: Why can’t DNA tests and Genetics determine race & ethnicity when it can tell you where your ancestors are from, and if not what does?
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They can and can’t. There are most certainly differences between people’s genomes that correlate to ancestry in particular places around the world.
The more arbitrary social construct part comes in when you start trying to label these differences. For instance, how many polymorphisms does a person need to be viewed as belonging to some specific ethnic group?
It’s the difference between saying “you probably had ancestors from [region]”, which is fairly clear-cut, vs “you probably had ancestors from [culture]”, because ethnicity includes a major social component.
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