How Race Becomes Biology: Embodiment Of Social Inequality
Kallen Brunson In the article, “How Race becomes Biology: Embodiment of Social Inequality” by Clarence C. Gravlee, Gravlee argues that race, and the assumption of race in everyday life, makes the difference in biology much more clear and affects the life cycles of people due to their perceived race (Gravlee, 51). The author provides, using both his research and others’, an argument against the complete notion that race is only a social construct (Gravlee, 53). Through a series of statements, Gravlee states that race shouldn’t simply be excluded from anthropological discussion, but incorporated into present views regarding healthcare and impacts on society. First, Gravlee explains the cultural perception of race in the United States and how …show more content…
Certain studies have shown a damaging correlation between racial groups and health problems, such as high blood pressure in African-Americans or low birth weight for Arab newborns after 9/11 (Gravlee, 52). These indications are imperative to understanding how race affects biology because both are impacted by societal, cultural, and environmental factors. The author also recognizes the impact that anthropologists had on past ideology, such as eugenics (Gravlee, 48), and how it has shaped racialized thinking in the modern world. Gravlee argues that skin color is a major factor in social processes (Gravlee, 52) and ultimately, it contributes to the cycle of inequality and unseen health problems in minorities (Gravlee, 48). In response to the pre-existing notions in both pop culture and academia, the author unifies both statements and states that race manifests itself in the person’s biology (Gravlee, …show more content…
Common rebuffs to that statements often include microaggressions as a reoccurrence of racism, but if biology is added to the mix, it adds something very concrete to the argument. Ultimately, it adds credibility to the idea that racism manifests itself in different ways. I chose this article because of the way it addressed race. It doesn’t handle it lightly, but it doesn’t completely disregard it either. This article presents a more comprehensive view for me; the discussion that we had on race didn’t sit well with me, and Gravlee’s arguments allows me to reconcile anthropology with my own personal views about the validity of
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