Talk:Black-and-white dualism

created because both the black and white articles discussed the same thing. Both these articles, and this one, urgently need attention. --dab (𒁳) 11:42, 27 November 2008 (UTC)

Why is racism not mentioned?
Or, why is a citation/reference not required for explanations that do not mention racism? E.g., it's asserted without citation that the dichotomy rests on day and night, or white clothing being easy to stain. On what bases are these claims made? Isn't racism equally plausible, as at least part of the explanation? Shouldn't it be given equal space?


 * Black magic is malevolent; white magic is benevolent.
 * The black-market is illegal.
 * Blackmail is illegal and immoral.
 * The black sheep of the family is the ne'er-do-well.
 * Black Friday is when the Dow crashed.
 * The infamous "black hole of Calcutta."
 * To black-list someone is to put them on a "bad" list.
 * To blackball them is to block them from being admitted.
 * Black thoughts are dark (ahem!) ones.
 * A black mood is a bad one (e.g. Churchill's depression).
 * Dark days, dark thoughts, dark expression crossed his face -- all bad.
 * A black cat means bad luck, don't let one cross your path.
 * The unlucky pool ball, the eight, is the black ball -- sink it and you lose. (The power-ball with which you sink all others is white -- the cue-ball.)
 * A black mark against you is a bad thing.
 * A dark night is "black as hell". (Is hell black, and heaven white?)
 * A black-hearted person is mean and unloving.
 * "Paint It Black" (Rolling Stones), referring to depression/mood. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.74.53.218 (talk) 20:59, 13 March 2011 (UTC)


 * I think that racism isn't mentioned, as it shouldn't be, because this is an article on the colors white and black. Considering people with lighter skin as white and darker skin as black seems to be a more modern idea then the one associating the white light of day as good and the black dark of night as bad. Your list below supports this idea of darkness being something unknown and potentially dangerous like the night. It also might be good to note that black cats and crows are lucky in some cultures.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.195.255.51 (talk) 01:01, 25 July 2013 (UTC)


 * I don't think it'd be too hard to find sources linking this black-white dualism to racism. Quick Google Books searching brings up snippets on the topic:


 * Mind, I've only looked at snippets and pages here, since longer excerpts were not available on Google Books.-- Brainy J  ~ ✿ ~ ( talk ) 04:23, 11 September 2016 (UTC)


 * Because this kind of symbolism preceeds the Transatlantic Slave Trade (where racism appeared) by millenia, and is found in many different cultures, many which had no connection to Subsaharan Africans whatsoever. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Knoterification (talk • contribs) 20:04, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


 * The black sheep is the oddball, i.e. the one that is different from the others. It comes from the fact that most sheep have white fleece (determined by a dominant gene), but occasionally some sheep have black fleece (determined by a recessive gene) which makes them different than the rest of the flock. The term "black sheep" is literally based on sheep, not humans. Black sheep are not a different 'race' of sheep. --JHP (talk) 00:46, 23 October 2021 (UTC)

This article absolutely does need references to the cultural and psychological effects of this symbolism to underpin racism (which of course did not begin with the Transatlantic Slave Trade!) Does anyone here have access to references such as those Brainy J mentioned, to document these effects? Though one phrase, "black sheep," may possibly be innocent in origin (white sheep being more typical, as their wool can be dyed any colour) others like "white lies" and "blackest evil" do have a lot to answer for. The association of moral value with racial stereotype is pretty blatant when for example The Hardy Boys compliment someone's humane action with the phrase, "That's mighty white of you," or Gunga Din's narrator emphasises the "black-faced" Indian's dark skin in contrast with his heroism: > And for all his dirty hide, > He was white, clear white inside > When he went to tend the wounded under fire. Egmonster (talk) 06:15, 15 May 2022 (UTC)

Masonic checkerboard
Added a source for the freemasonic connection and undid revision that removed section on freemasonry for being an "unsourced factoid" - it is easily discovered from the wikipedia page on freemasonry that a checkboard representing duality is a central symbol. Whatsmore, most sections have no source. I can only see 2 references for the entire page. Perhaps this user could consider removing all "unsourced factoids" from the page, until they are all sourced? Else, leave those that are sourced alone! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23A8:89F:C700:2DE2:6BD9:D7B6:5765 (talk) 09:14, 10 June 2020 (UTC)
 * I don't see anything on Freemason nor Masonic ritual and symbolism about the checkerboard, and a web search confirmed that the connection was obscure. Feel free to delete material without inline sources if you're skeptical that the material occurs in the page references at the bottom. Rolf H Nelson (talk) 03:46, 11 June 2020 (UTC)