What do you think about the concept of race?

Answer 1

Race is a social concept.

It does not have any real physical characteristics. Now a lot of people get confused when I say it has not real physical characteristics, but let me give you an example: You can't write any clear cut lists that defines a race physically NOR behavior wise. There are Asians that are more pale than whites with natural red hair and there are Indians more dark than the darkest Africans. So what we know of as race is a social concept based mostly on stereotypes and cultural similarities of individuals.

It has nothing to do with genetics. Not all black people are born to like chicken and getting crunk, not all white people born listen to rock and say "dude", not all Asian people born to wear glasses or eat cats.

The current social concept of race though real ( real enough for people to be lynched for it) is based on lies and hinders society.

Answer 2

I agree with what others said about race as a social concept. Most biological variation is unseen.

Read Ashley Montague's "Man's Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race" for information that supports race is a social concept. C. Loring Brace also addresses this issue.

Other sides of the arguement would be things writtne by Phillipe Rushton. Or a book called "The Bell Curve".

I am actually really happy to see there are others out there who view race as a social construction. As a student I worked with a few professors that looked at Anthropologists views of race and their changing perceptions of this concept. This seems to show more and more professionals in the field view race as a social construction. I think there are two sides of the issue but if you do the research, you will come up with the idea that race is not a biological concept.

Answer 3

I think race is not a concept but a fact of what genes you are made up of. A race is a group that was very suited to a particular area of earth( but now science and technology make these attributes moot) Of course for some people race defines generalizations and stereotypes. And of course race can easily divide people as it classifies groups. I believe in the future different races will interbreed so much that it will not be an issue and it will be one less thing to fight about. We are already growing closer and closer and the lines dividing racial groups and being slowly erased.

Answer 4

I don't know it is a very difficult question with lots of varieties of answer. When I think of the concept of race I think about the US with lots of races and varieties of cultures. Sometimes not that healthy, but at the same time with harmony.

Answer 5

I think it is an arcade way of separating people, similar to the concept of class and is a concept that should be eradicated once and for all.

We should all live united not divided.

Answer 6

It's totally a social construct with little or no connection to one's actual lineage or heritage.

Take, for example the fraternal twins born to a couple (naturally conceived) in Britain -- one girl ended up white with blue eyes and one girl ended up black with brown eyes.

Besides, 85% of whatever genetic inheritance we actually express is internal and unseen.

Answer 7

shoudn't matter... u get along with some1 b/c of their personality ..nt their skin..their hair or their clothes
2 many stereotypes have been put on every race- the movie crash explains it...n some of us are so paranoid-thinkiing the world is against u b.c of ur race

Answer 8

There are different races of Homo sapiens and that is a FACT, not a CONCEPT.

Do you believe there are different species of trees, birds and monkeys?

Answer 9

Didn't you just ask this?!? See my other answer.

And to the person above - it's not just Americans - racism is widespread, unfortunately.

Answer 10

when people started catagorizing people thats when the racism truly began. If we can stop it wont matter to anyone what you are.