Race, Identity, and Passing: Mills's Racial Ontology Explained

Race as a Philosophical and Ontological Issue

Race is a philosophical issue because it has a strong bearing on identity construction and metaphysical or ontological self-concept. As long as race remains relevant as a means of constructing personal identity or projecting identity onto other people, race will remain a critical component of humanistic philosophies. A discussion of race as a metaphysical concept is distinctly different from a discussion of race as an ethical concept, even though both metaphysics and ethics fall under the rubric of philosophy. However, a discussion of race as an ontological issue depends on an understanding of race as an ethical issue, since race has been socially constructed in status-oriented and hierarchical societies like the United States. Race is socially constructed, but race is also subjectively constructed, which is what Ally's case demonstrates. Ally's case is best understood through the lens of what Mills calls subjectivism, in which race designations and categories are arbitrary and individuals can freely choose their own race.

Ally's Case: Conscious Passing and Racial Transgression

Ally is consciously passing as white and admits as much. For this reason, Ally does fall neatly into Mills's Problem Case II: the case of conscious permanent passing. However, Ally is also what Mills calls a racial transgressive, because of the conflicts that exist between the variables linked to race, including "bodily appearance, ancestry, self-awareness of ancestry, public awareness of ancestry, culture, experience, and self-identification" (Mills 50). The conflicts between these variables are experienced internally, from Ally's personal ontology, as well as socially, in how others view Ally.

More interesting by far than Ally's case is the case of her family members who opt into an African-American identity, because their conception of race is realist-constructivist. The family members have bought into the "one drop" mentality that Mills discusses — a mentality that plays on racial binaries. And in spite of the lower social status historically conferred upon African-Americans throughout United States history, Ally's black-identifying family members embrace their heritage proudly even though they cannot necessarily pass as black.

Subjectivism Versus Constructivism in Racial Identity

Constructivism accounts for some of Ally's ontological status. In fact, the Ally story deftly illustrates the ways subjectivism differs from constructivism. Race is constructed both socially and personally. Even though her relatives identify as black, others do not perceive them as black — because of what Mills refers to as the variable of bodily appearance. Whether those others are white or black, the family has white features, and only a genetic test would highlight their heritage. They are aware of their heritage, as is Ally, but they react to and choose their identity differently: Ally opts for white privilege while the family members opt to find a source of pride in their African-American ancestry.

Their situation showcases the concept of hypodescent, in which even a trace of African-American ancestry removes one from pure white status, as one is considered to be tainted in some way within the racist, white supremacist social system of America (Mills 52). Mills would also point out that the United States promotes a racial binary system in which one is either black or white and cannot be a blend — which is why being biracial or multiracial proves to be an elusive category for someone like Ally and her family.

The racial ontology of both Ally and her relatives is best explained using subjectivism. Perhaps knowing that her white skin and bodily appearance would cause her problems assimilating into African-American subculture, Ally opted for the status and self-identification that would give her the most power and privilege. She knows that consciously passing as white will confer white privilege onto her, and she does not want to experience discrimination. Interestingly, however, by consciously passing as white, she also denies the efficacy of in-group identification with both the members of her family who identify as African-American and with African-American culture in general. Ally's case highlights what Mills calls the dilemma of "Who Am I versus Who Am I Taken to Be" (50).