Being bi-racial, the idea of race is a difficult concept because I’ve been led to believe that I have to act a certain way. Not to be confused with acting a specific way because of culture, but who I should be as a person. I’m half Asian and of course this leads to comments like “Oh, so you are really smart?” or “Do you play the piano?” These are all preconceived notions and stereotypes based on the concept of race that humans have developed. In the article by the American Anthropological Association, I found it interesting when they discuss that each time different groups have crossed paths, they have mated and shared DNA and led to genetic diversity but not species variation. The post also talks about the fact that there is more “variation” among groups than between them. This is really just is talking about physical differences and people like to capitalize on these because it makes them unique and different individuals. In the article by the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, they discuss the scientific ideas from the 19^th century and how early philosophical ideas deduce that all traits are predetermined by the visible, physical ones. The AAPA also talks about how, as of today, race is just a social construct to excuse racism and racist behaviors that have perpetuated discrimination in society. I have to agree with this idea because I have seen and been a victim of these ignorant assumptions.

Attempting to explain the nonexistence of race to someone who doesn’t know about the idea is difficult because it is so ingrained in people’s mind. Race has been established not only as a socioeconomic determinant, but as a way to explain how people should act based on their skin color. Racial stereotyping has become a problem around the world and is leading to preconceived notions about how a person from a specific background is going to act. People judge others based on the outside and use this to determine what the person acts like, how determined they are, and whether or not they will succeed in life. Race is such a surface level concept that makes biological race nonexistent. Biologically, there is nothing that separates humans from each other regardless of skin color yet humans today take this difference as proving the existence of biological race. The only thing that leads to our differences is what was needed for us to survive based on the area one lived. Dark skin adapted from wherever the sun was strongest, high nose bridges were developed when people needed to warm cold air before it entered their lungs; these characteristics have no bearing on our biological makeup and what makes us “human”. On a cellular level, we are all the same and have the same DNA with normal variations like animal species, in the way that cows vary in colors. There are black, white, and brown cows but nonetheless they are still cows, the same concept applies for humans.