Race and Ethnic Identity - Essay Example

Question 6: Race and Ethnic Identity Australia is known to be a multicultural society. Race and ethnicity are huge factors that have dogged the country. The driving force behind it is the belief that the society at large still holds against people, for instance, the aborigines who appear different to themselves. In this essay, however, I am going to look at how the concepts of race and ethnicity perpetuate inequality in society, a brief history of Australia in relation to racism, how ethnic groups and identities define people, and how race is an end product of social relationship. The two terms, race and ethnicity, often have been used side by side, though they have distinct meanings. Before we delve deep into the discussion, it is important acquaint ourselves with the terms race and ethnicity. Race is a concept based on the premise of biological differences. It includes classification of people on the basis of physical attributions such as skin color, cranial size and shape among others. Racism, on the other hand, can be defined as a belief that genetic factors, which also entails race as a primary determinant of human characteristics and capacities. Racial differences, in turn, produce inherent superiority of people. Racism leads to racial discrimination. The United Nations defines racial discrimination as distinction, restriction or preference based on color, descent, race, or ethnic origin, which has the purpose of denying individuals’ their fundamental rights and freedoms. United Nations does not define racism, however; it asserts that racism leads to racial discrimination (Matreux 1950, p. 46). Ethnicity, on the other hand, is a culturally derived term defined as an embodiment of values, institutions and behavior. It is a composite representation of a people’s historical experience, aspirations, and world view (Ericksen 1993, p.28). Ethnicity incorporates demarcation of territories, language and other cultural traits. From my observation, ethnicity gives birth to ethnic classes that are either imposed or intrinsically engendered. This is because social class stratification comes about in an ethnic society. This often defines people’s membership into a group. More often than not, the society uses race and ethnic identities as a way of describing people into discrete groups. Straus (1978) in his study found out that biological and genetic structures are the driving forces behind these descriptions of people into discrete groups. However, this phenomenon is not true. In this essay, we look at how these identities are shaped by particular social relations and practices. More specifically, we draw most of the examples from the Australian and Fiji society. Racism is still rampant in Australia today. It has given birth to inequalities in different fields, such as education; housing, wealth, health, employment, among other sectors. These inequalities, in turn, determine and maintain the cycle of social immobility. In order to get a deeper understanding on how racism has played a central role in Australia, we have to look back into history. Racism took different forms, and its effects were largely felt in the hands of the colonialists. For instance, the native Aborigines who had been the occupants of Australia for a long time were scrutinized for undesired characteristics and denied the right to vote. Linekin (1990, p. 64) says that, in 1788, the British colonialists subjected the natives and the immigrant population to racist practices. This took the form of killings, sexual exploitation and spread of diseases. Aborigine children were taken away from their families and placed in their white foster families, and as a result, their population reduced drastically. These examples serve to show policies used by the British to exclude the Asian and coloreds from the Australian immigrants. The Afro Americans in the United States feel that they have not received a fair treatment as (Strauss 1978, p. 85) argue, they hold a stern belief that discrimination against them will not end. They believe that their white counterparts are the source of their suffering. Survey indicates that intermarriages between different racial groups are minimal. Whites are also seen to have an economic advantage over the blacks. Most people hold stereotype theories about the attributes of various groups. In effect, stereotypes are rampant, and people fail to understand that only one race exists, that is the human race, which cannot be broken by biological units such as race. Fiji is also not different, through the British colony, racial hierarchies were created, and British ideologies dominated the mindset of the people. These ideas were inscribed on complex social situations even after colonialists left. Racial discrimination occurred in many ways, but most important is to trace back these problems to the time of colonization. Fiji’s politics are ethnic based. They follow a strict ethnic basis for electing its representative in the parliament. For instance, before 1966 legislative council representation was based on ethnic allocation. Existence of different cultures in Fiji that leads to pronounced ethnicity. These cultures include indigenous Fijians, Indo-Asians, Rotman islanders and other minority groups. Ethnically based voting systems contribute to political instability in Fiji. Fijians hatch an underlying notion that a person from a particular race will be biased towards his or her race (Strauss 1978, p.102). In religion, discrimination has been witnessed through a number of incidences. For example, several instances of mosques and temples have been reported. Although this have been considered to be trivial cases.In the education sector, allocation of higher education scholarships has been biased and discriminatory. Access to education in any society opens up chances for higher opportunities, and equitable allocation of resources among all Fijians is an issue. However, the government gives preference to the indigenous Fijians. These affect peoples’ day to day lives. Because of this they are, maybe, more significant in fuelling resentments. Unless these issues are addressed, racial tension will continue. These examples serve to highlight how racial imbalance is rampant. It gives examples of how ethnicity and racism is perpetuated. The subject of ethnicity based on race has been dominated by endless debate over time. Different people though view race and ethnicity from different angles. There are those who perceive that ethnic ties are given social bonds. On the other hand, the instrumentalists see it differently. They perceive race and ethnicity as an element of political strategy used by interest groups to achieve goals, for example, wealth and power. This is evident in many countries, more so in Africa. Moreover, others view ethnic identities as an end product of combined historical forces. There are also others who perceive ethnic groups as defining social factors. Barth (1969, p.87) stressed on the nature of ethnicity as social construct. According to him, ethnicity is dependent on self identification and external ascription. He further observes that ethnic groups should not be treated as cultural isolates to which people naturally belong. In this case, we can also argue that ethnic distinctions are highly dependent on social processes. Many people regard ethnic categorization as connection between biological inheritances and cultural identities. They harbor a belief that the biological inheritances determine much of cultural identity. This, however, is not the case biological race and culture is not the same thing. Anthropologists over the past years have established that cultural traits are learned. In this case, consider a child born in a certain culture and placed in another culture, it will adopt to the culture of the new environment regardless of body shape, skin color, and other presumed facial features. In another scenario, some people who are genetically African do not speak the same language but share significant cultural patterns even though they are brought up in different societies. An example in this case is a black Senegalese woman in Africa and black person from Fiji. They both share African genes but do not speak the same language. A race is a variety of species consisting of more or distinct people with anatomical traits that distinguish it from other races. It is, therefore, difficult to determine how human genetics vary since we are generally extremely homogenous species. Moreover, the actual patterns of biological variations are complex and constantly change. They can also be deceiving, in that, it classifies people into a number of different races on the basis of traits emphasized. This brings us to the idea that human races are culturally created and not biological entities, contrary to the beliefs held by many. Historically, the definition of races has been on the basis of superficial characteristics that can be identified at a distance, therefore, making the descriptions easier. Such distinguishing characteristics are deceptive because they only make us magnify the differences. It is important also to note that they are not accurate in making distinctions between human groups. Ethnicity also connotes religion, linguistics and behavioral traits. In this case, a person identifies himself with the cultural and racial features of an ethnic category. The whole concept of ethnic categorization is not a product of biological inheritance and culture. People often believe that, the cultural identity of a person is wholly determined by his or her biological structure. This is not true because, biological culture and race is not the same thing. Cultural characteristics are acquired and not genetically inherited. Though genetic explanations for ethnic differences have been put forward, such explanations lack credible evidence and cannot be accounted for. Barth (1969, p. 53) have defines the human race using a number of superficial characteristics, for example, by use of distinguishing traits such as, skin color and texture of the hair. These distinguishing traits are, however, deceiving and not accurate measures of describing people. In conclusion as Eriksen (1993, p. 98) asserts, it is clear that people create identities and not nature. We can, therefore, argue that racial groups are largely constructed by culture and history; they are primarily social phenomena. Race and group identities are determined by social relation and processes. One has to look at culture and social interaction rather than biology, in order to, understands race and ethnic identity. References Barth, F, ed. 1969, Ethnic Groups and Boundaries: the social organization of culture difference, Bergen, Universitetsforlaget and London, Allen & Unwin. Eriksen, T.H. 1993, Ethnicity and Nationalism: Anthropological Perspectives. Pluto Press, Boulder, Colorado. Levi Strauss, Claude 1978, Race and History. In Structural Anthropology, Volume 2, Penguin, Harmondsworth. Linnekin, J, and Poyer, L, eds. 1990, Cultural Identity and Ethnicity in the Pacific, University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu. Metraux, A. (1950) "United Nations Economic and Security Council Statement by Experts on Problems of Race" in American Anthropologist 53(1): 142–145) Norton, R 1990, Race and Politics in Fiji, University of Queensland Press St. Lucia, QLD. Read More