Cultural Differences Between Race And Ethnicity

A recent topic that has been given light in the last few weeks of class has been the differences between the idea of race and the concept of ethnicity. The terms are often misused or switched when discussed so it is important to recognize the differences between these two ideas. Knowing the difference between them is necessary in order to be politically correct when discussing the idea. Race is a socially constructed concept that society has created in order to classify members of society and is used primarily as a basis for social inequality and social oppression. People are put into groupings based upon race, which can lead to problems such as racism. What differentiates race from ethnicity is the fact that race is a purely subjective, …show more content…
And while it may be alright to identify with a certain ethnic group she has gone as far as to fake the identity of one of her parents and state that an African American man, that she only been acquainted with as a friend, was her biological father in order to cement her identity as a biracial woman to the public. She claims to be part of the African American race but her approach comes off as disrespectful. When Dolezal stated that she identified with the race, it is actually an incorrect statement. What makes race is a person 's lineage, appearance, and cultural assimilation. She had grown up as a white citizen that did not practice the customs of the race and only identified as black. She claims to be a black citizen, but had never grown up with the same social oppression that some black citizens must deal with on a daily basis. She has only identified with certain aspects of the black culture, such as how she looks, in order to claim that she is part of that race. She is glorifying aspects of the black culture without having actually experienced it herself, and that is why it comes off as so rude to people who come from the background she wishes to take part in. Whether or not this was intentional or not, Rachel Dolezal is discriminating aspects of a group and this has sparked controversy in the political community. This relates back to the similarities and differences between race and ethnicity. Race chooses to be seen as a social construct based on social customs, practices and histories while ethnicity is the concept referring to the shared culture that is