Alex Walschots
July 18, 2019
Intro to Physical Anthropology
Blog Post #3
Race, as we know it today, is a human constructed concept. Race classifications have never been biological, even though we use it everyday to define and separate the human race.
According to organizations such as the American Anthropological Association (or AAA abbreviated) and the American Association of Physical Anthropologies (AAPA), it is the human construct that has developed these ideas for many generations, and “culture” is a better word to use than “race.”
According to the American Anthropological Association, “our temperaments, dispositions, and personalitirs, regardless of genetic propensities, are developed within sets of meanings and values that we call ‘culture’.” Therefore, you as a person are formed from your environment and people around you, NOT about what ethnicity you were born into or physical attributes that you have.
99.9% of our DNA is shared throughout the entire human race. There is no difference in how human we are, or any clear separation between us besides outward physical appearance. However, it is the outward appearance that humans tend to focus in on, and attempt to divide us into groups based on the color of our skin. When speaking in biological terms, it makes absolutely no sense to do such a thing. Humans use their constructed version of “race” in order to separate us, and group us into “us” and “them” variations. There is no type of person that is the ideal race, though many societies still tend to act as though it is.
This is how false stereotyping has happened, and will continue to happen. In Western society, whether we like to admit it or not, the caucasion majority has labeled themselves to be the superior group, or “race.” Even though there is hundreds if not thousands of different cultures and personalities within white people, they have deemed themselves to be the smarter and more “pure” group. Blacks, asians, native americans, etc. have been getting little respect or leadership compared to this group, not because of their capabilities, but purely by the separation that has been instilled upon them by the color of skin they were born into.
For someone who may be unfamiliar with the topic of race, I will put it this way: All sheep are born from the same family in a farm. However, half are given a blue tag instead of a black one. Though there is absolutely no difference in the sheep, the black tagged sheep begin to see the blue tag as an outlier, and therefore separate from each other, claiming themselves to be the “pure” sheep.
What I find extremely surprising is how, from the moment you are born, these ideas begin to instill upon us. And truthfully, we have no say in the matter. What I hope to see in the coming years is the erasure of the term “race,” and for us to blur the lines of physical vs. biological traits. We have come along way in the past 100 years, however we have an even longer way to go before everyone understands what the AAA and AAPA explain is the truth.
I think pointing out the diversity that exists within racial categories and the lack of diversity that exists between racial categories is what distinguishes the statements of the AAA and AAPA as monumental. As you said, there is so much diversity that exists among “white” people. There were various times in the United States where the Irish, Germans, Italians, Polish, and Syrians were all discriminated against and now they’re all lumped into the same “Caucasian” racial group on the census. I am part Arab and Mediterranean. My culture isn’t fully white, but technically, I am considered white. Never has this made any sense to me. Thinking of race instead as a spectrum of genetic variation is a much more practical way of describing individuals’ phenotypical traits.
Hi Alex! I like how you used the example of the sheep with different colored tags in order to explain race. Personally, I think examples do a better job of explaining the concept rather than just a definition. Also, I find it surprising that these ideas have been installed in us since we were born. To think that we have let a color control so much is kind of crazy, to be honest. Additionally, it was nice that you added the concept of false stereotyping. This really made me think about racism throughout history. From a reader’s point of view, I could understand where you stand throughout the post. I appreciate this very much because never did I feel confused or question what you were trying to say. Overall, I think you made some very good points and I enjoyed reading your blog post!