Assignment task:
Sometimes students in my sociology courses assume that the difference between race and ethnicity is parallel to the difference between sex and gender. Gender is culture (pink for girls, blue for boys; dolls and dresses for girls, trucks and jeans for boys) and sex is nature (ovaries and testicles; estrogen and testosterone). Thus, wouldn't it work to say ethnicity is culture (language, nationality, religion, food, music) and race is nature (skin color, eye shape, disease probabilities)? No. Race does have to do with physical differences, but there is no single "Latinx gene" compared to an "Asian gene," for example. There are clusters of genetic differences (with wide regional variation) that when taken together, and given cultural and political significance, are classified as race. But the distinctive power of race, the main causes and consequences of the reality of race, draws far more from its source as a cultural reality than the limited aspects drawn from nature
Articles to Read
Psychology Today: Race as a Social Construction.
Scientific American: Race Is a Social Construct, Scientists Argue.
Center for Health Progress: Race is a Social Construct.
I think we have well-established the primarily cultural source of the reality of race. But, to complicate matters, here are some rhetorical questions to consider before listening to the podcast and answering the response prompts:
If race is primarily cultural, a social construct like gender--then who gets to decide what race someone is?
Should people get a say in choosing to identify with a certain race or not?
Can someone become transracial, similar to how some people become transgender?
Podcast:
NPR Podcast: Invisibilia: What Does "Race is a Social Construct" Actually Mean? (1:02:22)
Response Prompt
Respond in as many or few words as you need to clearly justify your position.
What percentage of race would you classify as rooted in nature (genetics) versus what percentage is rooted in culture? Give me two numbers that add up to 100%. Clearly indicate which number is which, and why you picked those percentages.
Should people have the ability to select the race they want to identify with most? Why or why not?
If yes, should other people be permitted to contest some people's choice and on what basis or criterion?
If no, then who gets to determine racial categories (the Census? Lawmakers? Doctors? Biologists? Companies like 23andMe? Your friends and family? People with a good "race-dar" [like a gaydar for race]?) and on what basis or criterion?