race-bending

noun

Playing the role of, or casting someone in the role of, someone of different race or ethnicity

Meanings

nounrace-bending (uncountable)

alternative racebending

  1. derogatoryinformaloftenuncountablePlaying the role of, or casting someone in the role of, someone of different race or ethnicity

    They stress the challenge that race-bending white rockers posed to the American color line.

    2002, Alice Echols, Shaky Ground: The '60s and Its Aftershocks, New York; Chicester: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →OL, page 194
    2 more examples

    But while gender-bending — and for that matter, race-bending — may indeed "do" important political work, we must approach such performances with caution.

    2000 September 1, Robert S. Chang, Disoriented: Asian Americans, Law, and the Nation-State, New York; London: NYU Press, →ISBN, →OL, page 124

    Certainly the documented prevalence of online gender- and race-bending would lend strong support to such an interpretation; […

    2012 October 2, Mark B. N. Hansen, Bodies in Code: Interfaces with Digital Media, New York; Milton Park: Routledge, →ISBN, →OL, page 274

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

race-bending. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bending

MLA

“race-bending.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bending. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “race-bending,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/race-bending.

Source: race-bending on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.