Category: Discussion Board 4

Race is a social construction because it is a way to divide our people into groups or labels. Sadly, we are all categorized by the color of our skin and race. It is also a way to justify people’s actions and can easily lead to stereotyping. For example Asian people are always thought out to be extremely smart and good at math and science. Also, many white people are privileged. Social construction is a way to justify the power white people have over minority groups. It is very sad to be categorized like this and to be treated differently because of the color of our skin.

Race is a social construction  because it is a way to differentiate people. In the first video, it states “Race is biologically real(its an idea)…[They] categorize each race by who is more superior at that specific thing like sports, and body types, or the environment they were raised in.” Also, “For 200 years, scientists poked and prodded, measured and mapped the human body searching for biological basis to race.” in addition they said that physical aspects of many native Africans gives a decidedly beastly look. Also they categorize people because of their skin complexion, as people with lighter skin tones have more privileges. Social construction: race has a lot to do with where somebody will live, what schools they will go to, what jobs they will get, whether or not they will have health insurance.

Short video: “Real Americans was a white American, everybody else had to be qualified.” Over the phone experiences : “I can tell you’re Korean over the phone… No one should be able to tell you’re Korean on the phone.” This baffles me because since when was  it a problem being on the phone with someone who is Korean is there a way they should sound?

Race is a social construction means our society usually divide people into the difficult group by their race/skin color, I saw a video on youtube, two girls have the same parents, but their skin colors are totally different, one girl is white and another girl is black. So when people saw them, they usually thought they are just friends, nobody believed that they are siblings. I think that is ridiculous, we shouldn’t judge people by their skin colors. I mean no matter what race or skin color of a person, we should try everyone equally. Just change the point of view, if someone treats you very badly and just because of your skin, will you happy about it?

Whenever I saw people discriminate against someone by their skin color, I will feel angry and become emotional, it makes me have an impulse to try to help that person out.

From the film, short video, and reading it is evident that race is a social construct used to justify the actions of the people in power in this case, white people, against people of color so they can maintain their positions in a system that supports racism. Thomas Jefferson had stated before that, “all men are created equal” yet that has never really been the case for many Americans who are not white. In the text by Dhingra and Rodriguez, it says, “Race is a politically created concept. Racial categories are externally imposed, and groups must navigate within and between them. Groups with greater power over social discourse, media, and the economy assign the racial categories of a society, and minorities attempt to jockey for position within those options.” Racial structures are ingrained into society such as in government where people label their selves based on what they are told and identify with that. In the film, “Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode Two”, one narrator tells the audience how race is what others perceive the individual to be based on physical appearance and not how the individual thinks of themselves. The film speaks more on how race has evolved historically in order to further goals economically and politically such as how America put down the Filipino Independence Movement resulting in the country of Philippines to become a U.S. territory. In the early stages of America people of color were seen as inferior to white people and this concept was used to practice slavery using black people as well as removing indigenous Americans from their lands. In the short video, “A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race”, it explores and dives deeper into the experiences of Asian Americans on how they confronted and dealt with racial issues. For instance, Hasan Minhaj, one of the interviewees who is an Indian-American comedian and actor, explains how he experienced colorism as a form of racism when he was just a child and did not understand why. Overall, many people of color especially the ones living in America have experienced some form of racism and it can change a person to view the world differently because of the unfortunate obstacles they had to encounter.

1.)In the first minutes of this documentary, there are multiple meanings to this. But a definitive example I can give, is that prior to this year, majority of people thought the term “POC” strictly referred to African Americans when in actuality it also spreads to other minorities as well. The economic goal that this serves is to either limit or help us. In most instances,

2.)The differences are very racially charged and in one of the instances provided, it was said that the early Americans viewed the various tribes as being like them, European due to their skin color and expansive nature is similar to theirs as stated by Thomas Jefferson.

3.) The Filipino people racialized in the late 1800s/early 1900s were shown as exhibits like they were something to behold. Constantly being compared to the standards that Americans had at the time such as white skin and their so-called “upright” morals. I do not know the political and economic purpose/goals that these served but in today’s Philippines, we are so Americanized. Most Filipinos I know prefer the white skin that is so common among Europeans and even our education system up until a couple of years ago started following the American system. Prior to leaving the Phillippines, I remember that after 6th grade, you’d go straight to high school, but now they changed it to the American standard.

Race is a power of illusion created by europeans to differentiate themselves as superior. This was an economically beneficial move on their part to categorize other races and create a social construct that is race. Race has become a huge defining aspect in humanity over the years. In a written piece by Dhingra and Rodriguez, they mentioned, “Race is such a significant  way of organizing and categorizing people in American society that we are often confounded when we encounter a person whose race we cannot immediately make sense of”. Which made me realize just how much race affects people daily in micro transactions. The ideology of “race” is acknowledged all the way back to colonial times to create an easier way to distinguish the colonized from the colonizers thus creating this veil of superiority. Years later, many studies were made creating a scientific reasoning towards other races deeming “white” as supreme all the while justifying the enslavement of black men and women. Of course now, modern research shows that these studies are false but at that times this misinformation was strongly believed in which only fed into the socially constructed verdict that races other than white were inferior. From the reading, “Asian America: Sociological Interdisciplinary Perspectives”, It explains to its readers how racial classifications alter through time which overall showcases the general idea that race is not just a political construct but a social and economic one as well that has nothing to do with human anatomy nor science. It is institutionalized to actively separate and differentiate different people based on European standards and it is clear that their goal was to create and instill the idea that they are the dominant, superior race.

Reading and watching multiple pieces focused on race and its roots has been a huge realization for me. In the Philippines and I’m sure many other countries, people glorify the white man. The Philippines adores light skin and straight hair while also encouraging their daughters to marry men specifically white to uplift their image. It is a sad fact that this happens in many parts of the world. Till today we still fight for representation within the media and challenge western beauty standards.

In the film ‘Race: The power of an Illusion’, it is seen that how people were discriminated ( mostly black as the lower class and white as the elite) during the earlier times of American history. One thing that awestrucked me to show that black folks were inferior science was intended to use which is the comparison of skull and brain sizes with the white people. To confront the statement that ‘Race is a social construction’, it indeed is. From the establishment of America as there was prevalence of slavery, such racial division upraised. There are people of backgrounds who are considered as ‘particular races’, do not get the same respect as the ‘other supreme race’ just because of their skin color or the bitter roles palyed by their ancestors in the American history.Moreover, while watching ‘A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race’ I felt little bit uncomfortable thinking how people’s skin color labels if they are American or not. It also reflects in the stories of the interviewees that they were not viewed as ‘American’ rather people of white skin color were considered ‘American’. Moreover, people are categorized based on their skin color such as ‘Latinos’, ‘Asian’, ‘Black’ and such but not ‘Americans’. It’s such a disgrace that some in our society are still reluctant to consider every human being who were born, migrated and raised in this land as American. As a result, people faces injustice in day to day life. They prefer to stay quiet against this discrimination thinking they are the minorities and don’t uphold equal reputation just as the white people. Through news, social media platforms it is seen that in parts of the country where majority of white people lives and Asians or other ethnic communities acts as the minorities spur of racial injustice always persists. So what’s the solution of this massive problem? It’s not simple and even possible if we don’t address the topic that we are all equal and Americans. Moreover, if one faces injustice we should come up as a whole to stand against it and avoid playing the role as a mute bystander. 

Starting with the film on Kanopy, John Cambell utilized the theory that “black people were a separate species in comparison to white men therefore backing his claims for the justification of slavery. This also overlapped with Aggasiz study on human skull size in relation to intelligence and racial progression (I believe he used indigenous American skulls as a reference?). He believed the social constructs of race was found to be scientifically supported based on skull capacity. In the short video, various participants from different Asian backgrounds expressed the adversities they experienced personally or witnessed through their parents. One participant expressed his first experience with racism was age 6 at a sandbox with a girl telling him his skin looked like poop (a common experience many black and brown people could possibly relate to) and then another girl expressed how she feared “10 year old white boys”. Race as a social construct was often discussed as a lesson rather than a possible occurrence. Race is also front for Americans (specifically Asian-Americans) because they are identified by phenotype before citizenship. This is a way to establish clear racial hierarchies I feel.  In Dhingra and Rodriguez, there was a line that said “Race is such a significant way of organizing and categorizing people in American society that we are often confounded when we encounter a person whose race we cannot immediately make sense of.” Although there are clear differences in skin color hair texture and height, a “race” does not have a common genetic gene. Ideas of race can be traced back to colonial times as a easier way to distinguish people from those who were colonized. With the information I have watched and read, race is a social construction because it is an institution set in place to intentionally segregate and categorize human beings based on a colonial phenotype system. Its goal was to establish social and political dominance over those groups (usually considered minority groups) deemed inferior.

Reading these reminds me always that although other institutions infringing on human rights like how slavery predates racism, it is racial constructs ultimately responsible for systems enforced in place that uses a divide to ensure systematic power. Anytime I read or watch something related to these constructs it just makes me feel very insecure as a minority (and as a woman since gender constructs were also discussed in the reading). Then I sort of reflect on all of the events that have been unfolding. Like these concepts seem so archaic and should have been abolished but they aren’t. This always confuses me that we can assume the race of someone by looking at them. Or even assume that one race is better or smarter or genetically superior. Like most people don’t. believe in flying saucers or loch ness but believe black people are a different species than white people and the size of ones skull is justification for the enslavement of various groups of people/colonialization!? So much sabotage of human progress because of some doctor studying skulls and others going on a missionary trip discovering land that was never theirs to pillage in the first place. These things always put me in disbelief.

Race is a social construction created by people who refused to grasp that there are people with their own culture and history, whose identities are not defined by white European categories. They refused because it was economically beneficial to differentiate themselves as white, while forcibly categorizing all other people into races. For example, the film Race: the Power of an Illusion, states that in 1619, when slavery began in America, religion and wealth were used to determine one’s social status. However, when slave labor became increasingly more widespread and necessary to build wealth in America, race based on skin color was used to justify slavery, since those that were black could not easily disappear into the population. Therefore, slavery preceded racism, the economic benefits of slavery motivating the rationalization of racism. From the reading Asian America: Sociological Interdisciplinary Perspectives, it is also apparent that racial classifications changed over time, which is indicative of its nature as a social and political construct that is not based on biology. Chinese Americans in Mississippi changed their social status by associating and identifying themselves as white instead of black. The concept of races forced them to pick a category defined by economic interests. Another example indicating race is a social construct is the idea of the “model minority.” Asian Americans are compared to African Americans and declared to be “better off,” while African Americans are told to try harder. But from the NY Times video A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race, the Asian American immigrant experience is not uniform, and Asian Americans are not inherently, racially better than African Americans. Asian Americans have committed murder, or been part of gangs, but these are ignored when discussing the “model minority” myth because American racism needs minority achievement to prove that its supposed meritocratic system works.

An affirmation from the NY Times video I recognized was the need to sound American. My mom encouraged the idea of sounding white over the phone, as if sounding like a white American was indicative of higher education, and that therefore I would be treated better. I am also reminded of how my mom, being of Caribbean ancestry, would always tell me to identify myself as white, because she thought I would be treated better. This is probably the earliest memory I have of race and racism.

This week I learned a lot about race and from the videos “ Race: the Power of an Illusion Episode 2”  the video talks about how the United States become a country and explain about race from the beginning of slavery, where there were no slaves and becoming more hungry for land. Also becoming more aggressive white Americans forcing the Cherokee to leave their homes and leaving their land. Also, it talks about the philosophy of manifest destiny where the West belongs to the white American. A very interesting piece in the video talks about enslaved or free African Americans who couldn’t become citizens in the United States in the 1850s. Adding on to this I also watched “ A Conversation with Asian Americans on Race”. Where this video talks about Asian Americans and other communities how they are treated differently and by knowing this it shares what is an American in America. 

I can understand how people feel when they are mistreated from what race they are to where they are from. And I think that is a huge problem because around the world a lot of people ask where you’re from? , Are you born in this country, etc.