ipl-logo

Theories Of Racial Identity

1001 Words5 Pages

Identity refers to how people define themselves and others and this can include factors such as age, social class, religion and personality (Jenkins, 2008).
Identity can also be defined by race, this is particularly important for this study. Racial identity has been described in terms of a biological category (Spikard, 1992) and from a social dimension (Helms, 1995; Spikard, 1992). When described as a biological category race consists of individuals “physical features, gene pools and character qualities” (Spikard, 1992, p.14). Europeans used these features to group people hierarchically by their physical abilities and moral quality and Caucasians were the pinnacle (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999). Through colonialism racial categories were enforced and this created a hierarchically racial arranged global order. This is the reason individuals use race to describe him or herself when referring to their identities, this is even more prevalent in South Africa or America as they are highly racialised societies. In South Africa the construction of the Coloured identity was as a result of political power, the government categorised people of mixed races and created an artificial category labelled ‘Coloured’ as these people could not be categorised into any of the other main races (Petrus, 2013).
In Social Psychology …show more content…

This is in order to move away from the biological definition as this can be interpreted as a racist perspective (Chavez & Guido-DiBrito, 1999). According to Helms, (1993, p. 3) identity can be interpreted as a social construction, which “refers to a sense of group or collective identity based on one’s perception that he or she shares a common heritage with a particular racial group”. The Coloured identity has proceeded through these definitions; the different ways in which Coloured identity has been defined will be discussed in the literature review

Show More
Related

  • My Identity And African American Identity

    1601 Words  | 7 Pages

    When filling out a questionnaire, it is only a matter of time before I come across the predictable: what is your race/ethnicity? I do not have to think long nor hard about my answer. In fact, I do not hesitate to pencil in African American. Why is that? It could very well be that at a glance my skin tone and accent is enough for people to quickly label me as such thus reaffirming my identity.

    Read More

  • Sociologist Argument That Race Is Still Relevant In Modern Day Society

    287 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fall 2015-Soc 100-35W 10/15 Week Seven Discussion Samantha Henry Sociologist argue that race is a social construct and not a part of our innate natural behavior. Then why is racial identification so prevalent in modern day society? That’s because at young ages we are taught by television, movies, books, newspapers, parents, teachers, friends and other sources what race is.

    Read More

  • Social Construction Of Race: Norms And Differences

    504 Words  | 3 Pages

    The need for categorization resulted to race being defined in institutional contexts such as “a group of people who perceive themselves and are perceived by others as possessing distinctive hereditary traits” (Ore, 2014, p.9). With this definition, it becomes easier to group individuals in limited categories, such as by their color. What is important to note is the attached perceptions and assumptions based on one’s racial background; this constitutes the social construct of race. As Ore (2014) explains, we do not create these assumptions due to their biological factors as individual people, but rather as social factors. Social construction of race goes all the way back to when the person is born.

    Read More

  • Their Eyes Were Watching God Thesis

    2479 Words  | 10 Pages

    In the novel, Their Eyes were watching God, Zora Neal Hurston drew attention to a controversial topic in the identification of biracial people. Growing up, Janie lived with her grandma and grew up with the Washburns children. She supposes she is white like them until she sees a photograph and understands that she is black. “So when we looked at depicture and everybody got pointed out there and there wasn’t nobody left but a real dark girl with real long hair standing beside Eleanor. Ah couldn’t recognize dat dark girl as me …

    Read More

  • Critical Racial Theory

    421 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is commonly acknowledged that racism is a type of injustice and that state law has the moral obligation, not just to avoid perpetrating racist acts against citizens, however, to give change to specific victims of non-state racism as an issue of public policy. Most debates over antidiscrimination law and policy focus on the degree of these obligations. As for the state 's commitment not to perpetrate racism itself, the question is whether antidiscrimination standards are fulfilled when the state stays away from all race-conscious state and non-state public activity, or whether the state should attempt race-conscious activities in specific circumstances in order to be a remedy to its own past and proceeding with racial segregation. Regarding the state 's obligation to be a remedy to non-state segregation, questions incorporate to what degree the state should come to the aid of private discrimination for any reason, and where the lines amongst open and private behavior should be drawn. These level headed discussions additionally require a meaning of what discrimination implies (Rich, 2010).

    Read More

  • Essay On Cross Racial Identity Model

    982 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the semester, the course has taught me a lot about myself and those around me. I have learned that based on Cross’ racial identity model I am in stage 5. It was new to me to find out there was model based on racial identity. Stage 5 means that I able to talk to anyone in and outside of my racial group. Which would mean that I would not have to seek counseling to correct an issue because there isn't one.

    Read More

  • Race Social Construction

    913 Words  | 4 Pages

    The first discussion of this course we have covered, we learned race is a social construction. According to Snip, he explained why he believes that race is a social construction; he argued that race is being used to pursue social class and political desires. Throughout the history race has changed from time to time. In the context of the United State race was used for assigned people based on their skin color then it become matter of personal identification. The book explains the concept of race, as this “Racialization is the social process by which a racial group identity is attached to a group and that is placed in a race-based social hierarchy.”

    Read More

  • Daniel Tatum The Complexity Of Identity

    683 Words  | 3 Pages

    Identity speaks of who we are as individuals but it also comes from two different groups: social and cultural. These groups are connected to power, values and ideology. Social identities are related to how we interact with people and how we present ourselves. Meanwhile cultural identities relate to society in whole such as religion, values, etc. In this paper I will talk about the dominant and subordinate identities.

    Read More

  • The Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model By Sue & Sue

    1011 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Racial/Cultural Identity Development Model by Sue & Sue (2012), is an active example to understand clients’ attitudes and behaviors toward themselves and their culture as well as the culture of others. According to West-Olatunji, Frazier, Guy, Smith, Clay & Breaux (2007), “This model poses the following questions (Sue & Sue, 2003): (a) With whom do you identify and why? (b) What culturally diverse attitudes and beliefs do you accept or reject and why? (c) What dominant cultural attitudes and beliefs do you accept or reject and why? and (d) How do your current attitudes and beliefs affect your interaction with other culturally diverse clients and people of the dominant culture?

    Read More

  • SOC 100 Midterm Essay

    624 Words  | 3 Pages

    In other words, race is understood differently around the world. According to the text book, in West Africa, people are categorized into racial groups based on the status of having noble ancestry and not physical features. Also, according to the article, “Defining Race”, race is categorized base on individuals’ social class status and wealth. Furthermore, the invention of race reflects social, economic, and political aspects in society. For example, White American who has white and black ancestry will be considered as black because black slaves are free source of labor, and white population want to increase the number of labor.

    Read More

  • Essay On Racial Identity

    933 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racial identity plays a role in the physical and psychological features of humans. Physically, humans in different parts of the globe endure different conditions and environments. Humans adapt to their environments and obtain different physical traits, henceforth, these physical traits have become adjacent to race. Psychologically, ancestral prejudices and influences throughout history have lingered through the generations and have impacted modern racial identities and tensions. Ethnic conflicts of the past such as the Social Darwinist theory of a "superior race" are morally refuted in current times, but that assumption had a brunt impact in which the world is still repairing today.

    Read More

  • Social Identity Theory In Mean Girls

    1719 Words  | 7 Pages

    Introduction Social identification is a very important source of both one’s pride and self-esteem. Because groups give us a sense of social identity and belongingness to the social world, intergroup relations have a huge impact on the actions we engage ourselves in. “We are not born with senses of self. Rather, self arises from interaction with others” (Griffin, 2012). In this paper I will first give a summary of Tajfel and Turner’s Social Identity Theory.

    Read More

  • Sociology Essay On Race And Ethnicity

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Introduction The concept of identity has been a notion of significant interest not just to sociologists and psychologists, but also to individuals found in a social context of perpetually trying to define themselves. Often times, identities are given to individuals based on their social status within a certain community, after the assessment of predominant characteristics that said individual has. However, within the context of an ethnicity, the concept identity is most probably applied to all members of the ethnical group, and not just one individual. When there is one identity designated for the entire group, often times the factor of “individuality” loses its significance, especially when referring to the relationship between the ethnic

    Read More

  • Racism And Social Identity

    970 Words  | 4 Pages

    Each individual has their own different social identity. One’s social identity is constructed based on the different influences around them. The development of social identity is influenced by various factors such as the historical, cultural and religious beliefs of the society, community or family where one is brought up. It is influenced by the behaviours and attitudes of authority figures such as parents, teachers and community leaders around them, it is also influenced by external factors such as the media, one’s peers and the overall exposure one has (Carrim, 2006, p56).

    Read More

  • Identity And Identity In Literature

    848 Words  | 4 Pages

    The issue of identity has been a field of interest for many researchers. They have presented many perspectives on identity, on its shifting nature, politics and complexities. To understand this complexity, it is important to establish opposites like I and him (Said, 1978; Gregory, 1994; Thrift, 1995). Identification of oneself is always related to this fact ‘who I am not’ and other people easily accept the identity of an individual which may not match to his (individual) identity even.

    Read More

More about Theories Of Racial Identity

Open Document