Final answer:
Men are the vast majority of individuals affected by color blindness due to the X-linked inheritance pattern, with significant occurrences in men across various ethnic backgrounds and considerably fewer instances in women.
Step-by-step explanation:
The vast majority of people with color blindness are men. This condition is more prevalent in men due to the X-linked inheritance pattern of the most common forms of color blindness, such as red-green color deficiency. Studies show that approximately 8% of males with European Caucasian descent and varying percentages from other ethnic groups are affected by this. However, only about 0.4% of females from European Caucasian descent have red-green color deficiency.
It is important to note that while men can indeed be carriers of the X-linked color blindness gene, it is a misconception that color blindness is autosomal recessive or dominant because red-green color blindness is linked to the X chromosome. Men have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, so a single altered gene on their X chromosome results in color blindness. Women have two X chromosomes; thus they would need a mutation in both copies of the gene to manifest the condition, making it much rarer in females than in males.