C.R - Does Gender and Race Matter?

Marie A. Predestin

Instructor: Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis-Mccoy

SOC 253000

Nov 30, 2016

Title: Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim.nGender and Race Matter: The Importance of Considering Intersections in Black Women’s Body Image. Retrieved 2016

Introduction: Body image plays a central role of understanding eating disorders. The perception of body image is different between African American women and Caucasian women. In this modern popular culture, the large-frame black women are embraced in the black community and thinness ideal is appreciated in the white community. This article asserts the notion that black women are less likely to remain thin and white women ideal of body image is thinness.

Summary: Body image is a pivotal facet to discern certain eating behavior. The authors Christina M. Capodilupo and Suah Kim explore the ideology of body image in different racial groups. The article encounters the following question, is the perception of body image similar across racial groups? The authors arrive to this question because they wanted to understand eating disorder in different cultural groups. The perception of body image and self-concept varies across racial lines. The authors assert that black women’s bodies are more acceptable in the black communities, due to cultural differences; health factors vary, and certain eating habits reflect coping behavior for racial issues. Capodilupo and Kim purpose that black women have a positive appraisal of their bodies because the black community accepts “beauty aesthetic” (Capodilupo and Kim, 2014) and rejects society’s ideology of body appearances. The next component elaborates that white women are more likely to idolize smaller body frames than black women because femininity differs in numerous cultural groups. Lastly, the reading material describes black women that reframe from losing weight because the black community prefers women that have a larger body frame. Thus, this encourages obesity. Nonetheless, qualitative research design is the method that measured body perception in different racial groups. The women in this research address their experiences of body image; overall interpretation of their physical trait such as hair, skin, eye color, physique, culture, etc. This article examined the correlation between the hypothesis and statistical data. The researchers discover the complexity of a black woman’s physical appearance. Black women are less likely to interpret negative feelings towards their body image. These findings are supported by qualitative studies.

Evaluation: This article addresses the attitude of eating disorder in different racial groups. This assertion confirms the problematic racial issues that are occurring in this modern time. The qualitative design that was purposed in this reading material is relevant to the research because it provided the evidence to support the hypothesis. However, the authors fail to explore the health factors associated with thinness in the white community. This limitation creates bias reports among the racial groups.

Conclusion: In conclusion, the qualitative research design measured the perception of body image in African-American group and Caucasian group. The researchers provided insightful information of physical appearance in different ethnic communities and elaborated the ideology of thinness.

Revision:Race The Power of an Illusion; Capitalism and the "New Racial Order"

The title, “Race the Power of an Illusion” if fitting. In Part One of the documentary, Scientific Racism is discussed. While the concept of race and the dominating white/black binary had existed since the 17^th century, scientific racism, which emerged in the 19^th century, was the first attempt to justify racial inequality. Over a century worth of scientific testing was done in attempt to justify black people as “inferior” to white people. At almost every turn results were fabricated to meet the goals of white anthropologists, to prove scientifically European superiority (Golash-Boza 2016). While today scientific notions of racial superiority are dismissed, the documentary highlights that people still believe that people of the same race have more in common than people across races. Through lab tests of DNA, the documentary shatters that belief. In fact, people can even have more DNA in common across racial lines than people of the same race. Therefore, we must draw the boundary and understand race as nothing scientific, but sociological; an illusion.

From QuotesValley.com

What might be helpful in understanding Race as a sociological concept, is understanding the connections between Racism and Capitalism. One cannot function without the other. Capitalism and, specifically Neoliberal politics, that strengthen privatization, and place emphasis on individualism, are the petri dishes for Racism. Here is a video that breaks down the historical connection; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmyWvjszBOw. While historically, capitalism’s use of Racism was blunt, use black labor to create white capital, ie) slavery, sharecropping, Jim Crow. Eduardo Bonilla-Silva claims that we are currently living in a “new racial order” (Bonilla-Silva 2011). This new "racial order" is dominated by “color-bind” racism; or the notion that racial inequalities are not racially fueled but rather stem from cultural limitations. Racial Hegemony and the forced coercion of the public dominates this new "racial order". This sociological concept which Bonilla-Silva refers to as “abstract liberalism” uses direct capitalist Neoliberal practices to justify racial inequality; “Racial Neoliberalism” (Tompkins 2015). It highlights de juro equal opportunity and puts blame on individuals for making “bad choices” and disregards all structural practices.

As a white person I am part of the “Color Blind” community. Through “color blindness” or the belief that we live in a post-racial America that we don’t listen to the voices and experiences of people of color telling us differently. Recently, Peter King, U.S Representative for New York’s 2^nd Congressional District, referred to Colin Kaepernick as protesting an issue that is, “totally phony” (http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/peter-king-colin-kaepernick-disgrace-phony/2016/09/02/id/746488/). He goes on to argue that the act of protest "does nothing to the debate… It does nothing to attempt to bring races together.” Colorblind Racism allows us to remain comfortable. If we denounce any conversation about race, so that we don't have to deal with the fact that we grossly benefit from the color of our skin. We can believe that we are where we are because of the hard work that we put in. Therefore we don't have any responsibility in fixing the issue.  We are taught to believe that if people just stopped talking about race, racial inequalities will go away, and that if people just attempted to succeed in a merit based system, than people who deserved to be successful would be. This is color blind racism, and Capitalism needs it. 

https://publichealthwatch.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/befunky_colorblindideology.jpg

Work Cited

·      Bonilla-Silva, E., and D. Dietrich. "The Sweet Enchantment of Color-Blind Racism in Obamerica." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 634.1 (2011): 190-206. Web.

·      Golash-Boza, Tanya Maria. Race & Racisms: A Critical Approach. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

·      Tompkins, J. ""A Postgame Interview for the Ages": Richard Sherman and the Dialectical Rhetoric of Racial Neoliberalism." Journal of Sport & Social Issues 40.4 (2015): 291-314. Web.

Revision: Race and Raciology

Mariam Traore                                                                                                              October 3rd, 2016

Race and "Raciology"

From The Webner Family's Blog

    Race has always played a major role in defining a person's identity. It is interpreted differently in different parts of the world, and every field has their unique approach to it. Race was created to divide human bodies into groups and label them. "Race is a concept that signifies and symbolizes social conflicts and interests by referring to different types of human body."(Omi & Winant, 2008, p.92) In the film "Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 1," microbiologist Pilar Ossorio stated "There's as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial group as there is between people of different racial groups." Dr. Ossorio's comment was in retaliation of an experiment that was conducted by a group of students of different racial groups. Their objective was to know who they are most similar to and who they are most different to, by looking at their mitochondrial DNA. At the end of the experiment the students realized there are all likely similar to each other and the difference was very slight. "What the study of complete genomes from different parts of the world has shown is that even between Africa and Europe, for example, there is not a single absolute genetic difference, meaning no single variant where all Africans have one variant and all Europeans another one, even when recent migration is disregarded,"(Gannon, 2016) Therefore race cannot be defined by genetic evidence. This experiment also showed both the scientific and sociological viewpoints of race.

    I personally think the hardest and most confusing question one can answer is 'what is your race?'. In the United States of America I have to identify myself as African American, since there is not much option to chose from and this seems to be the closest to accuracy. I was born on the American soil, and raised in Mali and Ivory Coast. I grew up in countries where I was being treated as the 'other' or the American girl. Back there, I would identify as one thing and here as another. The reason why I now see myself as African American is because of my parents being from Africa and I having the American passport. Dr. Ossorio's evidence would show that you can be genetically similar but then be of difference races. That is where science and sociology correlate in race, because scientifically you are similar but sociologically you are not. Race is more of a social construct, it is assigned to you since birth and as you grow up you can chose to be fluid with your racial identity but not everybody might accepting of how you identify yourself. In the case of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who chose to identify as black but was nationally broadcasted on the news for committing racial fraud. In an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC's Today Show, Ms. Dolezal stated “I do take exception to that because it’s a little more complex than me identifying as black, or answering a question of, ‘Are you black or white?’...Well, I definitely am not white. Nothing about being white describes who I am.”(Johnson, Pérez-Peña and Eligon, 2015). Race is just something we see and use to create boundaries between us when in reality we are all very much alike.

Mariam Traore                                                                                 October 3rd, 2016

                       

References

    Gannon, Megan. (2016). Race Is a Social Construct, Scientists Argue. Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/

   Herbes-Sommers, Christine.[Eliabe Ribeiro Vidal]. (2016, June 27) . RACE: The Power of an Illusion - Episode 1: The Difference Between US (PBS Documentary). [Video File]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/B7_YHur3G9g

     Johnson, K., Pérez-Peña, R., & Eligon, J. (2015). Rachel Dolezal, in Center of Storm, Is Defiant: 'I Identify as Black'. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/us/rachel-dolezal-nbc-today-show.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1

    Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1990s.  New York: Routledge.

 Webner, Bob. 2013, July 19. The President Speaks about Race [Digital Image]. Retrieved from https://webnerhouse.wordpress.com/2013/07/19/the-president-speaks-about-race/

External Links

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/us/rachel-dolezal-nbc-today-show.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=1 

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/race-is-a-social-construct-scientists-argue/ 

Revision: Race is Nothing but a Bunch of People Running

Malcolm Smith

http://www.cbcdiversity.com/post/58272376339/15-authors-who-promote-diversity-in-author-visits

When it comes debatable topics in America there are some topics that are sure to evoke strong conversations. Politics, religion are just a few and we can go ahead and add race to that list. Aside from gender the first thing many probably notice about a person is their race. It is how many easily associate or disassociate themselves from a group of people. Sometimes thinking that there is this difference between their race and another persons but according to Pilar Ossorio, Professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin Law School, there really isn’t much of a difference. She says, “There’s as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial group as there is between people of different racial groups.” Which ultimately means, race means nothing. Right?

In a report Michael Hadjiargyrou, Chair of the Department of Life Sciences at the New York Institute of Technology backs up this theory where he says “data shows that the DNA of any two human beings is 99.9% identical, and we all share the same set of genes” So, if there is no biological differences between blacks, hispanics, asians and whites then we all must be the same. We're all just a box of crayons, our color is different but we're all made up of the same wax inside.

This may be true on a scientific level however when we view race on a sociological level we aren’t always so similar, especially here in America. Race as a social construct has many different layers. Tanya Maria Golash-Boza author of Race and Racisms: A Critical Approach hits the on the point that race can often determine things like where you work and what type of school you’ll attend (Pg. 40) on surface that doesn’t sound too bad but when it boils down to it if you’re not white then that probably isn’t going to work so well in your favor. Race is a very strong part of one’s life when living in America. But when we shift the focus from this social concept to a scientific concept many scientist agree with Ossorio, that when race comes into the picture of science and biology it means nothing. There is no such thing as black brain, or an asian heart and what simply differentiates us are our phenotypes.

I personally identify as black, I used to have such a simplistic way of thinking of race and I still kind of do. Race is just a group of people that share physical and cultural traits as well as common ancestry (Golash-Boza)  While there is no biological connection to race I feel very strongly connected to my race especially the phenotypes that we use to identify each other. Those features have become things that I celebrate when it comes to embracing my race, like a wider nose or fuller lips. Things that are often looked down upon when it comes to the general standards of European beauty.  In the words of Beyonce, like my negro nose, with Jackson 5 nostrils.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/43791688@N07/4031639468

I suppose it comes from growing up in a black household and predominantly black neighborhoods. I have always felt an extremely strong connection to my blackness. One so strong that it feels like it could be biological because it feels undeniable.

While I’m aware there is no biological connection to race it unfortunately hasn’t changed the way I view race. The reason it hasn’t changed my views is because if I was to wholeheartedly accept these ideas I’m aware that both me and other people of color have been, are and will continually to be treated different simply because of the color of our skin.

Cited Sources

1. Howard, Jacqueline. "What Scientists Mean When They Say ‘Race’ Is Not Genetic." The Huffington Post. N.p., 09 Feb. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.
2. Hadjiargyrou, Michael. "Race Is a Social Concept, Not a Scientific One (Op-Ed)." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.
3. Golash-Boza, Tanya Maria. Race & Racisms a Critical Approach. New York: Oxford U, 2015. Print.
4. Sussman, Robert Wald. "Why Are We Divided by Race When There Is No Such Thing?" Newsweek. N.p., 05 Mar. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.

Revision: Race and its Complexity

Race and It's Complexity

Minah Whyte
9/21/16

By: Marlon Wayans editorial team. "This Girl Has A Message for All Black People." <http://marlon-wayans.s3.amazonaws.com/mw_videos/dear-black-people4.jpg>

In the documentary, “Race the power of an illusion,” answers the common misconceptions about race. In the contemporary United States, race is often regarded as a “social construct,” therefore imaginary. Yet, people still have race-based beliefs. In the documentary, students were testing their DNA to see their genetic similarities and that they would be more genetically closer to those they shared similar racial background. These short answers give a glimpse to the larger and more pervasive issue of “race” and how it affects how we view ourselves and those around us.

Race is constantly being argued as a social. In the book, Race and Racisms, identifying human difference is believed to first begin in the 1600’s through the use of religion. However, sociolinguist, Mervyn Alleyne argues that this belief that there were differences in humans originated in Roman and Greek society (Alleyne 2002). Alleyne argues that through ethnocentrism, xenophobia and making fundamental difference between fairer skin-people, and darker-skin people, laid the groundwork for prejudice in Greek and Roman society. On the contrary to the PBS documentary, this is only illustrating human variation.

The idea of human difference was solidified by botanist, Carolus Linneaus in the early 1700’s. Carlos Linnaeus created four races that parallels today. However, scientific racism only justified European superiority, resulting in many societies using “whiteness” as the standard. These affects are found in the United States as well as the Dominican Republic. In an article by Badillo, tackles gender and the construction of race in the Dominican Republic when women decide not to straighten their hair. One woman accounts her son’s response, ‘Mom I didn’t know you were like that. I thought that you were white and not black’ (Badillo 2001).” This example alone demonstrates race’s complexity, which may be more fluid in other places of the world. Therefore, doesn’t that make “race” all the more social?

In the United States, in 2016, black men the between ages 15-34 were nine times more likely to be killed by the police than any demographic (Huffington Post 2016). This is also a symptom “race” and “racism” in the United States. Social constructs impose social meanings. Therefore these saddening statistics are rooted in American society that deems African Americans as “scary” and “morally unsound.” Usually, poverty in the United States has become synonymous with African Americans. As a result, “black culture” is used to demonize and blame impoverish blacks for being in poor (Youtube 2014).

I identify as a black woman, and I do not think anyone will regard me as anything different, given my phenotype. However, by reading through my sources and Race and Racism by Golash-Boza, I came to a realization.  Often, I believed race to be phenotypically telling. However, subconsciously, it is also the meanings and values we attach to phenotype. Often, there are agendas tied to these ideas. Race is complex and also multi-faceted. Phenotype cannot be the only explanation of race, without a historical context and acknowledging that it often in falsely based in biology. 

Work Cited

Golash-Boza, Tanya (2016). Race and Racisms: A Critical Approach Brief Edition. New York: Oxford.

Alleyne, Merveyn C. (2002). The Construction and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in the Caribbean and the World. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press.

Badillo, Casadra. (2003) "Only My Hairdresser Knows For Sure: Stories of Race and Gender." NACLA Report on the Americas.

Ta-Nehisi Coates on Melissa Perry Show [antilibertaran]. Youtube. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Z-w0plM9Xo>

Craven, Julia (Updated: Sept. 2016) "Here's How Many Black People Were Killed by the Police." Huffington Post. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-people-killed-by-police-america_us_577da633e4b0c590f7e7fb17>

Herbes-Sommers, Strain, Smith (2003). Race: The Power of Illusion (Episode 1: The Difference Between Us). In California Newsreel. PBS Documentary.

Revision- What am I: Identifying Race?

Natasha Gordon                             Prof. Lewis-McCoy

The idea of race is one that is embedded in the American society. We see part of our identity through the concept of race. Living in the U.S. individuals learn from an early age that there are racial differences. Based on historical studies, it is concluded that race is constructed by society with the intention to maintain social exclusivity and power. Human groups are categorized into racial groups on the bases of a set of characteristics they possess- typically but not limited to similar phenotype. With such focus on our biological make up, the argument is that race has a biological link. Biological Anthropologist, Alan Goodman, (Race: The Power of an Illusion) shares that, “there need to be a paradigm shift that the idea of race is biological. Race is an idea we ascribe to biology,” The idea of race having a biological link was used as an argument, so scientist could measure “the quality of humans” (Golah-Boza, 23) Scientific racism (theory of race) developed as a way to justify the inequality racial groups were experiencing.

Linnaeus taxonomy, not only categorized human groups, but ascribed behavioral descriptions to those groups.  Racial groupings within the U.S. have changed, even though there is a black and white binary. When we look at the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Census there are more racial groupings, than there were 50 years ago. According to the Census, race is self-identified by the person who is answering the race question. Individuals can self-identify with multiple races. The classification of racial groups are White, Black/African American, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. (http://www.census.gov/) With all these categorization, what "separates us are differences". We can look at each others phenotype and assume that because of the similarity in skin color then we are most likely closer to that person. But according to the genetic testing in the documentary, "Race" The power of an illusion." it is not so.  

On few occasions where individuals inquired where I’m from, I became surprise by the person’s response. “You don’t look Jamaican.” My thought was, how should I look? I am convinced that if they saw my other family members those same persons would really emphasize that they do not look Jamaican. There are a wide variation of different phenotypes on both sides of my family. Whether we have very light skinned tone, pointy nose, thin and small lips, curly hair, full eyes and lips, brown and darker skin we consider ourselves Jamaican first. Jamaica’s national motto, “Out of Many One People”, reflects the different racial groups that lives there. Even though my neighbor maybe of Syrian, Chinese or Indian descent we still identify as “Jamaican.” It is quite obvious that I’m of African ancestry, but when you look at my brother and sister- both mixed race- people ask, “What are you?”

 http://proof.nationalgeographic.com/2013/09/17/visualizing-change/    

http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/who-am-i-the-rise-of-multiple-identities/

                                          

                                              

                                                                Bibliography

Robe, Jennifer E. (2013) "Mixed-Race Studies; Misstep or the next step for Ethnic Studies in a blending nation?," PSU McNair Scholars Online Journal: Vol. 7: Iss. 1, Article 17.

Smedley, A. (1998). "Race" and the Construction of Human Identity.  American Anthropologist, New Series, Vol. 100, No. 3, pp. 690-702

REVISION: FORCED CLASSIFICATION

Zachary Pious

 

http://www.timothyjwelsh.com/courses/12sa220/2012/04/23/the-aim-of-the-internet-and-its-racial-implications/

 

 

          It has been made abundantly clear throughout the centuries that there are different ethnic groups or races. And as we went about our lives and our societies grew and evolved these ideas became concreted into them. The conclusion that these groups that looked so different, had to be biologically different became common knowledge as well and was studied by many men. However, these old ideas of race are not true. We now know today that there is very little if any biological differences between races as Pilar Ossorio asserts in the video Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode One. Thanks to advancements in genetics and extensive research we have a plethora of data to back this up. Race is not genetic, it is a social construct.

 

         In the video Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode One, it is discussed how genetics show us proof that we are more similar than different as far as race is concerned. Ossorio is explaining throughout the video is that there is no real biological difference between people of different races. No race has a biological advantage for sports, academics, or even music. In fact any idea we have about a race having an advantage at is simply a stereotype. There is a visible representation of how similar we are in the video when they show the class room Lab where the kids take their Mitochondrial DNA and compare the results between them and there was very little to no genetic variations between the students who represent several races. In fact in most cases students who expected to be most different from each other were most similar. The idea that race is an identity is challenged in this video and is further explained in this interview by PBS with Alan Goodman is professor of biological anthropology at Hampshire College who was a contributor to the video.

 

       As Alondra Nelson discusses in her book "The Social Life of DNA"(2016) race identity has become a major part our lives as human beings, our race seemingly dictates who we are. Nelson mainly talks about African American Genealogical testing and how the results of these tests effected the way these people view themselves and who they were. And as she discusses different cases it was not uncommon for African American peoples to find out that they had genetic ties to Europe, Ireland, and other 'white' places (Nelson, 2016). This challenges not only African American identities but also White identities because these people appear to be and identify as Black and their results reflected the opposite (Nelson, 2016). So what is the deciding factor in Race? Michael Hadjiargyrou, Chair of the Department of Life Sciences, New York Institute of Technology argues that Race is commonly confused with Ethnicity based on somebody's physical appearance in his article Race is a Social Concept, Not a Scientific One (Op-Ed). Race is a social construct based off of physical appearance, that helps people assume a person's ethnic origin (Hadjiargyrous, 2014). It is categorizing without sufficient data. As we learned from Genetta Candelario's article Hair Race-ing, physical appearance whether it is your hair texture and/or color, the shape of your eyes, or the shade of your skin is how society creates an overview of what and who you are.

 

       Personally I have always viewed myself as White, it is what I appear to be, regardless of my Puerto Rican heritage. Most people would look at me and see the Irish or German in me so it has been easier to say that I am White, also because my ancestors are from so many different countries scattered around the globe, from the Middle East and Mediterranean all the way through Native American tribes. I am a mutt and have never really viewed my Race as significantly important. And so far the information from these readings and research have reinforced that idea. I not very different from any other person on the planet, biologically speaking. So therefore I shouldn't think of them as different in that sense. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candelario, Ginetta. "Black Women Are Confusing, but the Hair Lets You Know." (2014). History, Culture,                 Politics     The Dominican Republic Reader: 486-89. Web.

 

Nelson, Alondra. “The Social Life of DNA: Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation after the Genome.” N.p.:             n.p., n.d. Print.