Race As A Social Construction

Humans define race by how they conceive and categorize different social realities. Thus, race is often referred to as a social construct. The differences in skin color and facial characteristics have led most of society to classify humans into groups instead of individuals. These constructs affect us all, and they often result in situations where majority racial groups cause undue suffering to those that are part of the minority. The understanding of race as a social construct is best illustrated by the examination of racial issues within our own culture, specifically those that have plagued the history of the United States.

When we hear the word "race" we're more than likely inclined to automatically think of the color of someone's skin. Though this isn't entirely inappropriate, there is so much more to race than that. Sociologists say that race is a social construction created in society, meaning it's basically a set of "stories" we tell ourselves and hear overtime to make sense of the world. Since we hear these stories over and over again, we act on them, ultimately making them true. This can be said of many aspects of culture and society, however, it seems to happen with race without our realization.

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.

In society, race clearly affects one's life chances. These are the chances of getting opportunities and gaining experience for progression. The social construction of race is based on privileges and availability of resources. Looking at society and the formation of race in a historical context, whites have always held some sort of delusional belief of a "white-skin privilege." This advantage grants whites an advantage in society whether one desires it or not. This notion is often commonly referred to as reality.

Race and ethnicity play a role in every aspect of the criminal justice system, especially when comparing victimization rates. In class, we were placed into groups to discuss race and ethnicity. Most of the class said ethnicity is your cultural background whereas race is your physical appearance. Although the class had similar answers, no one group had exactly the same answer (CCJ345W). According to Barak in his chapter “Understanding Race”, race is socially defined by traits such as “physical characteristics, national origin, language, culture, and religion”(Barak, 2011:46).

Sociologists argue that race is a social construction because they believe that passively everyone automatically makes assumptions. They argue that race impacts daily life even if we are not aware of it. This can be seen from different people and races around the world such as Caucasian, African, and Asian. Someone might automatically assume a trait that someone has by just looking at him or her. On the other hand, determining race can be different in each different country. For instance, In the United States, someone who is of darker complexion might be considered black. In a country further south, they might not be considered dark at all. In my opinion, I think that this also has to do with the type of tendencies

What is race and social construction? The book defines race, “as a system for classifying people who are believed to share common descent, based on perceived innate physical similarities.” Social construction is a concept that is invented and shaped based on present time society. First, the books describes race as a social construct. Then the book explains that the idea of race wasn’t just socially invented by one person but rather a large mass of people who formed a society.

Today, Race remains a controversial topic in the world. Sociologists believe that the significance of race in contemporary affairs originates from the social beliefs which are associated with race, rather than the actual biological differences between groups of people. This notion is commonly referred to as the social construction of race. Studying this topic becomes even more crucial as the communities become more diverse. However, a sociologist might ask, what factors (micro or macro) influence and reinforce such believes? What could be the most significant factor that shapes such beliefs? This paper aims to investigate specific factors, such as the role of state policy, which may reinforce or create the beliefs about race. This paper, initially introduces several sociological terms, and then provides several examples to discuss the role of state policy and media in construction of racial identities. At the end, the paper analyses this question using sociology theories, mainly Symbolic Interactionism, Structural Functionalism and Social Conflict Theory.

There were many factors that led to the construction of the “white race”, many of these were cultural and structural. As we know, race is not a biological term, it is a social construct that the population gives meaning to. In the begging, when English colonists arrived to what is now the United States, they saw that they had no physical resemblance to the Native Americans and therefore they characterized the indigenous population as “savage” while they characterized themselves as “civilized” (which is kind of ironic taking into account that they are responsible for the genocide of an entire population). When they came across this new country, one of their main concerns was to preserve it and to have it reach its full potential, in their eyes,

The idea of race is real. But racial classification was built on a myth.

The idea that race is a social construct is interesting because I never thought about it in that way. It is a social construct created by man; there are no substantial biological differences between the ‘races’ of the United States. I think that if you were to randomly select people and ask what the differences between races are, a majority of the responses would include physical differences, most notably skin color. While I do agree that there is no consistent basis biologically for races, there are differences between them sociologically. Even if the United States did not recognize races, there are stereotypes and stigmas associated with skin color and stigmas that affect how people interact with each other. I think that nearly everyone,

An important dialogue has been created amongst historians. This dialogue is based on whether or not race is a biological factor or a social construct. Both ideas will be explored. Race plays a large role in our society. Certain races have stigmas associated with them that ultimately lead to discrimination.

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

Omi and Winant’s discussion from “Racial Formations” are generally about race being a social construct and is also demonstrated in the viewing of Race - The power of an illusion. Omi and Winant have both agreed that race is socially constructed in society. Ultimately this means that race is seen differently in different societies and different cultures. Media, politics, school, economy and family helps alter society’s structure of race. In the viewing , also media as well as history seemed to create race by showing how social norms have evolved in different racial groups.

I want to begin by defining race. Race is a simple social construct that was used to create an order to exploit individuals that did not look European (Gallagher, 2009). This simple social construct has been an excuse to racially