Social Construction of Race and Ethnicity - Essay Sample

Sociologists say that race and ethnicity are socially constructed. What do they mean by this? Identify and elaborate on 2 different examples of social construction from our reading or lectures.

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Race and ethnicity is a social construct because it could not have existed without the existence and generalizations of society. Race and ethnicity in the United States are primarily shaped by society by collective assignment of meaning which is the primary cause of their existence. When defining race, it is clear that it is not a biological but a social fact. The lack of biological basis to explain the differences between racial groups which have been generalized by the society and assigned different meaning (Roy, 2001). A phenotype is the physical characteristic of individuals such as the skin color or the color of the eyes. Phenotypes are used in the society to assign discriminative features of exclusion and inclusion based on the physical differences which make race and ethnicity from a social perspective a social construction.

Social construct basically means assigning meaning or connotation to objects based on their interaction and relationships with other objects in the environment. Racial and ethnic meanings in the society are generalizations that do not represent the biological backing but appears obvious to the society to accept the assigned connotations regarding race and ethnicity (Roy, 2001). There are different representations of race and ethnicity that have been created by the society over time as a basis of discrimination and helping one race to dominate over other races in terms of power, property ownership rights, behavior and opportunities in the society. In this case, the social construction of race and ethnicity is a social reality created by men to be able to justify social representation and position in the course of social stratification.

Examples

Sociological Construction of Black People

In society, one of the conventional sociological constructions is the construction of black identity which is imposed on all people of color. Black identity is a social construction especially in the United States that seek to socially isolate the people of color in the society by depicting them as inferior to the white people. Black people, social construction can be debunked as a social construction because from a close analysis it is clear that the people of color do not share the same group of membership. As such, the use of ethnic labels created by the society for discriminatory purposes proves that social construction is not right because it results in generalizations which are prone to abuse by individuals in power and dominating racial groups.

Gender Roles

Gender roles are socially constructed by society because biologically there is no specific work for men and women separately as it is enforced by society. Over the years social construction of gender rules has been that of heavy work for men whereas women are given easy tasks at home. Men are the primary providers whereas women are to be dependent on men. In this case, this is just a social reality that can be proved wrong because many women are actively involved in roles that are socially developed to belong to men. For instance, women going to war, women truck drivers, men who are excellent chefs and single mother who single-handedly raise their families which shows that gender roles are socially constructed and not necessarily true.

How does social exchange theory (along with the notion of the marriage market) help us understand why people choose and ultimately end up with their partners? Why do some relationships last while others end? What is one problem with this perspective?

The social exchange theory posits that individual social behavior and decisions are aimed at maximizing potential benefits from relationships and minimize costs (Redmond, 2015). In this case, people weigh the potential benefits and the risks before engaging in relationships which seek to be based on giving and take between the couples although in most cases not on equal measure. Different individuals offer different benefits at varying costs within relationships (Redmond, 2015). The benefits refer to the fun, companionship, social support, and friendship whereas the cost refers to the negative aspect of relationships such as time, money, and effort spent on a relationship. As such, in relationships, people seek to maximize the benefits in the unions and minimize the costs.

Relationships fail while others last based on the different compositions of the exchange within the relationships. Because relationships have different costs and benefits when the costs such as the efforts and money spent on relationships are more than the rewards such as the happiness in the union it fails the relationship. Relationships that are balanced in terms of costs and the benefits they last longer (Redmond, 2015). The social exchange theory can be applied in relationships to improve the positive exchanges in Integrated Behavior Couples Therapy. However, there is a significant argument against the social exchange theory application in relationships in that the costs and the benefits involved in relationships it's difficult to quantify them because they are based on subjective opinions which vary from one individual to another. Besides, the rewards of the relationship may change over time and a subject of experience which makes it not useful when applied on relationships (Redmond, 2015).

References

Redmond, M. V. (2015). Social exchange theory. Lowa State University. Retrieved from https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=engl_reports

Roy, W. G. (2001). Making societies: The historical construction of our world (Vol. 474). Pine Forge Press.