Out of the many factors that affect our contemporary life, race is a prominent feature. There is an ongoing misconception about the notion of ‘race’ among people in today’s society. Defining ‘race’, particularly in its biological and/or social aspects, leave uncertainty among many, which has been a continuous issue overtime. Some of us talk about race all the time in our society, and some of us don’t. But only a few really take the time to think what ‘race’ actually is, more importantly to distinguish right from wrong, what ‘race’ actually is not. While race as a concept has contributed to the development of biological science, it is not biological; rather a social construct that shapes the way we see and categorize others and us, ultimately
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Differentiating by skin color, a sense of superiority and inferiority towards the white were assigned, initiating the practice of social categories known as race, which is still ongoing in our society. One must learn to accept race as a social concept and not a biological fact. If we look through history, ancient civilizations were not segregated through physical differences, but through status, religion, class, and language. Then the idea of social classification was put into play through physical differences by the explorers. From there on, the so-called race has evolved to create a socioeconomic division between people. As a result, people today still categorize individuals stereotyping and more importantly, dehumanizing a person. Most people in our society are embedded with the idea that certain people should be recognized and given more importance than the others because of their race. For example, it has been considered through centuries that the whiter an individual is, the more priority and respect he or she should receive from the …show more content…
It would have made sense if race were limited to its biological sense, if there is any. However issues arise because race is used as a tool or a ‘lens through which differential opportunity and inequality are structured’. To begin with, the idea of separating and keeping distinct sense of superiority of people serves as a prime reason for racial differentiation in the first place. In our society, Whites take a special space in having an open opportunity to choose and pass for any ethnic background they want to claim to be. Whites are more socially acceptable, and treated differently than the people with darker skin, such as the African American. It only makes sense to say that race does not only distinguish White and Black, but it is the most dominant group in the society that define race. For instance, the event of 9/11 marks racial discrimination towards Muslims from all over the world, regardless of their skin color, and
Differentiating by skin color, a sense of superiority and inferiority towards the white were assigned, initiating the practice of social categories known as race, which is still ongoing in our society. One must learn to accept race as a social concept and not a biological fact. If we look through history, ancient civilizations were not segregated through physical differences, but through status, religion, class, and language. Then the idea of social classification was put into play through physical differences by the explorers. From there on, the so-called race has evolved to create a socioeconomic division between people. As a result, people today still categorize individuals stereotyping and more importantly, dehumanizing a person. Most people in our society are embedded with the idea that certain people should be recognized and given more importance than the others because of their race. For example, it has been considered through centuries that the whiter an individual is, the more priority and respect he or she should receive from the …show more content…
It would have made sense if race were limited to its biological sense, if there is any. However issues arise because race is used as a tool or a ‘lens through which differential opportunity and inequality are structured’. To begin with, the idea of separating and keeping distinct sense of superiority of people serves as a prime reason for racial differentiation in the first place. In our society, Whites take a special space in having an open opportunity to choose and pass for any ethnic background they want to claim to be. Whites are more socially acceptable, and treated differently than the people with darker skin, such as the African American. It only makes sense to say that race does not only distinguish White and Black, but it is the most dominant group in the society that define race. For instance, the event of 9/11 marks racial discrimination towards Muslims from all over the world, regardless of their skin color, and