Difference between race and ethnicity
The term race refers to the division of living beings according to a series of physical attributes and shared biologicals. In the case of a human raceThis is a social construction in which human populations are divided, under the assumption that a group of people has physical attributes that unite them.
Refering to ethnicityThis refers to a group of people who maintain a social bond as a result of a shared culture, language, religion or origin.
Race |
Ethnicity |
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Definition |
It is a categorization of human populations based on physical and biological attributes. |
It is a human group in which its members share a culture, religion, language, geographical origin and / or origin. |
Characteristics |
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Determining elements |
Physical characteristics and genetic inheritance. |
Common origin (geographic or by descent) and shared cultural practices. |
Main attributes |
Skin color, hair type, face shape, region of origin. |
Geographical origin, religion, dress code, language, dialects, common history. |
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What is race?
Talk about a race is to refer to a social division that is made of different human groups according to physical characteristics.
The term race is a social construction. This has been used since the Middle Ages and means 'people who share a common descent'. As early as the 18th century, the race began to include the grouping and division of people according to their phenotypic (observable) characteristics.
At present, both in the social and natural sciences, the use of the word "race" is controversial. Its function as a way of establishing a division of human populations has no scientific value. This is because the attributes that separate one race from another, at the genetic level, are not well defined, and their selection is usually arbitrary.
Even if there are phenotypic variations between individuals, genetic diversity (and its causes) is a complex issue. Races as scientific concepts are not capable of containing the complexity of these genetic phenomena.
When a group of people is categorized as a "race," it is generally done to differentiate between human populations and in the treatment of individuals belonging to a race.
Breed characteristics
- It is mainly based on observable physical differences in people (phenotypic attributes).
- These differences are the result and are transferred by genetic inheritance.
- It is common to be confused with the idea of ethnicity.
- Skin color, hair type and face shape are some of the most used attributes in its categorization.
- It is assumed that the attributes of a race as a whole tend not to change over time.
Race as a social construction
The idea of race it is largely a social construct. It is a product of the categorization that is made between human groups, established mainly through phenotypic differences (physical and observable).
It is also common for a population or group of people to be designated as a race, or racial group. who share an ethnic group (culture, nationality, religion) or who have the same origin geographic.
Thus, the definition of a race changes according to the social context, as well as throughout different historical moments.
Why divide human groups into races?
One of the main reasons for dividing humans into races has been to establish discriminatory policies and segregation, in order to legitimize the domain of one human group over another.
In any case, race as a scientific category of analysis in the human context has lost value. This does not mean that it is not practical to establish divisions between human groups.
For example, studying different ethnic groups for social / anthropological analysis, or studying populations that share genetic attributes for medical reasons, are valid scientific reasons for categorizing populations human.
Historical factors that influenced racial classification
- European maritime and commercial expansion The 15th and 16th centuries led to the meeting of large human groups on different continents.
- Migration, both forced and voluntary, resulted in the differentiation between ethnic groups and individuals with different physical characteristics.
- Colonialism and Ethnocentrism They led to the creation of hierarchies between people of different origins.
- Slavery that accompanied the colonization of America was markedly racial.
Classification of the races of Carolus Linnaeus
The Swedish physician, zoologist and botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) proposed that humans be They were divided into 4 subspecies or races based on the place of origin and the skin color of the people: the americanus, Asian, africanus and the europeanus.
For Linnaeus, each of these races had particular characteristics, favoring the race europeanus. For example, among the behaviors attributed to africanus these were found to be negligent and capricious. In contrast, europeanus they were gentle and were guided by the law.
Johann F. Blumenbach
At the end of the 18th century, the German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) made a division of the human populations in 5 different families or racial types, namely: Caucasian, Malay, American, Ethiopian (Negroid), and Mongoloid.
Samuel Morton's Cranial Study
In the 19th century, the physician and naturalist Samuel Morton (1799-1851), made a study in craniology, specifically with the analysis of the size of human skulls from different parts of the world.
According to his research, the total brain volume of Caucasians was greater than that of Africans. Among his conclusions was that the size of the brain was proportional to the intellectual capacity of each race.
However, later on (even until a few years ago) there would be debates about the possible biases that affected the methodology and results of Morton's studies.
Race and eugenics during the 19th and 20th centuries
At the end of the 19th century and for much of the 20th century, different positions that proposed racial and ethnic discrimination were based on practices such as eugenics.
This practice was aimed at improving or cleansing the human species. Eugenics relied on biology, particularly genetics, and established that behaviors and differences between different races were the result of biological inheritance.
This current would serve as a support on the part of science to racist ideologies. For example, as in Nazi Germany, eugenics promoted the idea of a pure and superior race, promoting the murder and sterilization of those racial groups that were considered lower.
Contributions to the study of the races of Theodosious Dobzhansky
The Ukrainian-American biologist and geneticist Theodosious Dobzhansky (1900-1975) proposed that races are not static, being capable of showing changes. For this biologist, the definition of race depends on the categories used to analyze it and the scientific methodology used.
Dobzhansky considered that although races exist, these are constructions that help to understand phenomena biological, and which have no scientific character to establish arbitrary (social) divisions between beings humans.
Human races and their relationship with genetics
According to biologist and geneticist Richard Lewontin (1929-), approximately 85% of genetic variations in human beings they occur regardless of the ethnic, geographical or cultural origin of a person.
This means that between a person classified as "white" and another as "black", the existing genetic variation is not greater than that between two people of the same race. That is, there is no specific genetic trace in a human population that differentiates it from another.
The distinctive physical traits of populations that come from different regions are the result of the remaining 10% -5% of the genetic content. These traits are a consequence of the evolution and adaptation of different human groups to different environmental conditions.
For Lewontin, genetic differences in humans are not a matter of differences between human populations, but between human individuals.
What is a cline?
In biology and genetics, a clina It refers to gradual change that occurs in specific characteristics of a species, caused by environmental conditions (geographic spaces).
A cline is expressed in the genetic adaptation that occurs an individual of a certain species to a habitat.
Example of cline in humans
An example of two clines that adapted to the environment is observed in the skin pigmentation in humans.
In general terms, genetic adaptation to life near the equator, where there is greater exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays, stimulated that the skin of humans near that region will be pigmented in such a way that it has greater resistance to these rays, resulting in a darker tone of skin.
On the other hand, human populations that settled farther from the equator, have gradually less pigmentation, resulting in a lighter skin tone. In this way, people who live far from the Equator can better absorb vitamin D, which is synthesized with exposure to sunlight.
Race and racism
The racism is the belief that members of a race possess certain characteristics or qualities that make them superior to another.
The division of human groups into races was and has been influenced by positions that are not limited to the scientific field. The different races have been categorized according to a social and cultural value, as inferior or superior.
This has resulted in inequality, segregation and slavery, in addition to founding extremist positions and promoting racism.
Learn more about the Difference between prejudice, racism and discrimination.
Learn more about the Difference between racism and xenophobia.
What is an ethnicity?
A ethnicity is a human group in which its members share a common origin and a sociocultural bond.
The members of an ethnic group generally share a common language, culture, religious practices and / or habits. It is also possible that they share physical characteristics, thanks to their genealogical ancestry (common ancestors).
The word ethnic comes from the Greek ethnos y means ‘people who live together, tribe or nation’, and the suffix –Ia which means 'action or quality'. That is, according to the origin of the word, an ethnic group represents the shared identity of a group of people who live together or form a tribe or nation.
Ethnicity as a concept is a social construct (product of the human being) and involves a great variety of aspects. The members of an ethnic group share a bond and organize around it. Thus, the existing similarities promote union within an ethnic group.
This dynamic is also manifested in the case of differences, on which ethnic groups separate from each other. It is worth mentioning that these differences have a subjective element and depend largely on who observes them.
As cultural habits and elements constantly change, the traits that define and separate one ethnic group from another are also changing.
Characteristics of an ethnic group
- It is based on the common origin of a group of people.
- It is expressed in behavior, habits, traditions, religion, culture, etc.
- It involves the idea of a shared bond, which forms an ethnic identity.
- It is dynamic, the characteristics of an ethnic group are adaptable.
Ethnic identity
The ethnic identityis the feeling of belonging to an ethnic group or ethnic group that an individual possesses. It is a key aspect in terms of socializing a person and feeling part of a group.
The existence of different ethnic groups implies the formation of ethnic identity. When different ethnic groups interact, they recognize the differences that exist with the other groups. In the same way, its members recognize the similarities that unite them to their own ethnic group.
In a society, ethnic identity can be promoted voluntarily or involuntarily. The education or establishment of a community, the construction of national symbols or myths about a people, are forms voluntary to promote ethnic identity.
If a population establishes a stronger bond of union and identity over its ethnic group as a result of a process of discrimination or segregation, caused by another group, this is a way to strengthen ethnic identity in a way involuntary.
Ethnicity and ethnicity
While an ethnic group represents a human group or population, the ethnicity refers to the characteristics that each of these groups has and by means of which they are classified.
The word ethnic group began to be used in the academic sphere in the second half of the 20th century, with the development of the study of ethnicity and the formation of various social identities. Some of the most important approaches that attempt to explain the phenomenon of ethnicity are the primordialist, instrumental, and constructivist approaches.
Primordial approach
According to this approach, members of a cultural group come together thanks to a primordial essence and the existence of a type of ethnic loyalty.
Ethnicity is seen as a result of biological inheritance (kinship), where people with whom a bond is shared tend to support each other. This is due to a kind of basic or primordial evolutionary adaptation that allows members of the same ethnic group to recognize each other.
The primordialist approach also considers that geographic proximity and having a shared culture and habits promote cooperation among the members that make up an ethnic group.
Instrumental approach
Regarding the instrumental approach, ethnicity is a product built for a particular purpose.
Different interest groups within an ethnic group create their ethnic identity through symbols such as historical myths, traditions, shared values, etc.
These symbols function as instruments and references for people to feel part of an ethnic group. Thanks to this, it is possible to appeal to a past that was shared by the ancestors of the current members of the group.
To a large extent, ethnicity has a utility value and is used to create identities, many times, similar to certain elites or power groups.
Constructivist approach
In the constructivist approach, ethnicity is a consequence of the human interaction between groups and also with the context.
Diverse characteristics are emphasized in order to establish differences with groups with which one interacts. In the same way, the similarities that the group members themselves share are pointed out.
The existence of relationships between different ethnic groups is what allows them to be built. As in this approach, ethnicity finds meaning in the interaction between different ethnicities, it is in constant construction, so that the elements that make up an ethnic group are dynamic and change with the weather.
Ethnicity and ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism occurs when the members of an ethnic group maintain The belief that their ethnicity, culture or traditions, and other social elements, have a higher value than other ethnic groups.
Ethnocentrism is not always an explicit way of discriminating or belittling another ethnic group. It can happen without a negative intention. A key aspect is that an individual or group observes reality from its point of view, without considering the point of view of another group.
Most people at some point commit ethnocentric acts, since it is sometimes difficult to understand the reality of other human groups.
See also: Prejudices and stereotypes: what are they, differences, types and examples