Race Identity Research Paper

If race is based upon your physical characteristics such as skin colour, then both an East Asian and European with the same skin colour are of the same race? The topic of race hasn’t puzzled me this much until now. In the U.S. as children, we are taught equality among races, yet we’re also taught how to classify different ethnic groups of people. While growing up we also learn that if you are dark skinned and have poofy hair then you must be African, or if you are tan and have a mustache then you must be Hispanic. Race is a modern and social concept that was used to create a superior group and categorise humans based upon certain physical character traits such as hair texture or eye shape. It’s a commonly misused term that we use to differentiate

By exploring the complex ideas of heritage and skin colour that determines race in the U.S I will interpret my understanding of this so called “race.”
Indeed, our heritage can supposedly determine our race, however it can also determine how privileged some of us are. Race, in ancient times was determined based upon “natural inferiority” and the concept has evolved in America based on “circumstances which led to the enslavement of people who looked similar” (PBS, What is Race?). These certain circumstances allowed white Americans to justify their own rights while disallowing them to non-whites. This creates a separation as well as an inequality gap between different races- which is what goes against the idea we’re trying to teach children. Peggy McIntosh proves the fact that when this superiority was

For example, skin colour only shows your appearance to others based on quick impressions, however it has nothing to do with the other characteristics such as ability, hair texture, or blood type (PBS, What is Race?). This suggests that skin colour is independent from race. It also disregards the stereotype of some ethnic groups, such as if you’re pale and Asian, you must be good at math. On top of that, when you have two twins of different skin colours but share the same parents, would it mean they are of different races? (Twins Photographs). I believe not. This is why skin colour and race should not coexist, because it’s not what determine our ethnicity. Also, fruit flies have 10 times as much more genetic variation than humans (PBS, What is Race?). This makes using heritage as a factor for determining race arguable because it’s just as ambiguous as skin