How is race a social construct?

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I know this question sounds incredibly ignorant but i have been trying to understand for some time. My main reason for asking is because if we have dna testing that can show someone’s ancestry is this much % Italian and this much % Korean, how is that a social construct if it’s in our dna?

Please understand I’m not saying race isn’t a social construct, I am just trying to understand how it is a social construct.

In: Biology

27 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Phenotypes- that is, major genetic characteristics which make up a given ethnicity- are not a social constructs. They are hard science, demonstrable and repeatable.

Assigning particular (unrelated) traits to these phenotypes, like intelligence, skill at sports, propensity towards crime etc are the social construct part.

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