"Olive skin" is used to describe all kinds of people -- sometimes Greeks, for instance. It didn't ping me at all that she meant Katniss was a person of color, but I also knew Prim was fair and blonde and blue-eyed, and so is their mother, I believe.

Anyone Mediterranean could have olive skin, I figure. And we generally call those people white now.

Exactly. I was just going for one example.

But really, and I know this isn't the current topic, those folks weren't always considered white in our culture. Due to race being an artificial construct generally used by the group in power against others.

And that Katniss looked quite different from her mother and sister and seemingly most of the people in her district.

I thought it was the mother and sister who were unusual-looking -- fancy, compared to the regular folk. Edit: Or, at least, there were generally two "looks" -- the more northern-European upper class people and the more Mediterranean-looking poor people.

But Peeta's also blond, isn't he? I was under the impression that they were all white, but that the poorer sections of the district tended toward more swarthy coloring, and Kat took after her father, whereas Prim took after her mother.

I'm wondering if one of the causes isn't consistently stressed immune systems, and we're reaching the tipping point of being able to tolerate other stressors.

There's probably multiple causes. I know there's some research into the possibility that people in developed nations have more autoimmune disorders because we aren't exposed to as many parasites and such, and our immune systems disregulate.

But Peeta's also blond, isn't he? I was under the impression that they were all white, but that the poorer sections of the district tended toward more swarthy coloring, and Kat took after her father, whereas Prim took after her mother.

That's pretty much my takeaway. And I'd always thought Prim was pretty unambiguously white enough that her full sister was unlikely to be biracial, but what do I know?

But Peeta's also blond, isn't he? I was under the impression that they were all white, but that the poorer sections of the district tended toward more swarthy coloring, and Kat took after her father, whereas Prim took after her mother.

This is me. I also honestly wasn't thinking much about race as I was reading.

Timelies all!

Bleah. The muscles in my shoulder/upper back are sore, probably from pulling racks out the liquid nitrogen freezer.