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Race and Ethnicity in the Twelve Colonies

2009-03-27T12:19:04Z

Colber:

:''This article discusses an aspect of the [[Re-imagined Series]] version of the Twelve Colonies. For information on the [[Original Series]] version, see [[The Twelve Colonies (TOS)]].''

''At Battlestar Wiki, we recognize that race is a problematic concept without any concrete biological definition. Nevertheless, the topic of racial identity in the [[The Twelve Colonies (RDM)|Twelve Colonies]] has proven of interest to many fans of the show. Therefore, this page serves to review the information available as best as possible.''

''In this article, we have chosen to indicate race by apparent region of origin, within the following broadly defined categories: European, (Sub-Saharan) African, Middle Eastern, South Asian, East Asian, and Native American / Amerindian. Where bi- or multi-racial individuals are noted, component ethnicities are listed in alphabetical order. Individuals of apparently [[Wikipedia:Hispanic|Hispanic]] appearance are noted as biracial Amerindian/Europeans. Issues relating to the Adama family are briefly discussed in their own section at the end of the article.''

Colonials of various races appear in the in the [[Re-imagined Series]]. As yet, no reference has been made to race, nor any allusions to racial identities or racial discrimination. Tensions between different ''colonies'' are portrayed, but there appears to be as much variation in race within colonies as there is between them. Thus, the writers use differences between the colonies, as exemplified by [[Gemenon]] and [[Sagittaron]], to mirror real-world race issues.<ref>In "[[The Woman King]]" [[Karl Agathon|Helo]] uses the term "racist" to describe the Sagittaron-hating [[Dr. Robert]].</ref>

The two finalists for the part of [[Kara Thrace|Starbuck]] were [[Grace Park]] and [[Katee Sackhoff]], implying that, for some parts at least, the producers employed [[w:Color-blind casting|color-blind casting]]. Nevertheless, analysis of the ethnic mix of the Twelve Colonies has intrigued fans of the series.

{{RDM twelve colonies series}}__TOC__
==Race and Nationality==
In general, no clear associations have been made between particular ethnic groups and individual colonies. Furthermore, there is some evidence within the series that race and colony of origin are not strongly correlated - when Baltar attempts to guess at Boomer's place of origin in "[[Flesh and Bone]]", he comments on her accent, not her physical appearance. For more on this, see the article [[Language in the Twelve Colonies]].

It is generally accepted that the Colonials originally emigrated from a single planet (i.e. Kobol and/or Earth). This being the case, it is entirely possible that the various apparent races are reasonably homogeneously distributed across all of the Twelve Colonies (i.e. there are both European and African Sagittarons, Gemenese, etc. rather than all of the Europeans coming from one tribe/colony, all the Asians from another, etc).

What follows is a list of individuals whose colony of origin has been unambiguously identified, along with their apparent ethnicity.

===Aerelon===
*[[Sharon Valerii]] - east Asian (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]] infiltrator)
*[[Sekou Hamilton]] - African
*[[Gaius Baltar]] - European
*[[Socinus]] - mixed race, Amerindian/European
*[[Saul Tigh]] - European (purported, actually a humanoid Cylon)

===Canceron===
*[[Robin Wenutu]] - European

===Caprica===
*[[William Adama]] - mixed race, Amerindian/European
:''The actor, Edward James Olmos, would probably be identified as "Latino", "mestizo", or "Hispanic". Olmos is a social activist working to help the Hispanic-American community, Olmos has made favorable remarks about having the opportunity to play one of the first significant Latino characters in space.''
*[[Carolanne Adama]] - European
**[[Lee Adama|Lee]] and [[Zak Adama]] - their children, see [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below.
*[[Laura Roslin]] - European
*[[Kara Thrace]] - European (Born on Picon according to Sky One; nomadic childhood; this info is not confirmed.)
*[[Aaron Doral]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])
*[[James McManus]] - European
*[[Tory Foster]] - south Asian (purported, actually a humanoid Cylon)
*[[Michael Robert]] - European

===Gemenon===
*[[Sarah Porter]] - African
*[[Venner]] - African
*[[Galen Tyrol]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])
*[[Rya Kibby]] - European

===Picon===
*[[Safiya Sanne]] - east Asian (but see his article for some debate on origins)
*[[Playa Palacios]] - European
*[[Asha Janik]] - European
*[[Samuel Anders]] - European (purported, actually a [[humanoid Cylon]])

===Sagittaron===
*[[Anastasia Dualla]] - African
*[[Leon Grimes]] - mixed race, Amerindian/European
*[[Tom Zarek]] - European
*[[Portia King]] - European
**[[Willie King]] - Her son, also European
*[[Jacob Cantrell]] - European
*The Sagittaron quarter of [[Camp Oil Slick]] is shown in "[[The Woman King]]" to constitute various ethnicities.

===Tauron===
*[[Helena Cain]] - European

===Virgon===
*[[Marshall Bagot]] - European

==Race and Sexuality==
:''An article dedicated to sexuality in the re-imagined series can be found at [[Sexuality in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)]].''

Interracial couplings seem common to the point of ubiquity, and have never been commented upon. It is interesting that such clearly defined racial groups continue to exist in light of this. Notable interracial couples:
*William and Caroline Adama
*[[Sharon Valerii]] and [[Galen Tyrol]]
*[[Sharon Agathon|Sharon]] and [[Karl Agathon]] ([[Tahmoh Penikett]], who plays Agathon, is Amerindian/European)
*Anastasia Dualla and [[Billy Keikeya]] (Keikeya is European)
*Anastasia Dualla and Lee Adama
*Tory Foster and Gaius Baltar

That being said, at least one individual, Kara Thrace, has only been shown in sexual relationships with individuals of her own race: [[Gaius Baltar]], [[Samuel Anders]], and the Adama brothers (although see the [[#The Adama Brothers|note]] below regarding their ethnicity).

==The Adama Brothers==
The Miniseries received some criticism for casting [[Edward James Olmos]], a dark-skinned Latino, as [[William Adama|the father]] of [[Jamie Bamber]], a pale-skinned Englishman. These points were addressed somewhat in the first season, during which viewers are briefly introduced to both [[Carolanne Adama|Carolanne]] and [[Zak Adama]]. During a dinner party in "[[Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down]]", [[Ellen Tigh]] offers her opinion that [[Lee Adama]] takes after his mother in appearance, while Zak took after his father. Since human skin pigmentation is determined by several genes which can be inherited independently, this scenario is quite plausible.

As such, it is difficult to pigeonhole the Adama brothers as being of either European descent (as Lee appears, and his actor is) or mixed Amerindian/European (as Zak appears, and his actors have been). Where relevant, it is probably best to consider them both of approximately 1/4 Amerindian and 3/4 European descent, regardless of the genetic background of the actors who play them.

In an effort to increase the resemblance between the two characters, Olmos wears blue contact eye lenses to show some genetic commonality with Bamber. Jamie Bamber also dies his hair to more closely resemble his on-screen father.

=="Ethnic" Names==

Some characters have distinctly Indo-European personal names or surnames which span multiple "Earth" languages and their generally associated ethnic origins: these include first names such as [[James McManus|James]], [[William Adama|William]], [[Laura Roslin|Laura]], and [[Helena Cain|Helena]], and surnames like [[Emmitt Jones|Jones]], [[Daniel Novacek|Novacek]], [[Bryan Smith|Smith]], [[Brendan Costanza|Costanza]] and [[James McManus|McManus]].

Other characters have surnames that are of non-western origins, such as [[Tom Zarek|Zarek]], [[Billy Keikeya|Keikeya]], [[Royan Jahee|Jahee]] and [[Robin Wenutu|Wenutu]].

There are also ancient Greek, Roman and Hebrew names. Personal and surnames, names of locations in use, as well as names like "Adama" which are carry-overs from the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original Series]]: [[Prosna]], [[Socinus]], [[Cally Henderson|Cally]], [[Playa Palacios]], [[Sharon Valerii|Valerii]], [[Karl Agathon|Agathon]], [[Kara Thrace|Thrace]], etc.

Often these are combined: [[Sekou Hamilton]], Cally Henderson, Billy Keikeya, [[Gaius Baltar]] and William Adama.

To make matters even more complicated, these names do not correspond to either ethnic or "racial" populations among the surviving Colonial citizens, nor do they align with Colonial nationalism. Not all Sagittarons have an European personal name like "Tom" and a Hebrew surname like "Zarek" and not all dark-skinned characters have non-western first names like "Sekou". Daniel Novacek (played by [[Carl Lumbly]], an actor of Jamaican origin), for instance, has an Eastern European surname.

==Notes==
<div style="font-size:85%"><references/></div>

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial History]]
[[Category:Colonial History (RDM)]]
[[Category:Colonial Society]]
[[Category:Colonial Society (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]

Talk:Race and Ethnicity in the Twelve Colonies/Archive 1

2009-03-27T12:16:33Z

Colber: O

Damned fascinating article, especially in light of the diverse attitudes of the characters. [[User:Spencerian|Spencerian]] 15:49, 28 August 2005 (EDT)

== Dualla and Lee ==

Why are they listed as being a couple? [[User:Kuralyov|Kuralyov]] 17:24, 28 August 2005 (EDT)

:She checked out his ass in [[Resistance]], and RDM indicated on the podcast that this was a hint for the second half of the season. It's listed with the same level of surety as Baltar's interest in Boomer, anyway. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 17:31, 28 August 2005 (EDT)

== Playa Palacios ==
Who is Playa Palacious? She's listed as an interest of Baltar. Was that the reporter he gave an "exclusive" to after his nomination as VP? [[User:Rocky8311|Rocky8311]] 20:11, October 19, 2005 (EDT)
:"Palacios" not "Palacious". She is one of the recurring-character reporters and has been in 5 episodes so far. She's the one that Baltar gave an exclusive to in "Colonial Day". --[[User:Ricimer|Ricimer]] 23:28, 19 October 2005 (EDT)
::That explains it. The second time the name was listed, it was a typo. [[User:Rocky8311|Rocky8311]] 01:24, October 20, 2005 (EDT)

==Racial Preference==
Noneofyour business would prefer that the paragraph which currently reads:
<blockquote>That being said, some individuals - particularly Gaius Baltar and Kara Thrace - have demonstrated a preference for individuals of their own race. Again, these are not exception-less.</blockquote>
be changed to read:
<blockquote>Some individuals have demonstrated an attraction to several others over the course of the series, both people of their own race and people of other races, notably [[Kara Thrace]] and [[Gaius Baltar]].</blockquote>

The point of this section was to explore attitudes toward race and sexuality in the colonies. Stating that some characters don't display a preference one way or another is senseless, since, as established in the paragraph above, this appears to be the default. I understand your desire to change the wording to reflect the facts of the case, but really, I think the better solution here is to change the focus on the evidence within the section to better explore the topic it was meant to.

Basically, your point about Baltar is sound, and this means he should be removed from the section entirely. Thrace, I think, still stands, as she's had at least four sexual encounters with a person of predominantly European decent, and not a single one with anyone else. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 11:59, 20 May 2006 (CDT)
:If the point is to determine whether or not there is a preference, then it is incorrect to start with the definitive phrase "these characters have demonstrated a preference." Also, I didn't make a point about Baltar. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 13:17, 20 May 2006 (CDT)

::You said "the same-race interactions do not outnumber the interracial ones" in an edit summary, which is true for Baltar, but not Thrace. As for Thrace, I think it's quite safe to say that she's demonstrated a preference. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 13:24, 20 May 2006 (CDT)
Who agrees with me that it's coincidental? [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 13:53, 20 May 2006 (CDT)

Two things: first, the "attraction" list is just to conclusively show that people from the Twelve Colonies don't even seem to acknowledge that there are different (what we would call) ethnicities, and only seem to notice what tribe they belong to. Secondly, unless Kandyse's biography describes her as multi-racial or something (and I've missed that), we should stick to calling her "African". Yes, (as a genetics major, I can tell you) on ''average'' (bell curve, not universally) the average African-American has 10-25% european genetic material. But really, in the interest of trying to keep everyone from being offended (as it says right on the top of this article) let's just stick to what we had. --[[User:The Merovingian|The Merovingian]] <sup>([[Special:Contributions/The Merovingian|C]] - [[Special:Editcount/The Merovingian|E]])</sup> 16:55, 20 May 2006 (CDT)
:Fact Check: Technically, Kandyse McClure isn't African-American, she's South African according to Wikipedia.org. Not that I'm arguing with your point or anything. --[[User:StrayCat0|StrayCat0]] 16:35, 20 May 2006 (PST)
:But the word usage "has demonstrated a preference" does offend me. It should be "seems to have demonstrated a preference", in the interest of accuracy. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 18:16, 20 May 2006 (CDT)

::I don't see why. "Seems to" is a weasel phrase - it weakens the statement without improving the factual validity. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 18:56, 20 May 2006 (CDT)
:::It does not weaken the statement and it does improve the factual vailidity. It gives the correct impression that there is only the appearance of a preference and not necessarily the fact. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 20:55, 20 May 2006 (CDT)

::::The statement is that she has demonstrated a preference, which she has plainly done with her choice of sexual partners. We are certainly not claiming that she has made a statement on the matter. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 00:52, 21 May 2006 (CDT)

:::::Having many relationships with Europeans is NOT the same as demonstrating a preference towards Europeans. Either (a) she rejected other candidates because they were not European, in which case there is a preference for Europeans, or (b) she was attracted to all these people based solely on other characteristics and it is coincidental they were all European, in which case there is no preference for Europeans. Thus "has possibly demonstrated a preference" is the Only accurate (and thus strong) way to write the sentence. The sentence as is is weakened by the existence of other possibilities which it does not account for. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 12:14, 21 May 2006 (CDT)

:On second thought, let's leave out this controversial word "preference" altogether, and just say "That being said, at least one individual, Kara Thrace, has only been shown in romantic or sexual relationships with people of her own race, having been involved with..." which is entirely factual. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 12:18, 21 May 2006 (CDT)

::I think I'm fine with that. --[[User:Peter Farago|Peter Farago]] 12:21, 21 May 2006 (CDT)
:::Glad it's settled. I don't like arguing. [[User:Noneofyourbusiness|Noneofyourbusiness]] 14:24, 21 May 2006 (CDT)

== Sexuality only mentions heterosexuality ==

In the Webisodes ''Face of the Enemy'', Gaeta is shown to be involved in a homosexual relationship. Also, Admiral Cain, commander of the Pegasus, was involved in a lesbian relationship with Natalie (a Six). During the webisodes, homosexuality was taken for granted - as nothing special. Certainly it wasn't given the prejudice that Americans give it. And with Admiral Cain's relationship, it was looked at negatively only ''after'' it was found that Natalie was a Cylon.
--[[User:Cerberus|Cerberus]] 17:54, 10 March 2009 (UTC)
: We have an article on sexuality [[Sexuality in Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|here]] that addresses all these points. -- [[User:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|Joe Beaudoin]] <sup>[[User talk:Joe Beaudoin Jr.|So say we all]] - [[Battlestar Wiki:Site support|Donate]] - [[bsp:|Battlestar Pegasus]]</sup> 18:23, 10 March 2009 (UTC)

== black (African) characters ==

Why are most of the visibily black characters identified as being mixed African-European. In patricular I am referring to Dualla, Venner, and Sekou. The only black character listed as being "African" on the page is Sarah Porter who is visibily darker than the other 3. It seems to me someone is imposing a somewhat ignorant view of what sub-Saharan Africans can look like without having European ancestry. Obviously among the 1000s of ethnicities in that group there is a wide range of skin tones and facial features and not every black person with skin that isnt very dark has European ancestry. Unless any of the actors who portray them are known to be of mixed race I believe the other 3 black characters all of whom have very visibile African ancestry should be listed as "African". I went ahead and made this change and think it appropriate unless someone can give a valid reason for listing all of these characters as being mixed African-European.
--[[User:Colber|Colber]] 12:16, 27 March 2009 (UTC)