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  • Essay / Race: Social and Social Construction of Race - 1205

    When looking at race from a sociological perspective, it is clear that it is a rather complex issue. This is because race is a socially constructed category. This means that contrary to initial belief, racial groups form on the basis of much more than just biological differences. Instead, racial categories are assigned to an individual based on social and historical experiences. Within society, racial classifications continue to have a significant impact on an individual's life opportunities. Show how race is one of many social constructs that affect the entire social structure by maintaining inequality. The notion of race is very real and omnipresent in society. However, the majority of members of society consider it simply. However, it is clear that race is a social construct that affects an individual's position within society. This has real-world consequences and effects which, in turn, shape how people perceive and judge themselves and those around them. Since the beginning of immigration, there has always been a superior group and minority groups. Over time, the way people were classified into these groups changed dramatically. Changes within racial classifications further confirm that race is not a natural concept. It is also clear that there is nothing natural about this concept because the definition and meaning of race as ahole is constantly changing over time (Conley 328). Race is a social concept that evolves over time. Racial classifications are not based solely on genetic models or scientific facts. One sociological theory that actually supports the argument that race is a socially constructed category is racial formation theory. Racial formation theory generally encompasses the idea that Zuberi presents these social origins of racial classification in his explanation of the evolution of racial classification. First, there was the Chain of Being which organized all beings in the world into a hierarchy and in turn created a racial hierarchy since people of African descent were closest to animals and people of European ancestry were closest to the Creator, or God (Zuberi 78). ). Later came the idea of ​​19th-century Social Darwinism, which held that people of certain races were best positioned to dominate and survive over more inferior races (Conley 332). With the evolution of these ideas came the racialization of slavery, which led colonists to view Africans as ideal slaves and Europeans as ideal citizens, as well as the formation of the ideology of racism (Zuberi 80 ). Racism ultimately began with the birth of the term “whiteness.” Even before other cultures and non-European peoples were introduced, there was a separation between the early British settlers and other European immigrants (Conley 327). Racism is the idea that there are groups superior to other groups because of the different and unequal traits that different races possess (Conley 327). This is very different from white privilege, which gives an advantage to those who are socially classified as white over all other inferior races (McIntosh 1).