Race: The Social Construction Of Social Class

Social constructs are a perception of an individual, group, or idea, derived through interactions with others. We all subconsciously agree upon a singular version of reality for social constructs to have any power. However, our own personal perceptions are modified by personal experiences. Social constructs predict and determine our behavior and attitude towards a certain subject. The social construct of race depicts cultural differences that we attribute to different “classes” because of what social class means to us. Without realizing, we treat members of different racial classes differently based on assumptions about said class. These constructs are all around us, and in a way, we mold ourselves to fit these social constructs. “Americans
We have this idea that racism was abolished back in 1954, with the Brown vs. Board of education case. This is not the case, we believe that racial segregation is a thing of the past, but children still find themselves attending schools, surrounded by students of the same race and ethnic background. Race and ethnicity affect everything around us. The social construction of race is based what we think matters the most to be called successful. Success too, is a social construction. Income, wealth, family background, cultural characteristics, and education are matters that may not be in our hands, but on the other hand, why do we base our version of success off these
This grants white people an advantage in society whether one will admit it or not. This notion is often commonly referred to as colorblindness. “If whites get an advantage because of the color of their skin, then their dominant status isn’t legitimate, an idea that’s threatening to them” (Mcardle, 171). By America accepting colorblindness, racism as a social problem is dismissed. We all form opinions about the world we live in. Generalizations based off an actual experience may be valid, but correlation does not imply causation. Placing people into categories before one has an adequate chance to fairly judge them as an individual, gives power to stereotypes.
Racism is the assertion that people of one race are less worthy, or inferior to people of other races. Racism today is just as widespread as it was in the past. By blaming a social problem on the biologically inferiority of a race, we can justify racism. Subtle forms of racism are apparent in everyday life as discrimination. Discrimination is the unequal treatment of various categories of people. Discrimination can be both positive and negative, with the connotation implying the latter.