Race. It is a word that presents itself in some way, shape, or form in the daily life of Americans. Why you ask? Because although humans do differ on a spectrum of various skin pigments, bone structures, and cultural behaviors, the idea of race was created by European Americans–and other cultures looking for gateways to power–to justify their actions of persecuting those who did not look like them. As the “AAPA Statement on Biological Aspects of Race” reads, “old racial concepts persist as social conventions that foster institutional discrimination” (“AAPA Statement on Race,” 1996). This assertion stood out to me as highly preposterous as this false idea has come to govern the lives of so many individuals over hundreds of years and still hangs over the heads of ‘minorities,’ especially in the United States. Since 1619, the excuse of race has been used by European Americans in the United States as a man-made loophole to gain power over other cultural groups. Through slavery, the persecution of Native Americans, the formation of Japanese-American internment camps, et cetera, white Americans have declared unjust superiority over individuals who are more like them than unlike them. Since this precedence has been set in the minds of so many individuals over time, there is no likely chance that the myth of race–a product of “historical and contemporary social, economic, educational, and political circumstances” will ever disappear from life as we know it (AAA Statement on Race, 1998).
For those who have not taken a physical anthropology course nor have read into the topic of race and its nonexistence, it can be difficult at first to understand how race does not exist due to its perceived prominence in the world around us. Following the example stated in the video lecture “Misconceptions of Race,” it makes sense to think of different skin tones as the solution to complications that can arise such as ultraviolet (UV) exposure and the need to synthesize vitamin D. The closer an individual lives to the Equator, the more exposure the individual will have to higher-damaging UV rays; a darker skin pigment protects the skin from possible sun poisoning or skin cancer. Here is where natural selection comes in, and the genes of the individuals living near the Equator adapt so there is a better likelihood that these individuals reproduce. The reasoning for lighter skin tones in populations living farther from the Equator is due to the fact that the human body is highly reliant on vitamin D for bone development and maintenance. Because the sun is the main source of vitamin D that was available to humans before supplements were invented, natural selection ‘chose’ lighter skin as the best survival option for those living at higher latitudes.
Therefore, there is no evidence, nor has there ever been–according to many anthropological organizations–that skin colors differentiate individuals into groups that are dissimilar from each other in significant genetic degrees. Again, more variability exists within groups than between groups as a whole, showing that as much as people wish to think vast biological differences exist, the population of the world is really one human race.
References:
AAPA Statement on Biological Aspects of Race. (1998). American Anthropologist,100(3), 714-715. doi:10.1525/aa.1998.100.3.714
AAA Statement on Race. (1998). PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e573162012-001
Hi! I really liked your way of explaining the misconception of race, noting that race is a perceived notion based on social constructions. I think it is a hard concept for some that there is no true differences in race, that environmental conditions change the physical appearance. One additional thing that I noted changes with varying environmental conditions is the cultural differences in different areas of the world. These cultural differences lead to different culinary cuisines based on local food, different social cues due to social aspects from prior generations. In my blog, I also noted that one condition to be considered the same species is to be able to successfully mate, meaning dogs and cats are different species, but cocker spaniels and poodles are the same species. Clearly, humans from different areas of the world are able to successfully mate. Overall though, I really liked how you discussed the prejudices in the world and the misconceptions behind them.
Madison Diamond
I really liked your blog post and I think for me, someone that has never taken a physical anthropology course nor have read into the topic of race and its nonexistence it has been a little difficult to understand and reconstruct my existing thoughts on to what the facts being presented are. I also really enjoyed the video lecture “Misconceptions of Race” and felt like I was learning a whole different explanation of race than I ever had before. This was really eye opening and also very sickening at the same time. There is so much that comes with the idea of our population being divided by race and all the social injustices that come with something that doesn’t even exist. I wish more people knew this information.