...opinions regarding the social issues of race as a whole. It is common to scroll through Facebook and find a plethora of different opinions on this subject. In addition to one’s opinions, it is common to see arguments regarding this important social issue. However, in my opinion this public disagreement leads to an abundance of additional issues within our society. It is common to disagree, but all too often these arguments are not supported by facts but instead are solely opinion based. I believe that this could be due to a lack of education regarding the social construct of race. Although the youth is taught that Biologically skin color varies due to pigmentation in our skin, they are...
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...Many people will argue that race is either biological or a social construct. People make that argument for it being race based off of the way that a person looks. There are some points behind that but it may not be true. People have all different perceptions on each other. For instance, in southern countries where people tend to be darker, there are also lighter skinned people down there but they still are a member of the same race. We all have different perceptions on how we see and view people. A person who may be considered black in the United States could also be considered white in places such as South Africa or Brazil. The social construct of race can be explained in a couple of ways. One of those ways is the physical outlook on race....
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...many debates on whether or not race is socially or biologically constructed. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, biological realism was the dominant view. Races were assumed to be biologically objective categories (Andreasen 2000, 653). However, in the middle of the 20th century, this point of view changed and today most theorists favour the view that races are socially constructed (Andreasen 2000, 654). Throughout my paper, I will argue that race is not a biological construct, but rather a socially/ culturally constructed one. It includes an incentive inside humanity which makes each race extraordinary. As humans we are not born the person we become, throughout our life, we develop certain traits that...
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...In this reflection, I’m going to speak on my experience with attending the speaker series event and listening to Rosa Clemente speak. Before this particular event, I had no clue as who she was but I was still open to hearing her speak and what exactly she was going to speak about. After hearing her speak, the three concepts that stuck in my mind were the controversies with identify politics, race being a social construct, and the issues surrounding climate change. Generally, when I don’t know a concept, I tend to do background research in order to better understand and speak on that concept which is what occurred with my understanding of identify politics. “The laden phrase ‘identity politics’ has come to signify a wide range of political activity and theorizing founded in the shared experiences of injustice of members of certain social groups” (Heyes, 2012). To simplify it, identity politics is basically a political approach that is taken when discussing people of a certain social group. This stuck with...
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...children with each other. So, our differences biologically are superficial, hair texture, some ailments which tend to be environmental, and skin color. Those who want to dismiss the notion of the social construction of race normally do so due to their inherent bias to attribute dysfunctional behavior in minority communities due to a racial makeup instead of addressing more systemic problems that plague these communities. Countless studies reveal that lower income people of all groups tend to follow the same negative trajectory. Racism is the belief that one race or culture is superior to another, regardless of biological evidence that negates this belief. This difference – the perceived inferiority of one race over another – is commonly used and abused as basis for discrimination, whether institutionalized or individualized through social construction. The widespread societal and institutional changes in America since the 1960s have done little to eliminate discrimination faced by racial minorities even after the election of a black president. Race is not just a social construction but a historical construction that has been embedded into each of our lives through social classes and institutions since the day we were born. “Even though race is constructed through historic meanings and social interactions it is as much a part of our national character as themes of patriotism.” (Defending Whiteness, 8) Minorities historically have had less access to quality education. Less access...
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...According to biologists, there is only one race, and that is the human race. However, from the commencement of the American experience, differences in perspective have impacted how persons relate with one another. For instance, being categorized as black in the United States has led to stark disparities in legal protection status and opportunity. Currently, most people are beginning to understand the significance of public dialogue as a fundamental step in making progress on race relations issues. Due to race relations, people have a chance to socialize and get to know each other, discover common ground, explore disagreements, and share different points and views. In other societies, people have developed study circles that assist individuals...
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...writing, he first explains the role of race throughout societies. His statements are quite to the point when getting his first argument across, insinuating that race is always a role that is in play with how different societies govern. These initial statements make up the foundation for his claims pertaining to the “invisibility” of whiteness. He continues to mention that when one studies race theory, majority of the people remain uninterested in white imagery. People more often than take an interest in non-white imagery. In turn, there seems to be a separation between white imagery and the term “race”, it is almost as though race does not included white heritages. White people are simply that, just people in normal social...
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...Definition of Race Race is a group of people of common ancestry, distinguished from others by physical characteristics, such as hair type, the color of eyes and skin. Race as a social construction is changing as time goes on. Our daily lives are affected by race whether we are aware of it or not. We can see all over the world that race has affected various domains of our lives. From the types of jobs we have the amount of money we make, the kinds of friends we keep, the food we eat and even the schools we will attend. The entire foundation of race is constructed on a platform based on the color of people’s skin. The construction of social reality is based on social groups and the agreements and disagreements that are made based on the acceptance of certain constructions when it comes to our existence. There is nothing biologically real about race. I have learned that that there is no certain identification of race that exists from our collective agreements, acceptance, and positions other than our existing with one another. Race is a social construction that has real consequences and effects. Race shapes the way we view ourselves and those around us. We shouldn’t have an objective knowledge about race. We can know what race is and how it works being aware that regardless of the various shifts in the meaning of race that they have occurred through history and going to occur geographically but this should not lead to skepticism and the destruction of positive social constructions...
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...Since the colonial era, the term ‘race’ has undergone significant evolution in its definition and significance. ‘Race’ was initially used for the sole purpose of categorizing people into a group that they had an ancestral or familial connection to. However, the concept of race later became the primary justification for slavery and has been used for centuries to argue for white superiority while diminishing the value of people of other races. Race was not always the defining characteristic of a person’s merit in the colonies. “The Story We Tell” states that in the early 1600s, the concepts of religion and wealth were used to categorize people into different hierarchical groups. As referenced in Katheryn Gin Lum’s writing, people who did not...
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...Human being are born into a differences identity by accident of birth, people have developed these ideas about differences and identities to distinguish them selves and others, and to serve their interest. These identities could be gender, ethnic or race. Race is a common identity that people around that world have used it to distinguish our selves from the others, to serve their interest. They used race identity to label one group as superior, rational and intelligent while the opposite to the other group, which would be inferior, emotional and backward. For example, at apartheid time, in South Africa, the colonial power, the Dutch people see them selves as the White superior race, while the native black Africans as inferior...
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...discrimination, and the desire to eradicate the disputes, the struggles and the torment associated with racism. As of now, I may stand before you as an individual identified to be of Asian ethnicity, but I hope to leave you as an individual of the human race. When we are born, we are born into a racist society. People generate implicit assumptions of other people based on outer appearance. People discriminate against people and you can't deny that race ultimately plays a role in that process of discrimination. White people can't dance. All Asians are geniuses and know kungfu. All African Americans are good at basketball. All Indians eat is curry. The racial judgments are endless and the world is full of it. Some people live in fear, knowing that their every move is being observed and judged. Some people live in fear, knowing that they'll be mocked and ostracised. Some people live in fear...and others provoke this fear. But the basis of this fear is non-existent. It is flimsy, hypothetical, whimsical and groundless. Let me tell you why. In 1950, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation released a document which recognises that mankind is one and also that all humans belong to the same race and species. No matter what 'race' we come from, we are not different to each other. I believe...
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...Race is a social construct which has become engrained in the culture and the law of the United States. The concept of race is one that has been debated thoroughly, it has created divisions and a history of discrimination. This history of discrimination is evident from the Constitution, particularly in Article I, Section 2: Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other Persons.” (McClain and Stewart Jr, 2014, p.11) The Three Fifths Compromise...
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...Representation Of Race In Media * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Much of our perceptions of the world are based on narratives and the images that we see in film, television, radio, music, and other media. These are some of the outlets that construct how individuals see their social identities, as well as learn and understand about what it is to be black, white, Native American, Asian, South American, etc. (Dow, Wood, 2006, p. 297). You will get a better understanding of this once you understand the concept of ideologies. Ideologies are what create our perception of the world around us, whether it is political, social, economic, etc. Ideologies are not the product of individual intention or conscious, rather we create our intentions within ideology (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 267). These ideologies exist before we are even born; they form the social constructions and conditions that we are born into. But, ideologies are just a practice, and it is produced and reproduced in apparatus of ideological production. The media is a great example of an apparatus of ideological production (Marris, Thornham, 2000, p. 273). It produces social meanings and distributes them throughout society. However, as long as ideologies continue so will social struggles such as racism, which we will discuss in this essay. Media elites represent different races through media based on their ideologies. This has a predominant influence on the social constructions...
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...Running head: SUBTLE BIAS SHARED WITHIN AN AMERICAN SOCIAL CONSTRUCT Subtle Bias as a Social Construct In America May 28, 2012 Abstract An understanding of the subtle bias that affects our society is a form of humanistic deception. Although the norms in America appear to be uniform; we will see that biases are influenced by various social factors such as stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, and labeling including the Attribution Theory. This paper will compare and contrast scientific literature to gain more insight into the subtlety of this social construct. I am seeking not to understand the reason why we as social beings are bias, but to simply show that this distorted truth exist. Subtle Bias as a Social Construct In America My theory of unconscious bias along with the self-affirmation process that accompanies it clouds our worldview in our present society. We all do it no matter how accepting we appear to be or even claim to be. Irrational thoughts are usually based on a worldview that illustrates our interpretation of the world we live in (Wilson, 2001). This worldview is a set of assumptions and beliefs that we hold on to that guide our behavior. It helps us to make sense out of our lives. It determines what we think about human nature, causes of emotional issues, and where bias comes from (Entwistle, 2004). There is always some form of discriminatory behavior or covert prejudice prevailing within our essence. Unfortunately, there is a strong manipulative...
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...gender theory, I think historians, have struggled with the relationship between social structures (class, symbolic systems, language, gender, etc.) and individuals. The struggles stem from our understanding of the world, society, and life experiences. Throughout history, what we know is primarily based on theories and knowledge created historically and predominately by men of certain nationalities and economic status. History, like society, has been male-dominated and culturally distinct theorizing and knowledge has excluded women and other groups from traditional theorizing and knowledge building methods. When used in research, methods, and action, such theories and understanding ignored...
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