SOC 110 Study Guide - Midterm Guide: Racial Formation Theory, Institutional Racism, De Jure
Chapter 10: Race and Ethnicity
Race is a “social construction”
Race and “Reality”
– According to biologists, there is no gene for “race”
– Very few biological differences exist between racial groups
– Most variability in biological characteristics (such as blood type) occur within and not
between racial groups
– This variability is also true for the phenotype markers generally associated with what
“race” you are: hair color and type, eye color and shape, and skin color.
Examples of Race as a Social Construction
– In the U.S., laws defining who was considered black have varies from state to state
o North Carolina and Tennessee: black if you have 1/8 ancestry (one
grandparent who is black)
o In other southern states, you are black if you have any black ancestry at all
– Brazilian Race Classification
o Preto (Black)
o Cabra (slightly, less black)
o Escuro (dark, lighter than preto)
o Mulato Escuro (dark mulato)
o Mulato Claro (light mulato)
o Pardo (light mulato)
o Sarara (light skin, kinky hair)
o Moreno (light skin, straight hair)
o Branco de terra (some black heritage, seen as white)
If Race is Not “Real” Then Why Does It Matter?
– Even though race is not real, it has real consequences:
o A method for sorting people into groups that have social meanings
o A sorting mechanism for mating, marriage and adoption
o A stratifying practice for providing or denying access to resources
o A source of self and group identity
o The basis of group segregation in many social institutions; including work,
education, and neighborhood segregation
What is Race?
– Race is defined as a group that is treated as distinct in society because of the certain
perceived characteristics that have been defined as signifying superiority and
inferiority
– Perception, belief, and social treatment are key elements in defining race, not the
actual characteristics of human groups
– “Races” are created within a system of social dominance – a racial hierarchy
What is Ethnicity?
– Ethnic groups share a common culture and have a shared identity
– Ethnicity can be based in a shared religion, national origin, history, language, and
customs
– Ethnic groups chare culture, but they also share a sense of belonging and feeling of
“we”
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– Ethnicity can exist within a so-called “racial group” – ex. Jamaicans and Haitians
– Ethnic groups can be “racialized” and “deracialized” – ex. Jews and Irish
– The term racialization comes from racial formation theory, which sees race as a fluid
concept, changing according to larger social processes
Examples of Race as a Stratifying Practice
– Most neighborhoods are still racially segregated (Massey and Denton (1993)
– After a period of desegregation in the 1970s and 80s, racial segregation is on the rise
in public schools (Frankenberg and Lee 2002)
– Workplaces are still fairly segregated – informal hiring practiced and discrimination
routinely keep minorities out of both blue collar and white collar jobs (Herring 2002;
Royster 2003)
Representation in U.S. Social Institutions
– 6 minority representatives in the U.S. Senate
– 15 minority CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies
Stereotypes
– Reinforce prejudices and cause them to persist in society
– Racial and gender stereotypes receive ongoing support in the media
– Justify the oppression of groups
– Based on race, ethnicity and gender
Prejudice = the evaluation of a social group and the group’s members based on conceptions
involving prejudgment and misjudgment that are held despite facts to disprove them
– Usually defined as negative predispositions or evaluations towards an out-group that
are rarely positive
– An attitude not a behavior
– Usually accompanies a positive attitude towards one’s in-group
Ethnocentrism = the belief that one’s group is superior to all other groups
– AN ethnocentric person feels that his or her group is moral, just and right, while those
in the out-group are immoral, unjust, wrong, distrustful, or criminal
Discrimination = overt negative and unequal treatment of the members of a social group solely
because of their membership in that group
– The term describes a behavior
– Discrimination and prejudice do not have to occur at the same time
Racism = the belief that one race is superior to another and the treatment of a racial or ethnic
group, or member of that group as intellectually, socially, and culturally inferior to one’s own
group
– Involves both attitudes and behavior
Discrimination and Racism
– Discrimination still occurs, even though most racist views are longer expressed
outwardly
– Audit Studies show that discrimination occurs in housing, hiring and promotion
practices as well as how groups are treated as consumers
Audit Studies
– Black and white “job seekers” re matched in every characteristic
– Any differential treatment is a measure of racial discrimination
Racial Gaps in Perception
– Large perception gap that racism/discrimination still exists
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o Whites must less likely than blacks to feel that racism is a pervasive/common
problem
Contact Theory
– Interactions will reduce prejudice if 3 conditions are met:
o Contact is between individuals of equal status
o Contact is sustained
o Participants agree upon social norms favoring equality
Types of Racism
– Jim Crow Racism
o Traditional forms of overt racism (physical assaults, de jure segregation)
– Aversive Racism
o covert, subtle, nonobvious (de facto segregation)
Racism is a Group Phenomenon
– does not stem from individuals
– more to do w/ larger groups and institutions
o socially learned
Institutional Racism = negative treatment and oppression of one racial or ethnic group by
society’s existing institutions based on the presumed inferiority of the oppressed group
– exists at the level of social structure – external to individual
Key to understanding = dominant groups have economic and political power to subjugate the
minority group, even if they do not have the explicit intent of being prejudiced
– power, not individual attitudes, resides in society’s institutions; privileges the dominant
group that holds the power within these institutions
Color Blind Racism = belief that if we ignore racial and ethnic differences then race problems
will go away
Chapter 11: Gender
Sex = biological identity
Gender = learned behaviors associated w/ sex
Biological Sex Identity = established at moment of conception when father’s sperm provides
either an X or Y chromosome
Intersex = a condition caused by irregularities in process of chromosome formation – produces
persons with mixed biological sex characteristics
– Most common form (hermaphroditism), child is born with ovaries or testes but
genitals are ambiguous or mixed
– Hijras of India (third gender)
Biological Determinism
– Attributes complex social phenomena to physical characteristics
– Biology = destiny – born this way
Binary Opposition = the belief that masculine and feminine traits are ‘negatively related’
Patriarchy = society or group in which men have power over women
Matriarchy = society or group in which women have power over men
Androcentrism = men are center of everything
Gender Identity = one’s definition of oneself as a woman or a man
Gender Socialization = the way men/women learn the expectations associated with their sex
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Document Summary
According to biologists, there is no gene for race . Very few biological differences exist between racial groups. Most variability in biological characteristics (such as blood type) occur within and not between racial groups. This variability is also true for the phenotype markers generally associated with what. Race you are: hair color and type, eye color and shape, and skin color. Race is defined as a group that is treated as distinct in society because of the certain perceived characteristics that have been defined as signifying superiority and inferiority. Perception, belief, and social treatment are key elements in defining race, not the actual characteristics of human groups. Races are created within a system of social dominance a racial hierarchy. Ethnic groups share a common culture and have a shared identity. Ethnicity can be based in a shared religion, national origin, history, language, and. Ethnic groups chare culture, but they also share a sense of belonging and feeling of customs.
