Shaped by Social Forces

Alexandrea Johnson                                                                            September 20, 2016

            Race has always held significant position in society. It is a concept whose definition is constantly fluctuating and expanding with the sociohistorical dogma of the time. An important aim of the race conversation is understanding the concept through two lenses: a sociological lens or a biological/scientific lens and explaining the relationship on micro and macro-level basis. It is used to categorize and predict behaviors, traits, personality, culture etc., of individuals based on their phenotypical features as a result of their genotypic traits. Prior to the concept of Race Formation by Omi and Winant in 1994, we attempted to understand race biologically. “[Race biology] inquires into all the factors capable of changing the innate constitution, that is, the quality, of a race, in a favourable or unfavourable direction,” (Lundborg, 1931). Race was something viewed as consistent, innate, and unchanging, however, the discussion of race formation gave new significance. Scientific racism laid the ground work for the social construction of race.

            Race can also be a basis in which identities are created and legitimized by social structures in which we give meaning via our participation. Race has always been a complexity to understand, however it has essentially shaped the understanding and organization of our social world from being incorporated in the implementation of public policy, to reference to a thought collective or “common sense” based on information taken from individual experience (Omi & Winant, 1994). Microbiologist Pilar Ossorio commented, “There’s as much or more diversity and genetic difference within any racial group as there is between people of different racial groups,” in the film “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode 1.” This statement debunks many biological arguments on the concept of race, yet does not repudiate the notion that race indeed is a social fact. The movie exposed the many issues with race being a biological argument rather than a social one. The Mitochondrial DNA samples of the students in the movie were all entirely closer than they imagined, especially when compared to whom they believed they shared the greatest difference.

            My personal view of race is quite conflicted. I am Black not only due to my phenotypical features, but also in regard to my position in society. Reluctant to call myself African American because I am so far removed from my African ancestry, I’ve have been born, raised, socialized and assimilated into American culture, although I am generally not accepted. Nor are the spaces created for American culture, created with individuals like myself in mind. Always viewed under the matriarch archetype, generally represented as overly strong, aggressive, militant, loud, and ghetto with an agenda to emasculate the black man. “Many dark-skinned women in this study battle to invalidate controlling images to prove, for instance, that they are not violent and not ghetto,” (Wilder, 2016). I find myself speaking, walking, and talking with a keen attentiveness in particular spaces, an action that is subconsciously conscious due to the internalized preconceived notions that are attached to my phenotypical features. I attributed many explanations of people’s behavior, including my own, to the notion of race rather than the socialization of people in institutions based on race, however now that I am more knowledgeable, I know that people’s behavior in regard to race are a result of the socialization in which they receive.

Lundborg, H. (1931). Social Forces. Race Biological Perspectives, 397-401.

Omi, M., & Winant, H. (1994). Racial Formation. Race and Ethnic Relations in the Twenty First Century, 91-107.

Wilder, J. (2016). Revisiting "Color Names and Color Notions": A Contemporary Examination of the Language and Attitudes of Skin Color Among Young Black Women. Journal of Black Studies, 184-206.

 http://web.mit.edu/racescience/in_media/what_dna_says_about_human/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/dayshavedewi/we-showed-a-bunch-of-people-a-problematic-photo-to-see-if-th?utm_term=.wjJG1Bl5g#.lpM6KEYgV