Do you think Sicilians look like Middle Easterners/North Africans, and Latin Americans?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Many on the internet believe that Sicilians don’t look like other Europeans, with some citing Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, or a host of Latin American countries as places they would fit better. Some even say they think Sicilians are “black”, undoubtedly thanks to the movie “True Romance”, which produced this quote;

"So you see, way back then, uh, Sicilians were like, uh, wops from Northern Italy. Ah, they all had blonde hair and blue eyes, but, uh, well, then the Moors moved in there, and uh, well, they changed the whole country. They did so much fuckin’ with Sicilian women, huh? That they changed the whole bloodline forever. That’s why blonde hair and blue eyes became black hair and dark skin. You know, it’s absolutely amazing to me to think that to this day, hundreds of years later, that, uh, that Sicilians still carry that nigger gene. "

Moors were not black anyhow and that movie just was making a joke, but it’s colored many people’s perception online.

So which of these places do you think they look like they could be from, judging by ones you’ve met and seen?

2

I think it is a silly question. There is no doubt that the Mediterranean countries are a melting pot of pretty much every type of north African, European and middle eastern genes. Probably a healthy dose of sub-saharan in there as well. (With a trading and military history going back probably 10,000 years how can there not be?)

I don’t think there is anything special about the Sicilian genetic make-up, people from the Mediterranean look like they come from the Mediterranean, Quell surprise!

Oh and…

Bolding mine, this sounds rather suspect to me, why are you asking the question?

3

Everybody looks like everybody in some or other respects.

The question as posed is meaningless. Its only point seems to be to make vague racist insinuations.

4

Italy is a melting pot of Meds and Central Europeans and has been for thousands years. In ancient times they had many Greek settlements, then in Roman times people from NW Europe to Mesopotamia and Arabia would move to Italy and then you had Germanic invasions and then Arab conquest of Sicily and then the Norman rule. Its not surprising that Italians run the entire spectrum.

5

A similar question was asked here. Not all posts about race/ethnicity/culture/looks are eebil.

6

My father has been described by friends as looking like both "an extra from The Sopranos and “a Syrian rug merchant,” with I think pretty much equal accuracy.

7

I know a fair few Sicilians and have been there a few times too. They are not homogeneous. A good many conform to stereotype, i.e. olive skin and black curls (pauses to swoon). Some are lighter skinned, brown haired and look generically European. Never met anyone outright blonde from there, but have heard they do exist.

Northern Italians in general are not all that different physically. They tend to be taller and fairer but there’s a huge amount of overlap. However, I can generally tell them apart easily by dress sense. If they start talking the game is up in two seconds flat.

Never confused a north African for a Sicilian. I think they are physically different, but I also think the context in which I encounter them makes it easy for me to distinguish them, so that might colour my judgement.

8

Curiosity. No need to be so suspicious!

9

I met a former blond (another relative)—he was in his 70s when I met him, and I’m not sure how light his hair had been before it went grey / fell out (he was mostly bald), but he made a point of telling me that he had been “tutto biondo” in his youth.

10

Half of my family is from Sicily. One side is from Messina and most of the people on that side have typical Greco-Roman looks. On the other, from Palermo, I have some relatives who are blonde and blue eyed and could pass in Germany, and others who look like you took them out of a bazaar in Palestine.

11

I don’t know any Sicilians. Or at least I don’t know anybody who has identified themselves as
Sicilian. If they didn’t tell me, I would never know.

12

You hardly need to be blond and/or blue eyed to “pass” in Germany.

Sicilians aren’t a homogenous group, as has already been said. This is a meaningless question unless you’re speaking about specific individuals.

13

I’m Sicilian and It’s a silly question.

I’ve been mistaken for Greek, Mexican, Spanish, French, Israeli, etc…
For some reason every damn time I go into an ethnic restaurant the waiters think I’m one of their countrymen.

My little sister is tall thin and blond, she could easily pass as Nordic.

14

Why are people here so easily irate?

I was just giving an example with the comment that I have relatives who can pass in Germany. I didn’t specify what it takes to pass as German overall.

15

No one’s irate.
It’s just a stupid question.

16

And that means I can’t ask it?

17

No one said you can’t ask, just like no one was irate.
You asked a question. The plain and simple answer is that it’s a stupid question.

18

You may ask what ever you like. And we can mock it, when it deserves mocking. See how that works?

19

I’m trying to figure out why the OP’s question is silly.

Do I think all Sicilians look a certain way? No, I don’t. But do I have an “image” of a Sicilian–a short-statured, olive-skinned, dark-haired person? Yeah. Just like I have an “image” of a Nigerian, a Brazilian, and a Icelander.

For the OP: http://mathildasanthropologyblog.wordpress.com/2008/10/12/sicilian-y-chromsomes-show-a-link-to-north-africa/

I am sure there are some Sicilians darker than I am–a person of recent African descent. And I’m sure there are many that are not. It makes sense that Sicilians would have some Sub-Saharan ancestry…not only because of the Moorish connection (who were not as homogenous as you seem to believe), but because of their proximity to Africa. I don’t think this is an earth-shattering revelation.

20

I keep it simple. The people on that list all look like A-Rabs to me. I may have a future with the TSA. :rolleyes: