Examples Of Racial And Racial Inequality By John Macionis

Race is not an element of human biology (like breathing oxygen or reproducing sexually); nor is it even an idea (like the speed of light or the value of π) that can be plausibly imagined to live an external life of its own. Race is not an idea but an ideology. It came into existence at a discernable historical moment for rationality understandable historical reasons and is subject to change for similar reasons (101).

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.

Racial Formation in the United States by Michael Omi and Howard Winant made me readjust my understanding of race by definition and consider it as a new phenomenon. Through, Omi and Winant fulfilled their purpose of providing an account of how concepts of race are created and transformed, how they become the focus of political conflict, and how they shape and permeate both identities and institutions. I always considered race to be physical characteristic by the complexion of ones’ skin tone and the physical attributes, such as bone structure, hair texture, and facial form. I knew race to be a segregating factor, however I never considered the meaning of race as concept or signification of identity that refers to different types of human bodies, to the perceived corporal and phenotypic makers of difference and the meanings and social practices that are ascribed to these differences, in which in turn create the oppressing dominations of racialization, racial profiling, and racism. (p.111). Again connecting themes from the previous readings, my westernized influences are in a direct correlation to how to the idea of how I see race and the template it has set for the rather automatic patterns of inequalities, marginalization, and difference. I never realized how ubiquitous and evolving race is within the United States.

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

Race is a classification system used to categorize humans into large and distinct populations or groups by anatomical, cultural, ethnic, genetic, geographical,

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,

Race is a lot like language in which it has been determined and created by masses of people rather than just one person. For example, over last 200 years, the definition of white in the United States has changed a lot and that’s

In different societies race may not exist at all, or may be reinterpreted differently. Race was invented by humans in order to categorize people and neatly fit them into groups for more efficient organization. Humans noticed that certain people looked different from them, or had different physical characteristics from them. Within certain societies, different groups became dominant while others remain subordinate, and the dominant groups decide what to call the minority.

Race is defined in our textbook as a group of people who share a set of characteristics- typically these characteristics are described as physical ones, common bloodlines. We often think as race in relation to racism, which is a belief that members of a separate race possess different and unequal traits coupled with the power to restrict freedoms based on those differences. Racism is connected with three different keys in belief, that humans are in different groups in relation to bloodlines and physical types, that these

Race is a social construct that was developed to classify people into vast different groups through ethnic, anatomical, cultural, genetic, historical, linguistic, geographical, and social attachment. Initially, race referred to people using a common language to identify national affiliations, but with time observable physical traits were used to denote race. The idea of race means that humans are divisible into biologically distinct and exclusive groups in terms of physical and cultural features. The ideology of race is also associated with the beliefs of the superiority of white people. These beliefs were concretized during the Scientific Revolution and American colonization that established political relations between Europeans and people with different cultural and political backgrounds. Therefore, race is a social construction, the idea that people have perceived through their daily interaction. Race does not have any significance in taxonomy because all humans belong to the same species, Homo sapiens. Assertions from various scholars

The study of race and ethnicity is not a cut and dry conversation that always has the same result. The definition of race and ethnicity has changed over time as we have put social weight on what we have put into each definition. In this paper, I will be looking at how two authors, Vilna Bashi Treitler and Stephen Steinberg, discuss the questions and definitions of ethnicity, race, and mobility in American society. For instance, one author tends to combine race and ethnicity into one definition and use them interchangeably while the other author does the exact opposite. The Ethnic Myth by Steinberg is cultural groups trying to get ahead, all about class, getting to the middle class, money, economic mobility (Lecture 12; 5-16-18). While the Ethnic Project by Trielter is getting ahead without being racialized while trying to climb the ladder and having to make subdivisions. It is all about status order and social mobility for Treitler (Lecture 12; 5-16-18).

Throughout my research, the one thing that I am certain of is that the term “race” is the most complex word in the world. To this day, many people are divided on whether “Race” is a real concept. “Race” has many definitions, but the way I believe most people define it in today’s society is “A group or set of people or things with a common feature or features.” Most people including myself confuse the word “Race” with Ethnicity. However, the two words are very different. The definition of Ethnicity is “the fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition.” The two words are distinguished from one another by their meanings. One of them represents outer appearances of populations and the other represents the cultural views of populations.

Race is not something that is an exact thing. It is a social construct. It is a reflection of who you are and what you perceive.

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

Race is a social construct that was created by the Europeans in order to minoritize different racial groups. In the reading by Bonilla-Silva, he defines race to be manmade, “This means that notions of racial difference are human creations rather than eternal, essential categories… racial categories have a history and are subject to change.” For example in a lecture by Dr. Aguilar-Hernandez, he stated that the Irish, Italians and Jews were called black before but are now considered white, Mexican-Americans were also considered white up until the 1980s. These ideas lead to the racialization of racial groups.