What does it mean that race is “socially constructed”?
In: Other
Others have said similar things, but I have an example to throw in that should help.
Essentially, there no set concept of race, no clear lines. Different culture have had different dividing lines and the categories are subject to change. Why is a biracial person who is half black and half white considered black, for example? There is no logical reason for this,but society has decided this.
The example I have is a new “race” only invented in the last few decades–Hispanic. The entire concept of Hispanic did not actually exist until recently. People from Spanish speaking countries just considered themselves members of whatever other race. So where did the concept of Hispanic as a group come from? The Republicans made it up so they could create a voting block that would hopefully always vote republican. Well the concept of a brand new race defined not by skin color or national origin but by language actually stuck. Didn’t really work out the way the Republicans at the time hoped, though.
Most racial/ethnic groups don’t have quite such an easily defined original, but all are similar. Someone drew an arbitrary line that fit their agendas and it has stuck. Mostly these days, it’s the Europeans making themselves feel superior, an idea that they got from the Romans, and the Romans got from the Greeks.
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