand. It is the light-skinned child ushered into whiteness, the colonial surname erasing the indigenous one, the unspoken rule that some blood is worth more than others—a quiet violence dressed as elevation.

noun

The practice of classifying a child of mixed race ancestry into the more socially dominant of the parents' races.“In contrast, American Indians have generally been identified by hyperdescent, a principle that stipulates some minimum amount of ancestry as a necessary condition for qualification.”