It may occur for a variety of reasons, such as someone attempting to benefit from affirmative action programs for which they are not eligible.
[1][2][3][4] Historically, many people of color passed as white for survival and safety.
[5][6] Racial misrepresentation often occurs when people of one race or ethnicity, unfamiliar with real people of another culture, replicate the racial stereotypes of that racial or ethnic group.
Typically, this is seen as offensive when negative racial stereotypes are mimicked, but it can be also be experienced as inappropriate even when the imitation is intended as flattery.
[7] An example of this is people wearing culturally insensitive Halloween costumes that depict these stereotypes.