The Difference Between Race And Gender

Race and gender are two nouns used to discern the differences between and categorize every human being. For years, scientists argued that the dissimilarities between races and genders were due to biological factors; however, Audrey and Brian Smedley, in their article on race and biology, assert that, “The consensus among most scholars in fields such as evolutionary biology, anthropology, and other disciplines is that racial distinctions fail on all three counts—that is, they are not genetically discrete, are not reliably measured, and are not scientifically meaningful” (Smedley, Smedley). Their elucidation of biology as a meaningless component of the distinction between races leads to the justification of race and gender as a purely social …show more content…
When I was in middle school, I did not care much for doing my makeup, styling my hair, or dedicating more than two minutes to choosing my outfit for the day; however, my friend took me to get my nails done one weekend, and the following morning I had the sudden desire to devote a little more time to getting ready. I straightened my hair, wore new clothes I bought a few weeks prior, and applied some mascara and lip gloss. Feeling immensely confident in myself, I held my head high when I strolled into school that day. I received loads of compliments, which was something to which I was not accustomed, but it was not until my French class that my confidence fizzled. When one of the girls I sat next to saw me, she announced very loudly, “Whoa! Christine looks like a girl today!” What she meant as a compliment nearly brought me to tears; it was then I understood that the expectation for me, for all girls, is to look nice. This girl only made that comment because I looked much more feminine than I typically did, which illuminates the unfair stereotype that a girl is someone who invests all of her time into improving her physical image in order to please others. Society expects girls to look pretty, and this is the only way girls receive attention, which is supported by a statement I made prior. I never received compliments from …show more content…
The personal narratives I included in this essay validate this claim, as I provided detailed explanations for why these events occurred and how they negatively impacted the way I view myself. Each anecdote explores how the social construction of race and gender are a detriment to one’s self-esteem, as I outlined how each experience culminated in my inability to see myself as positively as I had before. That girl in my class was not only wrong about white people not having problems, but she failed to realize that everyone has problems, and many of these problems, I believe, are due to the unfair expectations the social construction of race and gender has