content: Maybe its an American thing.  Consumerism contributes mainly to this phenomenon.       The American white is a mutt, with significant amounts of black and native genetic contribution, so maybe that explains it.   TL;DR - The average White American is close to being entirely European [>98.6%], with very marginal rates of African ancestry [.19%] or Native American ancestry [.18%]. The actual meaning of the term "mutt" [in this context] means a mosaic of European ethnic groups [not just a single European ethnic group] that forms the basis of a White American.   Not precisely! According to genetic studies, the average White American is over >98.6% European. Per an article by the New York Times, titled: "White? Black? A Murky Distinction Grows Still Murkier" [published on December 24, 2014], the author Carl Zimmer adds:   On average, the scientists found, people who identified as African-American had genes that were only 73.2 percent African. European genes accounted for 24 percent of their DNA, while .8 percent came from Native Americans. Latinos, on the other hand, had genes that were on average 65.1 percent European, 18 percent Native American, and 6.2 percent African. The researchers found that European-Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6 percent European, .19 percent African, and .18 Native American. These broad estimates masked wide variation among individuals. Based on their sample, the researchers estimated that over six million European-Americans have some African ancestry. As many as five million have genomes that are at least 1 percent Native American in origin. One in five African-Americans, too, has Native American roots.  Also, it is quite common for many White Americans to claim Native American ancestry. However, this assumption is also proven false as only 4% of White Americans have significant amounts of native genetic contribution (>2%), being more concentrated in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest region. Per a research article by Science Direct, titled: "The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States," Katarzyna Bryc et al., comments:   “We estimate that European Americans who carry at least 2% Native American ancestry are found most frequently in Louisiana, North Dakota, and other states in the West. Using a less stringent threshold of 1%, our estimates suggest that as many as 8% of individuals from Louisiana and upward of 3% of individuals from some states in the West and Southwest carry Native American ancestry.” “Likewise, as many as five million Americans who self-identify as European might have at least 1% Native American ancestry.”  Also, the black genetic contribution for an average White American is in actuality quite minimal, with there being virtually little to no traces of black genetic contribution in the Midwestern sub-region, Northeastern sub-region, and Western sub-region of the United States of America. Any significant amount of black genetic contribution will be more likely to occur in the Southern United States of America, with about 3.5% of White Americans having black genetic contributions [higher in specific states]. However, even then, among that 3.5% of Southern White Americans who have black genetic contributions, the average rate of African ancestry being at >2% is no more than 5% of the overall White American population in that specific sub-region of the United States of America. Thence, the overwhelming majority of Southern White Americans [like other White Americans] are almost entirely European. Per an article by ScienceMag, titled: "Genetic study reveals surprising ancestry of many Americans," [published December 18, 2014, at 2:00 PM], the author Lizzie Wade adds:  At least 3.5% of European Americans carry African ancestry, though the averages vary significantly by state. In South Carolina and Louisiana, about 12% of European Americans have at least 1% African ancestry. In Louisiana, too, about 8% of European Americans carry at least 1% Native American ancestry.  A counterpoint to these studies reported by a user on Quora, named Sam Morningstar, on one post to a question, titled: "What's the percentage of white Americans that have Native American ancestry?" Which he states:   But, as I keep pointing out in my content, this is based on cluster patterns and averages. It’s not a default. And it’s not disbursed widely throughout the entire population. Consider the following: 100% of the White population is not .18% Native American. Or, 1/2 of the population is not .36%. Even 1/4 of the population is not .36%, etc. Basiclaly, we have a distribution of variable percentages, in cluster patterns, within this larger population. Out of 197,000,000 non-Hispanic White Americans, several million might be between >0–1, a couple million might be 2–4%, and perhaps a million are 5–7%, a few hundred thousand are 8–9%. And maybe tens of thousands are 10%+ (and are unaware of their Native ancestry).  However, after much research, studies show that the vast majority of White Americans do not have significant amounts of native genetic contribution [or, black genetic contribution] and that if there are White Americans with significant African ancestry or Native American ancestry, then it would correlate to two factors: [a] the sub-region of the United States of America where that said person lives in and [b] the (personal) history surrounding that said person. There are exceptions, yet for the overwhelming majority of cases, the studies still stand.  You will see that such data points, findings, and statistics are backed by both sides of the political aisle [bipartisan] as research is expanding in this area. Thence, the concept of the White American being a "mutt," really refers to a mixture of various European ethnic groups that form the identity of a White American [not a compilation of multiple races, forming an admixture].