Forced Classification

Zachary Pious

          It has been made abunantly clear through out 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. 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. 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. 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 veiwed 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." History, Culture, Politics The Dominican Republic Reader (2014): 486-89. Web.

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