Biological Differences

Sociologist define race as a “socially defined category based on real or percived biological differnces between groups of people”. In the 19th century biologist came up with the three different categories that groups the three human races: Mongoloid, Causasoid and Negroid. They belived that different races where charaterized by biological makeup. But modern sciences have proved that theory to be wrong because there is no such thing as a “pure” race. We are 99.9% genetically idenitcal. Race is just a concept humans made up, it isn’t actually real.

Race is defined as a category or group of people widely perceived as sharing socially significant physical characteristics or hereditary traits that set them apart. It is commonly accepted myth that the human species is composed of physically different groups and that these differences are assumed to be genetic. Race is supposed to be based on biological factors. However, the myth is debunked; it is scientifically proven that race is a social construction; although it is based on physical characteristics that presume biological base, most important biological differences between people are invisible and do not play any role in the definition of racial categories. There

One of the most prevalent themes throughout the world’s history is the dispute over race and racial differences. But, there is a problem: the majority of the population doesn’t have a clear understanding of what race is. Race is a socially constructed grouping of people that was created in order for people to differentiate themselves from one another and has many sources of influence. While most people believe race is determined by biological characteristics (hair type, skin color, eye shape, etc.), this is not true. To make things more complicated, there is no cut and dry definition to race. Authors of Race and Ethnicity in Society, Elizabeth Higginbotham and Margret Anderson, claim that there are seven different distinct ways to define race. They begin with the popular belief of biological characteristics, and, as mentioned before, through social construction. They go on to note that race can be formed from an ethnic group, from social class rank, from racial formation by institutions, and also can form from one’s self-definition (Higginbotham & Anderson, 2012, p. 13). All of these ways to define race have been seen throughout our history, and many of them have caused problems for minorities, especially in the United States.

When someone is incarcerated it not only affects them but it takes a toll on their family. For example, men who are incarcerated and leave children behind. This affects the household and its finances. This is due to the fact that in some households men are the primary breadwinner. Children of women who are incarcerated sometimes end up homeless or in foster homes. This has a negative effect on the children because they lack the guidance and basic fundamentals a parent provides. Children who have a parent in jail are emotionally affected because there's no balance within their life, especially if their parent is always in an out of jail. Some kids start doing poorly in school, acting out and sometimes get involved in criminal

This high incarceration rate has led researches to say that being in prison has become a normal part of a black man’s adulthood, mainly for the ones that lived in poverty in urban neighborhoods. At this time of high incarceration a whole social group was define as criminals because of their race, age and class. Incarceration is usually associated with low incomes, unemployment, and family, restrictions on voting, social rights and recidivism. “High incarceration rates among black and low education men have been traced to similar sources. The slim economic opportunities and turbulent living conditions of young disadvantaged and black men may lead them to crime”(Pettit and Western, 2004, p. 152). If you add this with poor minority groups the social stigma just increases which then can lead to higher scrutiny by police

The “War on Drugs,” and “Get Tough on Crime,” policies also play a major role. The areas targeted for these specific policies are also poverty stricken, and majority of the population in these areas are predominately black, consequently accounting for more arrests and convictions to be made. While the amount of whites arrested versus blacks for drug crimes may be higher, the amount of blacks being held in prisons and jails for drug crimes is greater. The reasons for this may vary. It could be improper representation in court, mandatory minimum sentencing rules, or habitual offender policies, or racial profiling. The statistics vary, depending on the source. Nonetheless, numbers across the board make it clear that racial disparity is a major issue in the criminal justice

Racial categories date back to the days of ancient empires, and haven’t changed significantly since then, despite the huge changes in cultures since those times. There has obviously been a huge amount of racial mixture since those times, and the concept of race now is just an archaic social construct.

Sociologists say race is a social construct, which is the way society can view a group, and their perception of the group. Race is a big example of this, as people could have the same genetic make-up, but be different races. Two people can have the same eye color, and even common DNA through blood. If two brothers had kids, one with someone of Asian descent, and the other brother having a child with someone of Native American descent, the kids who are cousins, are made up of different races. Race is more socially agreed upon, than being of a biological nature. A prime example of this, is most people will same someone is Asian, but they can be descendent of ant country in Asia, while being categorized as Asian. When we look at people from Europe,

The term “race” has been defined differently throughout history. Race has been not only defined as skin color but also defined as social class, national origin, religion, and language have all been used in history to separate different groups in society. Leibniz in the 17th century defined race religiously, dividing groups in two groups Christian v. Non-Christian. It wasn’t until 1735 when Linnaeus distinguished groups by skin color and geographic origin. He had four separate groups: Europeaus (white), Africanus (black), Americanus (red), and Asiatic (yellow) (Uppsala Universitet,

“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones” –Nelson Mandela. Life in prison is unimaginable to most of the population of this world. Prison is a place of great diversity. An article from crimemuseum.com states the ratio of races in prison populations from 2007: “Statistics from 2007 indicate that 93% of the prison population is made up of males, and 7% of inmates were female. Comparisons with data from 1995 and 2000 indicate that those numbers remain nearly constant from year to year. Out of those locked up, 33% were White, 39% were Black, and about 20% were Hispanic” (“Prison”, 2017, p. 1). In prison, there is

Most of these prisoners have families, and a lot of them also have children who heavily rely on them for financial and emotional support. The absence of family members in the homes due to incarceration has a massive indirect impact on society as a whole. These factors usually go unconsidered when sentencing criminals despite the large impact it has on society. When a mother or father goes to prison families usually suffer financial issues due to the loss of regular income. Where there is poverty, depression, anxiety, and insubordinate behavior amongst children follow, according to research by The Annie E. Casey Foundation called “Focus on Children with Incarcerated Parents” [repositories.lib.utexas.edu]. The absence of a mother or father figure also creates an unstable household where children have been shown to participate in criminal activities and join gangs in search for the support they lack. These kids consequently end up suffering the same consequence as their parents, creating a nasty cycle of imprisonment and impoverishment amongst certain

The English term ‘race’ is believed to originate from the Spanish word raza, which means ‘breed’ or ‘stock’ (Race). People use race to define other groups, this separation of groups is based largely on physical features. Features like skin color and hair don’t affect the fundamental biology of human variation (Hotz). Race is truly only skin deep, there are no true biological separations between two ‘racial’ groups. Scientifically speaking, there is more variation between single local groups than there is between two large, global groups; the human variation is constantly altering (Lewontin). The majority of today’s anthropologists agree that race is a form of social categorization, not the separation of groups based on biological

In the modern society, most scientists deny the notion of race as a valid biological way of categorizing humans. Human beings are not defined by the so-called “race” because race, generally speaking, does not exist. Human beings look different based on our superficial appearances, however, it only distinguishes us from our hair color, skin color, cultural background and so on, not from the so-called race. Knowing someone's skin color does not absolutely tell us anything else about him or her except for what our eyes can directly see. In our textbook, the biological definition of the word “race” explains that race applies to humans with both cultural and biological factors. There is no physical trait or condition that distinguishes all the members

Some people say that they are different, some people say we condition them to be. I know that boys and girls have some innate biological differences, but that through social conditioning we tend to exacerbate them and build stereotypes. Boys tend to be developmentally slower than girls and have more energy, and I think that that leads a lot of people to categorize them as rambunctious trouble-makers. “Boys displayed a higher rate of behavioural problems than the girls. Boys were around 10% more likely to show what we call “externalising behaviours” such as destructiveness and aggressiveness. Girls, on the other hand, were more likely to have “internalising problems” such as anxiety. Girls were also more likely to have higher scores on measures

Throughout history, race have been defined along genetic, legal, and social line each presenting its own set of problems. Genetic race has been defined by nothing differences in gene frequencies amongst selected groups. The legal definition of race were not devised to determine who was black or of another race, but rather who was not white. Most legal definitions of race were devices to prevent blacks from attending white schools, serving on juries, holding certain jobs, or patronizing certain public places. Last but not least we have social lines, which defines race as the decisive one in most interactions. It pays little attention to an individual’s hereditary physical features or to whether his or