Overall, the AAPA statement on biological aspects of race was more concise in my opinion, due to the numbered points of statements. One statement from this article I found interesting was that it stated “Human populations have at times been isolated, but have never genetically diverged enough to produce any biological barriers to mating between members of different populations.” I find this statement interesting because it includes the phrasing “diverged enough”, meaning that different populations have evolved in a biological sense some, but they still have the ability to mate. Both of these articles come to the fact that different races are not considered different species, there is no “pure” race, and that the cause of variety in humans of different races is due to environmental factors and inherited traits.Although humans are a global species this is due to migration and territory expansions that have lead to adaptation of the world’s many environments. The articles attributed race and its subsequent inequalities to historical, contemporary social, economic, educational, and political circumstances and not due to biological reasons of inequality.
One of the most interesting statements that I found within these articles on the topic of race and ancestry was from the Statement of race from the AAA which stated “As they were constructing US society, leaders among European-Americans fabricated the cultural/behavioral characteristics associated with each “race”, linking superior traits with Europeans and negative and inferior ones to blacks and Indians.” I find the usage of the word fabricated within the statement to be one of emphasis that race was not genetically made, but socially made. This is a powerful statement in my opinion because socially those who were financially able to take the power created a social construction that the rest of the world upheld for many decades.
Based on the course and this article, I would describe the non-existence of biological race as the fact that there is no genetic coding difference that is distinguishable between races. Race is a socially constructed idea that is based off of the physical appearances, such as skin or hair color and physical features, rather than the genetic make-up that defies us as human beings. The physical differences in varying populations are either due to inherited traits or influenced by how people live within a specific geographic area. One way to determine if animals are of the same species is if they are able to mate. For example, cats and dogs cannot mate to produce offspring, therefore they are classified as different species, but a cocker spaniel and a poodle can mate to produce viable offspring. Two humans of different races are able to mate and produce viable offspring, therefore, they meet that criteria of being in the same species. Although some use behavioral differences in the realm of defining a species, the varying behavior in different races is due to cultural and social environments that one was brought up with. The concept of race in terms of varying species is due to the fact of wealth and educational status that ended in a social construction decades ago that has yet to be fully dismantled.
I also think that the argument that humans have not diverged genetically enough to prevent mating is fascinating. This really puts emphasis on the idea that humans are all one large species and that there is no point in trying to establish racial categories within humans. I also really loved the connection to our historical ideals because it really paints a picture of how Europeans were able to put themselves on a higher level in order to justify the treatment of certain people who they deemed to be less. Unfortunately, this ideal still has not gone away and race is still being used to give certain individuals more pull within society, which is causing many social and political problems. I loved the way you organized all of your points!
Hey Madison!
I see you said the AAPA was more concise with your opinion. The AAPA was more inline with mine as well because it brought up so many valid points that show although are different, we are one. The first point brought up in the AAPA article is that we all belong to the species of homo sapiens. It also says that we have started evolving for the same amount of time as one another. I also agree when it states biological differences are caused by the natural and social environments. This shows these have are just adaptations that have evolved over time. I like the quote you wrote saying that “Human populations have at times been isolated, but have never genetically diverged enough to produce any biological barriers to mating between members of different populations.” I don’t remember seeing that but I like it because it shows we are still so similar that we can still mate without any problems or biological barriers that would not allow offspring.
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I also feel that the AAPA statement on biological aspects of race was more concise to me as well. I agree with you when you say that the statement that talked about human populations have been isolated at times but we cannot say that they have been genetically diverged. To me, this statement was quite insightful because it means that we are different and that our diversity is different especially when we look at it from biological point of view. It was also interesting that you talked about the fact that different races are not considered to be of different species. Generally, your post was insightful in the sense that you were able to relate to the information that was talked about in the articles.