Ishell Robinson Essays - Social Constructionism, Race,

Ishell Robinson Elizabeth Kim English 10:40 17 July 2015 Social Construction of Race When talking about race people tend to just explain it at the bare minimum. Race does not just have one specific mean ing. It can be interpreted in v ast ways depending on multiple customs . In the article "Racial Formations , " written by Michael Omi and Howard Winant , they elaborate on how society needs to break the barrier of stereoty pes and defining people of ones race because race is always changing due to society always changing . In Caucasia Birdie and Cole are sisters that live two different lives due to their outward appearance. Omi and Winant believe that r ace is changing due to social concepts such as racial ideology, racial identity, and racialization. This idea is enforced i n the novel Caucasia , written by Danzy Senna, the protagonist can relate to these social concepts that form the real meaning of race. Omi and Winant proclaim that racial ideology has a huge impact on race due to social construction. Racial Ideology is people's preconceived notion of race , their set of beliefs on race. Most beliefs are based off of h ow one think s a certain race should act or how they should look. As Omi and Winant puts it, "We also become disoriented when people do not act black,' Latino,' or indeed white.' The content of such stereotypes reveals a series of substantiated beliefs about who these groups are and what they' are like" (Omi and Winant 4). The authors are stating how people become confused or dumbfounded when ones beliefs do not match how they perceived a specific race group to be like. This connects to Omi and Winant's main argument that race is not just one specific thing because physically it is hard to tell which race one may be. Stereotypes are created based on one's society. Stereotypes will continue to change as society keeps changing. It would not be true. Historians themselves cannot describe race. In connection with Caucasia Birdie explains, " My grandmother (white grandmother) had met her (black grandmother) a few times before Nana died, and liked to talk about how intelligent, dignified' she was, as if that fact were surprise, proof of something that needed proving" (Senna 101). Birdie comes up with her white grandmother being surprised because her black grandmother was intelligent. Birdie interpreted her white grandmother being surprised was because she did not believe blacks were intelligent. Her white grandmother believed that b lacks could never be as smart or dignified as white people were. Birdie's white grandmother's racial ideology about her black grandmother brought Birdie to this understanding of race as a social construction. Omi and Winant discuss racial identity in their article and makes many important points about it. Racial identity is a group of people identified as "other groups" because of their physically or genetic traits. The authors state, "Skin color differences' are thought to explain preconceived differences in intellectual, physical, and artistic temperaments, and to justify distinct treatment of racially identified individuals and groups" (Omi and Winant 4). They are saying that a person can be categorized a certain race due to multiple things like the way one speaks, one's taste of music, the way one walks and so on (4). Every characteristic aspect in a person may determine one's racial identity. Racial identity cannot be looked at under one aspect. There is multiple example of racial identity demonstrated in the novel Caucasia . Birdie states, "It reminded me of an old black - and - white plantation movie my father had forced Cole and me to watch on Sunday afternoon. The slave characters in it had been played by white actors who wore some kind of pancake makeup on their faces. My father had laughed whenever they spoke in their strained dialect" (Senna 14). The white actors had pancake makeup on to symbolize too much makeup they had to put on to be perceived as black slaves. The situation that reminded Birdie of this movie was Redbone's slang, she described it as being awkward and twisted. Birdie also mentioned that her father would laugh every time he