What America will look like in 2050...

[HipChick]

It's no secret that interracial relationships are trending upward, and in a matter of years we'll have Tindered, OKCupid-ed and otherwise sexed ourselves into one giant amalgamated mega-race.


But what will we look like? National Geographic built its 125th anniversary issue around this very question last October, commissioning Martin Schoeller, a renowned photographer and portrait artist, to capture the lovely faces of our nation's multiracial future.


Here's how the "average American" will look by the year 2050:

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Will increased racial mixing finally and permanently redefine how we imagine our racial identities? The latest figures suggest we're getting more comfortable with the idea, or perhaps that we simply give fewer shits than ever before. Either would be a step in the right direction.

The Wall Street Journal reported a few years back that 15% of new marriages in 2010 were between individuals of different races. It's unclear whether they've included same-sex unions in the count, but as currently stated, this number is more than double what it was 25 years ago. The proportion of intermarriages also varied by race, with "9% of whites, 17% of blacks, 26% of Hispanics and 28% of Asians [marrying] outside their ethnic or racial group." Interracial unions now account for 8.4% of all marriages in the U.S.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/87359/national-geographic-concludes-what-americans-will-look-like-in-2050-and-it-s-beautiful

[AcertainLiz]

1. I wonder if this is actually true?

Pretty fascinating stuff.

[HipChick]

2. I think they are all very beautiful

[AcertainLiz]

3. It's just futuristic speculations have a tendency to be wrong :P

Just wondering if this will come to pass.

[HipChick]

4. Agree...prob based on trending demographics..

so in reality, if everyone gets out to vote...the rethugs should have no chance to get back in power..this is the demographics that they are not reaching out to..

[AcertainLiz]

9. Unfortunately that will never happen

[nomorenomore08]

7. The proportion of multi-racial folks in the population will certainly continue to increase

and "non-Hispanic whites" (as they say on Census forms) will become a minority overall. It's not that everyone, or even most people, will have a multi-ethnic appearance, rather such people will simply be less and less unusual.

[AcertainLiz]

11. I wonder if these images are true though

Or if these trends will even continue. Again, it seems future predictions often are wrong.

[Crunchy Frog]

36. Eventually, but not by 2050.

My sons will be 41 then, and only a few of their peers are interracial. The demographics just aren't there yet. By 2150 probably so.

[snooper2]

43. Well, with those glow-in-the-dark eyes we will be able to see at night

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Personal nit, no not the data... the photoshop in the eyes,

it really is glaring, or maybe it is because because of what I do as a photo journalist.

[HipChick]

6. I have green eyed red headed nieces and nephews

One has blue-green eyes and blonde...some throwback genes...

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Look at the white lines in the eyes

all of them. That is what I mean...

I was like MY LORD people. I know what they are trying to do, simulate reflection. As I said, it must be obvious to me because of what I do.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

30. are you talking about the REFLECTION in all of their eyes?

have you never seen photographs taken in a studio before where they are using reflectors or large flash diffusers? oh my...

sP

[Skidmore]

33. Beat me to it.

These are full front face portraits taken in a studio. The article online says that these are actual people which sat for these portraits and not models. It is a wonderful collection of people.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

35. early bird and all that rot...

good morning. and yes, really cool shots of beautiful people.

sP

[oneofthe99]

16. yup , no way those eyes look normal

[joshcryer]

19. I see two vertical light reflectors.

Which is to me consistent with the way the jawline and cheeks fade out in every photo. It's like they're trying to accentuate the middle of the face as opposed to total illumination. Also, the pupils are quite constricted, indicating the subjects are being subject to bright light.

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. It is exagerated

the effect is really exaggerated. And that is my nit. It is a weird nit, I know. I love it that we will all look (well our descendants) like "mixed muts" That might finally erase modern day forms of racism.

Today I actually considered using Aperture on one of the photos (exposure issue), but we avoid it.

[joshcryer]

22. I can definitely see the contrast being turned up here.

I don't know if that means they intentionally did it to the eyes or if it was just a result of turning the contrast up on the pictures entirely (these faces are almost certainly not how they'd look in real life, there are way too many blacks; as in pixels that have been shoved in the black direction). This especially apparent in the pores and facial hair.

I also love that US inter-mingling of races is going to be a majority 'soon' (2050 is closer to us than Carter's inauguration, for example). And I say this as a German-Irish-Cherokee white male.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. I used not to pick up on those details

But when you process an average of 200 shots /week

Rule of thumb though for journalism, and seems to no longer matter (grr long weird conversation with niece who works for wedding photographer) is getting a good shot from the git go, where all you need is a crop, if anything.

Old school, I have been called old school. I smile.

For the record, I did not reach for aperture on that shot. But did learn a neat trick. I did not have my flash with diffuser. Light was bad on purpose. Used the onboard flash and directed it with my hand. I was shocked at how well it worked.

[Half-Century Man]

10. This is horrible

We're all going to blankly stare forward and never smile?

Are you saying Cruz become president at some point?

[silverweb]

12. We'll all be golden!

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Also, hopefully a lot more cooperatively unified as a species, and a lot wiser as an integral part of and partner with Nature.

[davidn3600]

17. If race won't separate us, money always will

[silverweb]

24. I have to be more hopeful than that.

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]I have to believe that we'll evolve morally, ethically, and spiritually, not just physically.

Even now, I believe that most people are good at heart, even if often ignorant and misinformed. Maybe I'm wrong and the more cynical view is correct, but I just can't stop being hopeful.

[AngryAmish]

31. my, aren't you a optimist

Evolution does not care if we become smarter, or taller or more beautiful or nicer. Maybe there is an evolutionary benefit for being a miser or being cruel. We don't know. But natural selection will determine what our society looks like, literally and figuratively.

[oneofthe99]

13. Some of those pictures are freaking me out

[TlalocW]

14. Time did this over 2 decades ago

Genetic scientists ran a gamut of pictures through a sophisticated computer modeling program to get an example of where we're heading... The result is below. One of the scientists was upset since because she wasn't real he couldn't ask for her phone number.

Those wacky, wacky, horny scientists.



TlalocW

[oneofthe99]

15. yeah but she has normal looking eyes

The other ones remind me of the movie Omegaman

[nadinbrzezinski]

18. Now that is GOOD photoshop since they also did it

(on the eyes)

[joshcryer]

21. Demographics are one way.

Progress is one way (almost always).

Thank god.

[Spirochete]

23. Those look kind of creepy

To me, at least.

[Skidmore]

29. Why?

[Spirochete]

42. Dunno

Too many sci-fi movies, maybe.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. I know someone who didn't marry his HS GF in the 70s because mother didn't approve....

She wasn't Greek.

"Mixed marriages" and all that.

[Humanist_Activist]

26. I do wonder how useful race/ethnicity classifications will be in the future...

our children and grandchildren aren't going to all mix to become the same color, there will still be variation, but much of it will be variations on "multi-racial" and/or "multi-ethnic" classifications. After a certain point, those are going to cease being a useful demographic/census tool.

Unless census takers want us to give them a brief family tree, including the ethnicity of all parents and grandparents, I don't see such classifications remaining useful for much longer as our allele frequencies shift.

[Mr.Bill]

27. Looks like a walk down the street in San Francisco.

Doesn't look odd at all to me. It's already happened here.

[progressoid]

28. Symetrical and thin?

[hobbit709]

32. America may look like this

Americans will probably still look like people.

[deutsey]

41. These two will be the typical American

(Sorry, the barren landscape and solitary tree reminded me of Waiting for Godot...that's what I suppose most Americans will still be doing: waiting for someone to come along and make everything better....and waiting...and waiting...).

[Boom Sound 416]

34. And unitards with shiny boots too

[MrScorpio]

37. The country's going to catch to me and my family

Looking forward to it.

[JaneyVee]

38. Race mixing creates stronger immune systems

For offspring.

[Javaman]

39. Growing up in NYC, it looks like any average group of people I would see on the street.

but I guess the rest of America still has to catch up.

[Javaman]

40. I know it's the lights, but the lighting reflection in the eyes is freaking me out a bit. nt