Race: Social Construction

Race is “a group of people who share a set of (physical) characteristics,” and “ethnicity is a group of people who identify with a common cultural heritage” (Race and Ethnicity 2). Race and ethnicity are being used to identify each person in a way that “it has more meaning socially than biologically” (Race and Ethnicity 2). For example, when recognizing a person based on race, people are more likely to think about their benefits and disadvantages, or the stereotypes, instead of just seeing the person as to how he or she is physically. My understanding of the social construction of race can be explained through my experience I had in the first years I moved to the U.S. During these years, I had a hard time trying to figure out who I want to

Throw away my identity as an Asian person and live like a white person? But I can’t ever be ‘white’. For example, Asians are often associated with being smart. The data from the textbook suggests that Asian and Pacific Islanders are more likely to graduate high school and college than White, Black, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican (Ritzer, 233). But that does not mean that we are smarter than any other ethnics. Our culture believes in the idea of staying up late and waking up early (this proverb tells us do not be lazy and work hard); our work ethic is was contribute to being successful in our education careers, not because we are smart that’s why Asians are more likely to graduate. Throughout the rest of my high school years, I made friends with people whom made me realized that it is totally fine being just who I am; they help me realize my worth. Besides, friends tend to be more mature as we grow older; they are more likely to be open-minded, and less racially objected. Through education and socialization, I was able to be open-minded, and forgivable toward the people that are unable to look past the differences in other

In our society, individuals are often assumed whether they will be successful based on their background. Throughout my years in grade schools, I am lucky that my schools did not discriminate against people from a lower social background. My past high school praises individual skills over anything. We were taught to accept and support people from unfortunate backgrounds. I think this is also due to the area my schools were in. For example, my friend who goes to a high school in Minnesota, in a specifically predominately white area, would experience more discrimination regarding social classes compared to me who went to high school in Washington, specifically in an area that has diverse cultures. In general, the top 1% is upper class, the middle 43% is middle class, the lower 43% is working class, and the bottom 13% is the lower class (Ritzer, 191). My friend lived in a predominantly middle and upper classes, therefore, the school was more likely to help students from these two classes; because in this area, it is socially acceptable to believe that students from these classes are more likely to succeed. Through my years in school, I learned that people from any social classes are capable to be successful. People are not good or bad based on the backgrounds they came from. I identify myself as a middle class person, but I will choose friends based on their characteristics, not their