In the biological and social sciences, the consensus is clear:
race is a social construct
, not a biological attribute. Today, scientists prefer to use the term “ancestry” to describe human diversity (Figure 3).
It is now widely recognized that
racial and ethnic groupings are primarily social
, not biological, constructs, and that genetic differences probably make a small contribution to racial or ethnic health disparities (American Anthropological Association, 1998; McCann-Mortimer et al., 2004; Winker, 2004).
A social construct is
something that exists not in objective reality, but as a result of human interaction
. It exists because humans agree that it exists.
Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct,
gender varies from society to society
and can change over time.
That’s why we say race is a social construct: it’s
a human-invented classification system
. It was invented as a way to define physical differences between people, but has more often been used as a tool for oppression and violence.
Is race a risk factor?
Purpose: Confounding of racial, socioeconomic, and behavioral characteristics may lead to the
misidentification of race as a risk factor for certain diseases
. The authors evaluated the validity of attributing race as a risk factor in a widely used pathology textbook.
What is race biologically?
In biological taxonomy, race is
an informal rank in the taxonomic hierarchy for which various definitions exist
. … Races may be genetically distinct populations of individuals within the same species, or they may be defined in other ways, e.g. geographically, or physiologically.
Is race and ethnicity the same?
“Race” is usually associated with biology and linked with physical characteristics such as skin color or hair texture.
“Ethnicity” is linked with cultural expression and identification
. However, both are social constructs used to categorize and characterize seemingly distinct populations.
While cultural definitions of family may be based on blood, marriage, or legal ties, “
families” are socially constructed
and can include cohabitation and other culturally recognized social bonds such as fostering, nurturing, or economic ties. … Sociology also studies how family relationships affect members and society.
This article rejects the idea that the sociology of mental illness classification and organizational embeddedness shows that
mental illness is a pure social construct
. The three styles of social construction include pure constructionism, interactive social construction, and harmful dysfunction (HD) conception.
Body image ideals, like race and gender, are
social constructs
that have grown out of a combination of history, politics, class, and moral values. One need look back only a few generations, or across cultures, to see that attitudes about thinness and fatness are fluid and ever changing.
What are the 4 genders?
The four genders are
masculine, feminine, neuter and common
. There are four different types of genders that apply to living and nonliving objects.
First, while acknowledging the historical contingency of the present conception of religion, he argues that religion is real (2014: 89). That is,
religion is both socially constructed and real
, much like sexism, colonialism, imperialism, molecules, and magnetic fields (p. 92).
Is gender identity biologically determined?
Biological factors that influence gender identity include
pre- and post-natal hormone levels
. While genetic makeup also influences gender identity, it does not inflexibly determine it.
Is race a risk factor or a risk marker for preterm delivery?
To generate data for the stress model, a research strategy has been designed to identify psychosocial and behavioral risk factors that have a physiologic impact on pregnancy outcome. We propose that race is a marker for this stress but
is not in itself a risk factor for preterm delivery
.
Is race a risk factor or risk marker?
Rather than a risk factor that predicts disease or disability because of genetic susceptibility, race is better conceptualized as a
risk marker
—of vulnerability, bias or systemic disadvantage. The causes of racial disparities, in health and across society, are numerous and indiscrete.
