Race and gender as cultural constructions

Race and gender as cultural constructions

Referring to race and gender as social constructions have a deep meaning. This is because it requires a deeper understanding that is beyond the assumption that race and gender are just the effects of a biological process. However, before discussing race and gender as social constructions, it is important to begin by defining several key terms. That will enhance understanding in this discussion.

The term culture refers to the knowledge and characteristics that are used to identify a certain group of people (Nastasi, 2017). This takes into account aspects of religion, social habits, cuisine, language, arts, and music. The term is further used to refer to shared patterns of interactions and behavior, cognitive constructs, and insights that are gained through socialization. Therefore, culture may be used to define group identity that is based on social patterns that are unique to the group.

Culture is hence a broad term that encompasses language, music, arts, religion, dressing code, morality, and other aspects that describe a way that makes a given social group different from others. Culture is the intersection of all these categories.  It also refers to the integration of personal and group experiences in various social contexts such as peer groups, family, school, community, and other social contexts over time. The interaction between these aspects is seen in the development of the child.

Biology refers to a study about living things and the crucial processes that are essential for their survival (Berns, 2012). The field, therefore, entails a look into the physiochemical dimensions of the lives of living things. The study is divided further into zoology and botany to distinguish the study of animals from plants.

The word nature is a broad term used to refer to living organisms, which include plants and animals, weather, geological processes, and physics (Rutter, 2006). The term is therefore used to refer to the natural environment, which includes forests, rocks, beaches, the wilderness, and other aspects that are part of the natural environment.

Nurture is different from nature. As opposed to the former, which refers to the physical aspects of the natural setting, nurture refers to the impact of the social environment or setting that impacts the life of an individual (Rutter, 2006). This impact is a result of interactions between people such as family, community, peers, and other people who may influence the behavior of an individual.

The conflict between nature and nature and their impact on human beings has been going on over a long time. The question has been which among the two aspects is used to define human beings on various aspects such as race, gender, ethnicity, and many other aspects (Rutter, 2006). Some researchers have concluded that an individual is defined by nature, while others have argued that nurture has a significant impact. Nature defines human traits as resulting from biological or genetic predispositions, while nurture recognizes the role of learning and other social influences as the determinants of human traits.

Race refers to the supposition that human species can be divided into different groups based on behavioral and physical differences that are inherited (Sarich, 2018). Some genetic studies in the 20^th century have refuted the existence of genetic evidence justifying the existence of races, and they held the argument that races are culturally adopted interventions that indicate particular beliefs and attitudes that were embraced by various people during the colonial era. This is also a major discussion as other groups of scholars continue believing that there exists genetic evidence of the existence of racial differences.

Therefore, the terms race, culture, biology, nature, and nurture are key in the discussion of the origin and attributes of humankind. The other significant term in this discussion is cultural construction. As previously defined, culture refers to a reflection of a set of shared beliefs, behavioral expectations, and values among a particular group of people. Culture is observed as being dynamic in its nature, and this can only be identified through the nature of construction. This means that the continuation and transmission of culture are dependent on the emergence of altered or new cultural meanings.

The process of cultural construction can, therefore, be defined as dialogue among partners who regard each other as equal across race/ethnic, cultural, social class and other social boundaries that leads to integration of knowledge, perspectives, values, and approaches that are derived from the constituent parties and results in joint innovation (Nastasi, 2017). This is an ongoing process that demonstrates the foundation of participatory research and development through intervention leading to dynamic social constructions.

After defining all the important concepts of this discussion, it is now possible to discuss gender and race as a product of cultural construction. This refutes the supposition that the aspects of gender and race are biologically determined. As opposed to the biological theory, cultural construction defines who we are via the lenses of socialization. Cultural construction is the notion that the understanding of reality among people is determined partially by social contexts. Therefore, there is a need to contextualize gender and race as social identities.

Cultural construction is often used interchangeably with social construction — socialization, the values and roles of a given culture, and becoming a member of a given society. The cultural construction of gender starts with assigning a newborn a certain gender based on the genitals of the child. Sex is different from gender (Nastasi, 2017). This is because sex refers to observable features that are used to differentiate between two kinds of human beings, males and females. On the other hand, gender entails the beliefs and expectations of society on a group of people of a given trait or sex. Therefore, the major difference between these two terms comes from the fact that sex comes from biological factors, while our expectations concerning given sex determine gender.

From the expectations of society, the socialization process continues to be manifested in the activities and gaps that the child is assigned. This is in terms of how the child is dressed, bought certain toys, and even encouraged to take certain hobbies (Segal, 2004). Therefore, the concept of gender is determined by certain actions that people engage in that lead to the creation of social structures that lead to the production of actions or roles that are used to define certain genders. For instance, the toys bought for boys in their tender age include trucks while girls are bought dolls. This leads to a reinforcement of stereotypes in assigning gender roles, which leads to the continued prevalence of patriarchal society.

The divisions among gender-based cultural construction continue as the children grow up to become men and women. The society encourages men to pursue careers that will lead to employment in the future while women take up less meaningful careers and are also encouraged to pursue marriage (Segal, 2004). The men take part in public spheres such as law, commerce, politics, and the economy. The women take part in the private realm, which involves domestic roles taking care of the children and taking part in religion. All these attributes are not biologically initiated. Instead, they are socially initiated.

Cultural construction is also responsible for the racial aspects and perceptions. This is because cultural constructs are responsible for the construction or dismantling of certain powers (Sarich, 2018). The aspect of race basically functions through some observable indicators that are used to conclude that one is from a given race. This is consequently used to determine the status of an individual in society. This is seen as having gained popularity in the colonial era when the whites had the power to get away with some types of crimes, while the people of color were severely punished for the same.

In reality, there are no intrinsic aspects that grant the supremacy of the whites over the people of color. These are things that are socially conceived. This power is granted by aspects of inequality and exclusion of black people socially. The race became popular in the 19^th century, where three categories of people were introduced (Sarich, 2018). These were the Negroes, Caucasians, and Mongoloid. It is in the same era where the Caucasians were presumed to be people of higher morality and importance in society.

In history, the assumption that a given race is superior to others has been used as the ground to oppress, discriminate, victimize and mistreat people of color who are viewed as being inferior. This led to the colonization of black people by European powers that considered the people of color as inferior and more barbaric. Since social-cultural aspects play a significant role in determining the beliefs of various people, society turns racial stereotypes into reality.

Power plays a significant role in the elevation of certain races and making others inferior. This is a good explanation for the continued prejudice against people of color (Sarich, 2018). These prejudices have resulted in an inferiority complex among the non-whites, making them be subjected to poverty, poorly remunerated jobs as low living standards. Therefore, this brings a distinguishing factor between race and color. Color is what defines an individual as black or white, while the race is the social-cultural assumption of the society concerning people of a given color. Therefore, race and gender are fruits of cultural construction and not gender-based aspects.

References

Rutter, M. (2006). Genes and behavior: Nature-nurture interplay explained. Blackwell Publishing.

Berns, G. S., & Atran, S. (2012). The biology of cultural conflict.

Nastasi, B. K., Arora, P. G., & Varjas, K. (2017). The meaning and importance of cultural construction for global development.

Sarich, V. (2018). Race: The reality of human differences. Routledge.

Segal, E. S. (2004). Cultural constructions of gender. Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World’s Cultures Volume I: Topics and Cultures AK Volume II: Cultures LZ, 3-10.