Friday, November 11, 2011

What is the Difference Between Race and Ethnicity?



Without taking an sociological or anthropological considerations into account, I have tried to give an unbiased attempt of a clear difference between these two terms. Generally speaking, race refers to only your genetic history and identifiable physical characteristics that are separate and distinct from other races. For example, in China’s Mongolian region, the people have distinctive differences in their coloring and facial characteristics and look different than people in other parts of China. It is important to note, however, that humans, no matter what race are 99.9% genetically similar. The biggest difference that can exist between two human beings genetically is their gender.



Ethnicity refers to a group’s race and cultural factors. India has a relatively homogenous race of people, but varying cultural differences; many of them based on religion: Sikh Indians, Hindu Indians, Hari Krishna Indians and so on. Religion is one factor when considering ethnicity. Gender roles and language are also  features of ethnicity, as well as food preparation and preferences. Ethnicity covers a smaller subset of people than race; in other words, you can be the same race, with a different ethnicity.



Another distinction can be drawn between the two terms. Race is nature and ethnicity is nurture; that is, birth characteristics versus cultural heritage.



Check out this link http://www.trinity.edu/mkearl/race.html it says The only group to have involuntarily immigrated to the United States, to have been forcibly stripped of its culture, African or black Americans has as a group yet to receive its fair share of the American dream. Of those surveyed in a Fall 1995 TIME/CNN poll, 56% of blacks did not believe that discrimination against them would ever diminish (compared to 27% of whites). And while near two-thirds of whites thought that race relations would eventually improve, only 44% of blacks agreed.

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