Question

Cultural Anthropology question - Why should we think about race as a social construct and what are the potential benefits of doing so?

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Answer 1

Race should be considered a social construct because it is fluid and varies across cultures. is not biological. An individual who could be categorized as black in the United States might be considered white in Brazil or colored in South Africa. We also now know for a fact that race has no biological origins, and that there are no cluster of genes that define a particular race. In the past, the dominant racial groups imposed boundaries of group membership based on perceived biological inferiorities. This was used as the pretext to subjugate and oppress minority racial groups. However, with the recognition that race is, in fact, a social construct, we have no grounds to justify racist behaviour. This view also supposes that society can eventually be rid of racism.