The Concept Of Race And Ethnicity

The concepts of race and ethnicity have an enormous complexity and are easily manipulated. Therefore, clarifying their meaning may contribute to a careful management of the terms in efforts of avoiding mistakes and misinterpretations. The concept of race is defined as a category of individuals who share certain hereditary traits that members of society considered socially relevant or significant. But the most important component of the concept of race is the practical, which classifies individuals in racial groups. This process has been called racialization. Ethnicity refers to the Group of people who share a cultural heritage. They have common ancestors, speak the same language, practice the same religion, share customs and therefore, a common
social identity. The difference between race and ethnicity is that the first influences most biological factors, whereas the second relates to cultural aspects. Race and ethnicity may coincide, but have different dimensions. In context of ideas about nature, race vs ethnicity matters because racism is a very real problem that won´t go away powered by ignorance. Historically, the portrayal of minorities in movies and television is less than ideal. We tend to see minorities cast as criminals to satisfy the stereotypical image. Even within the academic usage of those who specialize in race there is a need to deconstruct still further the implicit relationship between nature understood as a phenotypical variation and culture understood as social categories built independently of nature but still appropriating it as a symbolic resource.