Introduction
This paper describes why the existence of race is not biologically yet it exists in the political and social sense. Additionally, the paper analyzes the factors that lead to variations among humans.
Why race isn’t “biological real.”
Interactions, professions, job positions, schools, and justice are all impacted by race, and people view the world through a racial lens (Frankenberg 58). Hence, the activities that people engage in are as a result of their race. According to Boas (7), although people behave in a certain way because they belong to a particular group, race is not biological. It developed through history since people are continuously taught how to handle various activities. The political class and status quo in the society are the groups that propagate the notion of race as biological. Citizens tend to believe these groups of people, which lead to the adoption of the concept.
Over many years, race is passed from one generation to the next making it hierarchical. Additionally, anthropologists link race to evolution and human culture. People in different geographical locations evolve at different rates. That’s why the most evolved people thought they were “biologically advanced” leading to constructions of races. Since race isn’t biological, attempts by biologist to classify people based on characteristics such as skin color, size and looks have failed. Anthropologists also insist that humans belong to the same species, and there is no biological evidence for the existence of races.
However, race is socially and politically real as exhibited in most countries around the world such as the U. S. and Germany (Sussman 105). In the Western Europe and the United States, there are always social and political differences among the Native Americans and Black Americans. Historically and even in the modern White Americans perceive themselves as superior to the Blacks due to race notion. Most of the basics of race develop as a way to keep political leaders in power. Sussman (304), states that Nazism and slave trade were as a result of racism. Mostly, these leaders perceive themselves as great, perfect and the best suit to lead their followers.
Factors that result in variation in human
Various aspects lead to variation in human including hereditary, geographical, and habitual (Bogin 239).
First, people are biologically different due to differences in genetic makeup. The genetic constitution of an individual is expressed in the phenotype. Thus, people have physical variations due to their genotype. Importantly, the genetic makeup is passed from one generation to the next justifying the continued variation among humans. Nevertheless, differences among children of the same parent arise because of variation in the inheritance of genes.
Second, humans live in different geographical locations, which produce variations. Environmental conditions are a major contributor to differences such as skin and eye color. For instance, Africans usually have a dark skin due to the level of solar radiation. Conversely, Americans and people who live near the tropics have a light skin because these areas are usually cold (Moan and Juzeniene n. p.). Some other factors such as hair on the body also arise due to the environmental conditions of the particular location.
Third, habits usually produce variations among the humans. Body posture and developments such muscles are habitual. People who exercise in the gym and perform workouts seem to have a different body shape from those who don’t. Also, physical body enhancements usually lead to variations among individuals.
Conclusion
Works Cited
Boas, Franz. Race, Language, and Culture. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995. Print.
Bogin, Barry. Patterns of Human Growth. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Print.
Frankenberg, Ruth. White Women, Race Matters: The Social Construction of Whiteness. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993. Print.
Moan, Johan, and Asta Juzeniene. Why skin Colours differ. 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 May 2016. < https://www.mn.uio.no/fysikk/english/research/news-and-events/news/2011/why-skin-colours-differ.html >
Sussman, Robert. The Myth of Race: The Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea. United States: Harvard University Press, 2014. Print.
