-I would define race as a persons’
physical appearance and their geographical background.
-Some racial classifications used in
the United States are Asians, Asian Americans, Mexicans, Mexican-American,
African American, white American, and others. I would say that when any person
characterizes someone else based on what their appearance is or where their
ancestors are from they are classifying a race.
-I think that in recent years people
have tried to stray away from grouping people into “race” categories, but what
is still used to separate people into different races is based off of a few
common characteristics that a group of people will share. These characteristics
are among the likes of what color a persons skin is, what country they are
originally from and if they’re from the U.S., they might be characterized based
on what country some of their ancestors are from. Some people may even use the
primary language that a person speaks to group them into a race. I think that
the way people define race or group people into races is continually changing.
-I think that there’s always some
kind of underlying racial categorization occurring in societies, no matter the
geographical location. I think that over the years it’s become difficult to
stray away from characterizing a person on their appearance no matter how
evolved the world has become. I do believe however, that there are some places
that don’t act out or let what their initial reaction to a new face might
provoke.
-I haven’t done much traveling but
there are two places that I can remember that I feel did have different systems
of classifications. The places I’m referencing are Italy and Canada, where I
felt people weren’t so much characterized by their appearance but their accent.
I
-Race and ethnicity are similar in
certain respects, but I think where there’s a major difference is how people
are defined by their skin color (race) and by their religion, belief system, or
ancestral origination (ethnicity).
-I can’t say how I would
characterize my ethnicity because I don’t follow a specific religion or
cultural tradition. I do celebrate Christmas, but I think now of days it’s more
difficult to characterize someone based on certain holidays they celebrates,
especially since some holidays have become so commercialized. If I had to
define my race I guess it would be white. I don’t’ strongly associate myself
with being more Irish, Scottish, English, or Italian so; I can’t say that any
one of those are more my race than another, when they are simply just a part of
my ethnicity.
-I have been commonly mistaken for
someone of Mexican or Latin decent, based upon my hair and eye color because,
both my hair and eyes are brown and that’s a common physical characteristic of
someone who is of Mexican and or Latin decent. I also have a cousin who is half
Mexican who bares a closer resemblance to me than my own sisters, who are
blonde and blue eyed. It’s become common for people to use physical
characteristics to claim someone is a certain race, I suppose since the Mexican
American may be more common than the Italian American both cultures having
plenty brown hair and brown eyed women, you get lumped into one, that one being
the what people see most.
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Hi Gabriella,
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the class, it was nice meeting you today. Your analysis of what race is definitely seems to hint at what the readings will say- it will be interesting to see what may have changed, or didn't change after you read them. I found one of your comments very interesting, you say " people have strayed away from grouping people in racial categories" and that people still do group them no matter how 'evolved they have become'. I think these comments are hitting on something very interesting (and I have hint they will come in handy when we begin to talk about colorblind racism in a few weeks). What do you believe the consequences are of grouping people into racial categories? What are some of the positive or negative outcomes of doing this?
I also appreciate how you clearly illustrated that people use physical characteristics to define race and they 'lump' you into a category that is most familiar to them. This observation is critical to understanding race in the United States.
--eas
Thank you! I think that when people group people into a racial they have already developed a bias and if given the opportunity to meet these people you enter into the relationship with preconceived notions about them. You wouldn't be as openminded about the things they say. You automatically draw conclusions about the personality or actions and connect it to their race. You make a lot of assumptions about people when you group them into a race category. I don't know if there are any positives to grouping people together by their race. I guess if you're white than a lot of the time you are seen as inferior.And I guess sometimes certain races are assumed to be better at a sport than other races. Other than that I can't think of any. People are denied certain opportunities all the time because of their race. For instance if someone were just submitting an application to a law firm, someone named Gregory Smith would likely have a higher chance of being hired than Gorgeous Jones. People would automatically attach stereotypes to those names and make a predetermined decision without even meeting either of them.
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