How Race And Ethnicity Is Socially Constructed, Rather...

Humans have created the need to categorize people based on their perceived differences beginning back in the 17th century with the European expansion. We can see the beginning of racial stratification with the Europeans placing themselves as the top social class. In all societies people receive different shares of what is valued and it is this unequal division of resources that creates stratification by the higher social class receives more than the lower classes. Unfortunately, the lower classes are usually the ones who are involved with the most crime. The reason why people stepped in when the African American was trying to steal the bike is because they have been stereotyped as being associated with the most criminal behavior, such as theft and being involved with drugs. I do not think that stratification happens at random, because social institutions such as government, education and religion all operate to ensure the positions of the various social groups in the hierarchy. Why it is important to understand that race/ethnicity is socially constructed, rather than biological? Race is not determined by biological factors, but it is a socially constructed idea. It is a way of differentiating people, because race is one of the first features that a person notice about one another. In the United States, we still see race as skin color to judge everyone to as what group they belong to. By knowing that racism is socially constructed we would be able to educateShow MoreRelatedRacism: An Essentialist Category1728 Words   |  7 PagesAt one time and still today to many people, race is an essentialist category meaning that the race of a person is a category innate in them that sets them apart from others and makes them act in a certain way. Reb, for instance, one of the main characters of the story The Bread Givers , thinks it axiomatic that a woman cannot learn Torah, nor be educated but is fit only to work in the house. 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