While some may say race does not exist, it is, in fact, a very real concept, just not biologically. Race is a social and cultural construct created as a means to classify and rank groups of people. Much of this has roots in colonialism and migration – as soon as people started migrating, exploring, and running into groups that don’t look like them, these classifications were made to try to keep order in society. The field of anthropology has a dark history of this racial categorization; many papers and studies were dedicated to finding concrete biological differences between populations. This may not have been malicious in intent; there were many studies done trying to identify key characteristics of not only race, but morality as well, i.e.
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While genes may be a clue to an individual’s ancestry, there are no specific genetic markers that accurately categorize race; this is because racial categories are so dependent on lived experience and culture that there is no standardized classification. Many times, doctors may assume someone’s ancestry based off looks and proceed with treatment according to those preconceived notions of “racial diseases,” or people believe that certain races experience certain illnesses, however, this is not the case. More often than not, these illnesses that are attributed to certain racial groups stem from the environment in which they live, chronic stressors, and their socioeconomic status. There are, however, some diseases that occur more frequently in certain groups than others, such as sickle cell anemia, found most often in those of African ancestry, and hemochromatosis, which is found most frequently in Northern Europeans. While this is true, there is no excuse for doctors to only screen or test based on perceived ethnicity. For example, in a study on prenatal screening for hemoglobinopathies, at least 7% of the subjects with sickle cell trait were not black, and 22% of individuals with beta-thalassemia trait were not Mediterranean, black or Asian (Bowman 2000, p 208). There is no reason to not screen all patients – while it may cost more money, it saves lives. As the medical field continues to move forward, they can hopefully move away from
While genes may be a clue to an individual’s ancestry, there are no specific genetic markers that accurately categorize race; this is because racial categories are so dependent on lived experience and culture that there is no standardized classification. Many times, doctors may assume someone’s ancestry based off looks and proceed with treatment according to those preconceived notions of “racial diseases,” or people believe that certain races experience certain illnesses, however, this is not the case. More often than not, these illnesses that are attributed to certain racial groups stem from the environment in which they live, chronic stressors, and their socioeconomic status. There are, however, some diseases that occur more frequently in certain groups than others, such as sickle cell anemia, found most often in those of African ancestry, and hemochromatosis, which is found most frequently in Northern Europeans. While this is true, there is no excuse for doctors to only screen or test based on perceived ethnicity. For example, in a study on prenatal screening for hemoglobinopathies, at least 7% of the subjects with sickle cell trait were not black, and 22% of individuals with beta-thalassemia trait were not Mediterranean, black or Asian (Bowman 2000, p 208). There is no reason to not screen all patients – while it may cost more money, it saves lives. As the medical field continues to move forward, they can hopefully move away from