Races Are Social Constructions Rather than Biological Givens - Coursework Example

Creative Essay: It is now widely acknowledged that races are social constructions rather than biological givens “What we call race is an invention not of nature but of our social institutions and practices” - (Graves, 2002, p. 2) Introduction The concept of race is so deeply embedded in our daily lives that it naturally slips into our everyday conversations simultaneously creating notions and assumptions about race as it is largely perceived by the majority. The very existence of race as a concept is so ever present and dominant that its presence is almost unmistakable. In fact is one of the first things people notice about one another and use this knowledge (about ones racial background) to inform one-self about what the person must be like. The ability to accurately categories people on the basis of race is a social phenomenon more than biological one. However, the inability to identify or guess ones racial background, is often received with alarm and results in discomfort translating into a momentary crisis of sorts. This is often observed in case of people who are difficult to be categorized into the prominent racial groups, mainly due to the ambiguity of their physical structures – mainly and more importantly the color of their skin, their nose, the color of their eyes, the type and color of their hair and all those facial features that are usually used to identify their racial background. This fact is more pronounced in case of multiracial or bi-racial people whose physical features ‘defy’ the traditional definitions of race and challenge the stereotypical perceptions of people in the process (Omi & Howard, 1988). The case of Bruno’s Mars, the famous singer-songwriter, racial identity is a case in point. He is often mistaken for a Black person, but contrary to popular belief, and the descriptions that are used to distinguish people based on their race the physical characteristics of the singer tend to evade such strict categorization. Mars is of multiracial descent comprising of Ukrainian, American, Filipino, Hispanic, Jewish, Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, European, Hungarian, Asian and Spanish ancestry (Smolenyak, 2012). Basically he is everything but Black! The manner, in which race relations in modern society operate, is hence largely influenced by our preconceived notions of what people from a certain must look like. Biracial and people from multi-ethnic roots are hence often faced with funny comments as You dont look Black / White. Such expressions barely conceal the predominant notions that individuals and /or society harbor/s, with regard to of what people of a certain race should look like. Hence when a Black person doesnt look black enough due to multi-ethnic background, their physical features often throw people off-guard confusing them and challenging their often-unsubstantiated beliefs about race and racial identities (Billig, 1978). Tiger Woods famously created his own racial identity by declaring himself as ‘Cablinasian’ a term he invented to define his unique multiracial ethnic background comprising of Caucasian, Black, Indian and Asian ancestry (Dalmage, 2004, p. 138). In contemporary American society, like in every society, there exists a definite set of codes and /or rules related to one’s race or ethnicity, that people belonging to those groups abide by. These set of ‘rules’ or beliefs are in turn shaped by a combination of factors including our interactions with people from a particular race; and the same are in turn applied to the larger group resulting in the generation of ‘expected behavior’ or ‘racial etiquettes’. These race related etiquettes refer to the behavior patterns that the group is expected to display and follow. Hence concepts such as hip-hop are often associated with Black culture and they are hence by definition expected to display behavior patterns that their race has come to signify. Constant association of certain mannerisms or behavioral traits with a particular race, results in unconscious formation of racial identities based on those traits. Hence people of a certain race begin to unconsciously display the traits ‘expected’ of them, not due to apparent and persistent instructions but due to unconscious inculcation. Racially motivated behavior hence often becomes a habit and a matter of fact way of explaining their identities rather than genetically derived traits. Race is hence not a biological concept but an ideological or sociological one since the behavior traits that the people of certain race are expected to display are not genetic but based on observed patterns of behavior instead (Smedley & Smedley, 2005). According to Billig (1978) racial beliefs often tend to operate as ‘amateur biology’ whereby the physical characteristics of an individual such as their hair, skin color, color of their eyes etc. are used as a parameter to explain the differences in their behavior / temperament. Hence certain innate characteristic traits such as intelligence, choice of music, physical and athletic abilities are presumed to be racially defined, and are believed to be apparent from the color of their skin. Halle Berry in an argument against her white ex-partner, over the racial identity of her daughter claimed, "I feel shes black. Im black and Im her mother....I had to decide for myself and thats what shes going to have to decide - how she identifies herself in the world...And I think, largely that will be based on how the world identifies her. Thats how I identified myself" (Donaldson, 2011). Historically individuals, from a very early age, have been taught to identify and associate themselves with a certain race and at the same time learn to differentiate others, based on their physical characteristics, which in turn are passed on to them through culturally defined codes. Every minute aspect of our everyday lives ranging from type and color of hair, eyes, and skin to the type of music, clothing even minutest gestures we use and love, are meant to indicate and relate us to our races. Such constant associations of our physical characteristics and the choices we make to our race within these highly complex cultural systems contribute in shaping our beliefs, perceptions and thoughts of our own race and those of others. The manner in which people perceive themselves is largely derived from the concept of symbolic interactionism whereby human beings are likened to animals who use symbols to associate or give meaning to objects, events or situations around them. Hence according to this theory people are known to perceive themselves the way they are perceived by others around them. It is only through communication with others that individuals form perceptions / notions of self-identity, understand who they are and try to fit in the society based on such perceptions (Edison, 2008, p. 51). Such symbolic interactionism can have a significant impact on bi-racial people who are in the midst of discovering their true identity. Their perception of who they are is heavily influenced by what others perceive them to be. The meaning of race hence is relative and changes according to the situation, time or place. Biracial people hence may be seen as struggling to fit in, where, depending on their physical characteristics they may be rejected or accepted in a group by either the Whites or the Blacks. Research suggests that bi-racial people are often pressurized to choose one racial identity since it helps them to associate such people based on the set racial categories. The dilemma arising out of it all may result in the bi-racial person with only one part of their racial identity acknowledged (Edison, 2008, p. 52). Reading subtle clues and observing the way others speak, and use body gestures hence become highly significant parameters of their racial identities. Such blatant use of body politics, in turn gives way to a system of hierarchy, power, and dominance, which are racially motivated and have the effect of pitting one race against another. It tends to offer undue advantage to those of a dominant racial background, against those who are pushed down the racial hierarchy (Butler, 1993). Such unbalanced and unfair distribution of power based purely on racial hierarchy has been often portrayed in films but is seen translated into real life as well. In the film, the Human Stain, Wentworth Miller, an American actor, model and producer plays a young bi-racial man who deliberately chooses to pass off as white only to lead a more privileged life that was afforded naturally to the whites, purely due to the color of their skin. However the actor also plays a white man in the popular television show ‘Prison Break’. The choice of Miller’s character to pass off as white to avoid being discriminated resonates with racial minorities today who are most often stopped and searched and are subject to racial profiling merely due to the colors of their skin. His character in the television show on the other hand, that of a white man, indicates the manner in which we perceive race and questions and challenges everything about it at the same time. Miller has refined features, colored eyes and a light skin. These physical attributes makes him ‘eligible’ for playing roles that portray him as the ‘white’ guy instead of a bi-racial or black person. Thus despite his bi-racial background, and owing to his physical characteristics that defy the ‘norm’ associated with his race i.e., dark skin, black eyes and dark hair, the perception and definition of race is changed as well. Sociological studies have unanimously rejected the notion of race or racial identity being a biological concept. Prominent sociologist Max Weber categorically denied the association of race and biology and stated that race is a socio-politically shaped and motivated construction. Contemporary social science literature too vehemently denies the association of race and biology and suggests that race is shaped by societal forces rather than genetic or biological ones (Irwin, 2001). The concept of race has evolved and gone through various transformations based on the historical events and situations that shaped it. The meaning of the concept has hence differed greatly based on the particular point in time in history. This can be explained by the growing multi-racial population in the U.S, which has virtually blurred the rigid restrictions and race-based classifications that were used to differentiate people of color. Today, it is almost impossible to judge or estimate the racial background of an individual due to their multi-racial ancestry making all arguments in favor of race as a biological concept, moot and invalid. It is on account of this reason that despite claims made to categorize race as a biological concept, using physical characteristics such as hair, color of skin, facial features etc., social scientists continue to insist on race being a social construct (Cohen, 1998). The fact that race is a social construct has also been acknowledged by the prominent evolutionary biologist, Joseph Graves (2002) who described the associations between race and biology as a mere myth. Conclusion: The fact that factors such as our skin color, facial features, and other physical attributes such as height, weight or body shape are visibly different is undeniable. Such differences exist across all races where some are tall while others short, some are skinny while others are fat, some are right handed while others use the left hand more and so on and so forth. However these physicalities are mere descriptions of individuals which are likely to exist regardless of race within individuals across the spectrum. But regardless of such differences, however apparent they maybe it would be wrong to classify them as ‘biological’ or associate certain traits to a race. It would be illogical to claim that Black people are athletic or Asians are smart /intelligent particularly so, if such generalizations are racially motivated. That is because such associations are mostly constructed through social communications. Race likewise, is an outcome of socio-political as well as historical construction and not associated in any way with biology. In the words of Graves (2005) "Despite what we have been taught, despite what we seem to see, race isn’t gravity. It is a social construct, a myth in the service of social dominance". Works Cited Billig, M. (1978). Patterns of Racism: Interviews with National Front Members. Race and Class , 20 (2), 161-179. Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter. New York, NY: Routledge Publication. Cohen, M. N. (1998). Chauvinism, class, and racism in the United States. New Haven: Yale University Publication. Donaldson, S. J. (2011, 02 09). Halle Berry cites One-drop rule in battle over whether her daughter is black or white. (ABC News) Retrieved 12 08, 2014, from abcnews.go.com: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/halle-berry-cites-drop-rule-daughter-black-white/story?id=12869789 Dalmage, H. M. (2004). The politics of multiracialism: Challenging racial thinking. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Edison, A. (2008). The impact of media on biracial identity formation. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest Publishing. Graves, J. L. (2002). The emperors new clothes: Biological theories of race at millennium. Rutgers University Press. Irwin, A. (2001). Sociology and the environment: A critical introduction to society, nature and knowledge. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Joseph, G. (2005). The Race Myth: Why We Pretend Race Still Exists in America. Plume Publication. Omi, M., & Howard, W. (1988). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s. American Journal of Sociology , 93 (4), 1025-1027. Smolenyak, M. (2012, 12 11). What race is Bruno Mars? Retrieved 12 08, 2014, from Huffingtonpost.com: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/megan-smolenyak-smolenyak/what-race-is-bruno-mars_b_2116984.html Smedley, A., & Smedley, B. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, race as a social problem is real. American Psychologist , 60 (1), 16-26. Read More