Ingrid Diaz

Sociology 25300

Professor: Dr. R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy

Due Date: September 21, 2016

The Misinterpretations of Race.

            Race is defined as a group of individuals that share supposed physical and/or genetic traits. The sociological concept of race suggests that we are socialized to differentiate individuals by their physical/external attributes. We are brought up to believe that we can identify another individual’s race just by looking at them. We divide individuals into categories of race based on the color of their skin, the texture of their hair, and the shape/color of their eyes. Because we are socialized to accept and integrate the concept of race into our lives, we try to attribute these physical/external differences to internal differences. The scientific concept of race suggests that these external attributes must derive from some sort of genetic similarity.  However, as Pilar Ossorio states, there is just as much or more genetic difference between individuals within the same racial group as there is between different racial groups. This statement has been proven by biologists and geneticists. The physical traits that we adapt through environmental differences do not reflect genetic differentiation (Templeton, 2013).

 

 

            According to the United States Census Bureau, there are five races in which an individual can identify with (http://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html). These races include White, Black/African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander and Other. An individual can mark more than one box in this section of the census. This makes it difficult for me to choose a race when filling out forms because I do not identify myself with any of these races. I consider myself Hispanic and not any of the previously mentioned races. However, according to the United States Census Bureau, Hispanic and Latina are not considered a race instead they are considered an ethnicity. Ethnicity is defined as belonging to a social group that has similar cultural backgrounds. Therefore, when I have to choose a race when filling out forms I usually choose white. This is a problem because in social context I do not identify as being part of the white race.

Noticeably, this is not just a problem that I encounter but a problem that many of Hispanics and Latino ethnic background have when filling out forms and I am one of many individuals of Hispanic and Latino background that are identifying themselves as white. According to a New York Times article, researchers found that out of the 35 million Americans in the United States that identify themselves as Hispanic, approximately 2.5 million of them choose “Some Oher Race” in the 2000 census and changed their race to “White” in the 2010 census (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/upshot/more-hispanics-declaring-themselves-white.html?_r=0). This research suggests that in fact choosing a race can be very confusing for Hispanics because the options provided are not relevant enough. According to a Pew Research Center survey, two-thirds of Hispanics labeled their Hispanic background as part of their race (Gonzales-Barrera & Lopez, 2015). The problem with this is that Hispanics are the largest growing ethnic and racial group in the United States and by 2060 we will make up approximately 29% of the population.

 

Works Cited

Gonzalez-Barrera, A., & Lopez, M. H. (2015). Is Being Hispanic a Matter of Race, Ethnicity or Both?

Templeton, A. R. (2013). Biological races in humans. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, 44(3), 262-271. doi:10.1016/j.shpsc.2013.04.010