Race & Racialization Flashcards
(78 cards)
Minority
Any definable category of people who are socially disadvantaged
What are two components of minority?
1) The group lacks social power
2) Distinct from the majority
Majority
A definable category of people who are socially advantaged
- The dominant group
What is the dominant group in the Canadian society?
White males of European descent
What makes a group a minority?
1) It’s lack of power… not the number of individuals in a given group
2) They are definable… recognizably different from the majority
What is the South African system of apartheid?
Where the numerically inferior white population dominated the numerically superior blacks
Stigmatization is based on ________
perceived attributes
What are some examples of defining characteristics?
Language, skin color, religious beliefs
The cumulative effect of visible difference, language, and religion, heightens these individuals exclusion… and increases their chances of experiencing ______ and ________
Prejudice and Discrimination
Historically Race was defined as ?
A group of people that were physically and genetically distinguished from other groups
- Skin color, hair texture, facial features
Are different races actually genetically different?
Research suggests that a person’s race accounts for a tiny 0.24% of their genetic makeup
- It is possible that people with different skin colors share more genetic material, then people with the same skin color.
Which are two ways race affects people?
1) Though the invisible privileges that whiteness carries
2) The blatant or subtle discrimination that minorities face regularly
Define the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy with minority groups
If the minority groups are perceived as different, over time they may feel different… and assume the attributes that others credit them
Racialization
The process of attributing complex characteristics (intelligence, athletic) to racial categories
Example of Racialization
Racialization occurs when people infer that black athletes are better then white ones
Internalized racism
When members of a racial group assume the attributes associated with that racial classification and internalize them as part of their identities
Why do sociologists prefer not to use the term race? (3)
1) It is socially constructed
2) Lack of evidence that genetic differences exist
3) The term has colonial and ethnocentric biases
What word should we use instead of race? Why?
Minority group or racialized population
- To accentuate the importance of a group’s socially constructed status and lack of social power and de-emphasized biology
Things to know about ‘race’ (6)
1) Race is a modern idea
2) Race has no genetic basis
3) Skin color is really only skin deep
4) Most variation is within, not between, ‘races’
5) Race justified social inequalities as natural
6) Race isnt biological, but rascism is still real
Ethnicity
Fluid concept that includes ones minority or majority status; ancestry, language, and often religious affiliation
- Ex. defining yourself with your family’s Greek heritage = helps to define your self-concept
Ethnic group
A collection of people who identify with each other and share a common culture, art forms, language, traditions, beliefs
Sociologists suggest that like race, one’s ethnic identity is _____ and _______
Socially constructed and significant in defining one’s perception of self
What are 3 ways of thinking about Ethnicity?
1) Cultural toolkit (Ann Swidler)
2) Ethnic options (Mary Waters)
3) Master status (Mary Waters)
What do each of these mean?
1) Cultural toolkit (Ann Swidler)
People dont just live within a culture but use elements of that culture to inform their behavior and decision-making
