2. Race has no genetic basis. Not one characteristic, trait or even gene distinguishes all the members of one so-called race from all the members of another so-called race.
For me, the word, 'race' is often times hard to define. However, people have been identifying themselves through what they think their race is for hundreds of years. Knowing who you are is an important aspect to finding and then accepting your true identity. According to John H. Relethford, a biological anthropologist, race " is a group of populations that share some biological characteristics...These populations differ from other groups of populations according to these characteristics." The statement that race has no genetic basis was shocking to me because race has always been assumed to be a collection of traits, not just a difference of skin color. After researching the idea behind race not having a genetic basis, i began to understand the other side of the argument. According to The National Human Genome Research Institute, 99.9 percent of our DNA is the same. With this being said, I suppose the idea of race is simply a political and cultural concept that our society has developed.
However, even with the evidence, we are still left wondering why did we as a society defined race the way we did? And how can there be no specific characteristic or trait that distinguishes one group of people from another if we all look so different?
That fact from The National Human Genome Research Institute is striking! If 99.9 percent of our DNA is the same then race cannot exist. I agree with you Maddy, with this type of data its almost impossible to believe that "race" is more than a concept that society has developed. This reminds me of what Goodman was arguing in his article against Leroi, how people find excuses for why there are races and why the term "race" is relevant in society. Although It is not possible to give these assumptions when modern genetics does not prove that there are races at all. This is according to Goodman, whose race theory i am leaning towards agreeing with.
ReplyDeleteI simply find this idea impossible to believe. The idea that we have similar DNA is acceptable to me, we are all of the same species and thus would have similar DNA. However, to say that individual genes regarding skin color and eye color are unrelated is incredible to me. I think, in the end, due to the fact that for millennia ethnicities have mated with members of the same ethnicities, some genes have become so ingrained into that races heritage, it is difficult to think of them as separate genes. For instance, imagine an Asian man with blue eyes, or an irish man with very tan skin. Of course these things are possible and people from different geographical areas mate, but until races dilute and mix with each other individual races will still exist with distinct physical features.
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