Sociology Study Guide Unit 1 Race & Ethnicity

Race & Ethnicity Key Terms: ● Race - A categorization of people into groups on the basis of perceived physical characteristics ● Ethnicity - A categorization of people into groups on the basis of shared culture ● Nationality - The status of belonging to a particular nation ● Hispanic - Relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking countries ● Latino - A person of Latin American descent ● Colorism - Discrimination against those with dark skin ● Featurism - Favor shown to those with eurocentric facial features and discrimination against those without it ● Texturism - Discrimination against those with afro-textured hair ● Internalized racism - the internalization of racial oppression by the racially subordinated ● Prejudice - A preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual experience. ● Racism - Discrimination against a person because of their membership in a particular racial or ethnic group. Note: Some argue that racism is determined by systematic power and thus white people cannot experience racism. Others argue that racism is based on discrimination and thus white people can experience it. ● Race is a social construct created by white people. Biologically, there is no difference between a person of color and a white person. ○ While the concept of race is technically not real, the discrimination faced by those who are not categorized as white is real. This discrimination includes but is not limited to racial profiling, longer prison sentences, and being subjected to racial stereotypes. ○ The concept of race is strengthened even more when members of the same racial group bond over their shared oppression. This creates a sense of unity and causes people to identify even more with their racial group. This strengthened identification can lead to the formation of Pan-ethnic groups such as the Black Panther Party. ● In countries that don’t use race classifications, people tend to identify with their tribe or ethnicity. ○ This is particularly common among Latinos who are of mixed ancestry (indigenous and Spanish European). ○ The terms Latino and Hispanic are often used interchangeably but there is a difference. Because Latinos are from Latin America and Hispanics are from Spanish-speaking countries, that means people can belong to either or both of these categories. For Example: - Haiti is in Latin America and thus Haitians are Latinos, but Haiti isn’t a Spanish-speaking country. Therefore, they aren’t Hispanic. - On the other hand, Spain isn’t in Latin America, so Spaniards aren’t Latinos. However, Spain is a Spanish-speaking country and thus they are Hispanic. - Cuba is in Latin America and it is a Spanish-speaking country. Therefore, Cubans are both Hispanic and Latino. - There is somewhat of an exception to this rule, however: Mexico. Despite being in North America, Mexico is still considered part of Latin America. In addition, it is a Spanish-speaking country, so Mexicans are Hispanic and Latino. ● There are people who do not fit into any particular racial category. ○ Arabs are an example of this because they are a diverse ethnic group. Brown Arabs who do not fit into any category for people of color are automatically deemed white despite lacking white privilege. ○ There are also Arabs who some may categorize as white, but others would categorize as people of color because of their ethnic features. This subjectivity makes it difficult to give them a label. ● Because race is based on phenotype and not genotype, biracial people who look more like one of their races are categorized as that race. ○ For example, biracials who are half black and half white but look more black would be considered racially black despite also being half white. ● The meaning of white has changed over the years ○ In the early 1900s, people who weren’t white Anglo-Saxon Protestants were considered ethnic. For that reason, light skinned people of Italian or Irish descent were not considered white despite having the same physical appearance as those who were considered white. ● The concept of race varies from place to place. ○ For example, Americans consider being Jewish an ethnicity while Europeans consider it a race. ● Racism has also led to the creation of other forms of discrimination such as colorism, featurism, and texturism: - Although two people might belong to the same racial group, one of them might experience more privileges depending on their proximity to whiteness. - For example, a black person with light skin, small features, or loose curly hair would experience more privilege than a black person with dark skin, big features, or tight curly hair. Both are susceptible to racism, but not the same level of racism because one of them aligns more with Eurocentric beauty standards. - Examples of these privileges are people with light skin being seen as more attractive, receiving smaller prison sentences, and being employed more than their dark skin counterparts. ● People of color who fall outside of Eurocentric beauty standards can internalize their subordination and pass down those white supremacist beliefs to their offspring. This creates a cycle of inferiority. ● While many define a minority as a small group of people, sociologists define minorities as people who are subordinated in society because of physical or cultural characteristics. ● However, a minority can be both a small and subordinated group. This is the case in the United States where white people are the majority and hold most of the systematic power. ● On the other hand, a minority can be a small group but hold the most systematic power. This was particularly the case during South Africa’s apartheid, where a white minority ruled over and subordinated the black majority.