Sociology 2140 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Human Genetic Variation, Bw Group, Ethnic Group
6 Apr 2020
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Minority group: category of people who have unequal access to positions of power, prestige, and wealth in a society and who tend to be targets of prejudice and discrimination. Minority status is not based on numerical representation in society but rather on social status. Race: category of people who are believed to share distinct physical characteristics that are deemed socially significant, i. e. skin color, hair texture, facial features, and body shape and size. Cultural definitions of race have driven us to view race as a scientific categorization of people based on biological differences b/w groups of individuals; yet racial categories are based more on social definitions than on biological differences. Science of genetics challenges notion of race; geneticists have discovered that genes of any two unrelated persons, chosen at random from around the globe, are 99. 9% alike: most human genetic variation approx. 85% - can be found b/w any two individuals from same group (racial, ethnic, religious, etc. )
