How is race a social construct?

Question

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

Answer 1

From a strictly scientific biological perspective:

>[The term *race* in biology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_(biology)) is used with caution because it can be ambiguous. Generally, when it is used it is effectively a synonym of [*subspecies*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subspecies).[[73]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_categorization%29#cite_note-Keita;_Templeton;_Long-73) (For animals, the only taxonomic unit below the [species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species) level is usually the subspecies;[[74]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_categorization%29#cite_note-conservation-74) there are narrower [infraspecific ranks in botany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infraspecific_name), and *race* does not correspond directly with any of them.) Traditionally, [subspecies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subspecies) are seen as geographically isolated and genetically differentiated populations.[[75]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_categorization%29#cite_note-Templeton_1998-75) Studies of human genetic variation show that human populations are not geographically isolated,[[76]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_%28human_categorization%29#cite_note-76) and their genetic differences are far smaller than those among comparable subspecies

In other words: there are no different races of humans. At least not if you use the word like it is used for animals and from a biological perspective.

From the social perspective it is still commonly used (at least in the English speaking countries) and other redditors have already explained where that comes from wonderfully.