Chapter 10

Race and EthnicityChapter 10RaceSince ancient times, people have attempted to group human beings into racial categories based on physical characteristics, such as skin color, hair texture, and body structure.Race: Categories of people who share inherited physical characteristics and whom others see as being a distinct group.RaceFor sociologists, the important issue is not that a person has a specific color of skin or hair of a certain texture.

Sociologists are concerned with how people react to these physical characteristics and how these reactions affect individuals in society.RaceScholars have placed people into 3 racial groups:Caucasoid (Whites)- fair skin and straight or wavy hair.Mongoloids (Asians)- yellowish or brownish skin and folds on eyelids.Negroids (Blacks)- dark skin and tightly curled hair.There are NO Biologically pure races.

EthnicityEthnicity is a cultural characteristic.The set of cultural characteristics that distinguishes one group from one another is called ethnicity.Ethnicity is based on cultural considerations whereas race is based on physical considerations.Ethnic GroupsAn ethnic group is a group of people who share a common cultural background and a common sense of identity.EX. Whites: Irish, Polish, Russian, AmericansEthnicity is generally based on such cultural characteristics as national origin, religion, language, customs, and values.Minority GroupNo particular skin color, physical frame, or ethnic background is superior or inferior by nature.However, sociologists agree that those who hold power may place a value on specific characteristics.Minority GroupThose who hold power- MajorityThose who dont hold power- MinorityNot necessarily based on numbers of people like other areas (voting, etc.)Conflict Theory in Ethnicity and RaceFrom the conflict perspective, many sociologists have concluded that a dominant groups position of power allows them to enjoy certain privileges, such as better housing, better schools, and higher incomes.Louis WirthIdentified a minority group as a group of people who, because of their physical characteristics and/or cultural perspectives- are singled out and unequally treated.

Minority Group CharacteristicsIdentifiable physical/cultural characteristics which are different from dominant group.Victims of unfair/unequal treatment.Membership in group is ascribed (born into).Members share a strong bond and a sense of group loyalty.Members tend to practice endogamy- marriage within the group.Discrimination and PrejudiceOften these two words are used interchangeably, but they do not mean the same thing.Discrimination- The denial of equal treatment to individuals based on their group membership.Prejudice- An unsupported generalization about a category of people.Blue Eyes v. Brown Eyeshttp://vod.nort2h.com/SAFARI/montage/play.php?keyindex=5557&chapterskeyindex=-1&keyconceptskeyindex=-1&sceneclipskeyindex=-1&location=local

DiscriminationFound on an individual or societal level.Between 1882 and 1970 more than 1,170 African Americans were lynched by white mobs in the U.S.Most of the time these people were attempting to vote, use the same public facilities, or had become too successful.White PrivilegeWhite privilege refers to any advantage, opportunity, benefit, head start, or general protection from negative societal mistreatment, which persons deemed white will typically enjoy, but which others will generally not enjoy. White PrivilegeThese benefits can be: material (such as greater opportunity in the labor market, or greater net worth, due to a history in which whites had the ability to accumulate wealth to a greater extent than persons of color) social (such as presumptions of competence, creditworthiness, law-abidingness, intelligence, etc.)

White Privilegepsychological (such as not having to worry about triggering negative stereotypes, rarely having to feel out of place, not having to worry about racial profiling, etc.).

Societal DiscriminationAppears in one of two formsLegal discrimination- upheld by law.Institutionalized discrimination- an outgrowth of the structure of society.What are some examples of legal discrimination throughout history?What are some examples of institutionalized discrimination today?Legal DiscriminationMinors-Drinking age (21)Smoking age (18)Voting age (18)Marriage age (in Ohio, 16 with parental approval, 18 without parental approval)Legal DiscriminationMarriageIn the state of Ohio, it must be between a man and a woman.ApartheidLaws to keep the races separate in S. Africa until early 1990s.ApartmentsNo pets, no children, no one under 55Institutionalized DiscriminationOvertime, unequal access to the resources of society pushes some minority groups into less-powerful positions.When this occurs, it is no longer necessary for the dominant group to consciously discriminate against the minority group to maintain a system of inequality.Institutionalized DiscriminationRedlining- Coined by John McKnight. It marks the practice of marking a red line on the map to delineate the area where banks would later not invest.NFL- Rooney RuleInterviewing minority coaches in the league

Institutionalized DiscriminationAirlinesRestrictions on overweight fliershttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/17/earlyshow/living/travel/main4952134.shtmlSin TaxTaxing things like tobacco and alcohol as well as soft drinks, candy, coffee, gambling or prostitution.

Hank WilliamsHank Williams Jr.s song All My Rowdy Friends has been the opening to the NFLs Monday Night Football since 1991.The NFL pulled the song before the Colts v. Dolphins game on October 3rd because of remarks that Williams made to Fox News.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eF6vCv13bw&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=activeSince the remarks, Williams has apologized, but the NFL has permanently pulled Williams song and said they will not use it any longer.PrejudicePrejudice is an unsupported generalization.Does not always have to be about race or ethnicityIt is an attitudeCan be positive (for) or negative (against)Sociology focuses on the negativeGenerally, someone who is prejudiced also discriminates.Stereotyping An oversimplified, exaggerated, or unfavorable generalization about a group of people.An individual forms an image of a particular group and then applies that image to all members of the group.If individuals are found to differ from the stereotyped image, they are thought to be exceptions to the rule, rather than proof that the stereotype is wrong.Stereotyping If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. W.I. Thomas, American sociologistSelf-fulfilling prophecy: A prediction that results in behavior that makes the prediction become true.RacismBelief that ones own race or ethnicitys group or religion is superior to all others.When an individual or group believes they are innately superior, it justifies their mistreatment of others.Ex. Hitler and the Nazis, Slave masters and slavesPrejudice and discrimination are related, but they do not always go hand-in-hand.http://thefw.com/lost-disney-characters/?utm_source=zergnet.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=zergnet_41253

Racism in Disney Movieshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHyzAbV6nuM&safety_mode=true&safe=active&persist_safety_mode=1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSYAY1nv6tg&safety_mode=true&safe=active&persist_safety_mode=1

Robert K. Mertons Patterns of Prejudice and DiscriminationTimid Bigot: Prejudiced person who does not discriminateAll-Weather Liberal: Non prejudiced person who does not discriminateActive Bigot: Prejudiced person who discriminatesFair-Weather Liberal: Non-prejudiced person who discriminatesYesNoYesNoPrejudiceDiscriminationSociological ExplanationsMost sociological explanations of prejudice and discrimination focus on social environment.Often a learned behavior (comes from home).Embedded in social norms (socialization).People often become prejudice to maintain their place in a group (peer pressure).Psychological ExplanationsTheodor Adorno- Came up with common characteristics among people studied who were prejudice.Strongly conformistGreat respect for authority and tendency to follow orders of those in authorityGreat deal of anger and are likely to blame their problems on others.

Psychological ExplanationsPrejudice might be the product of anger and frustration.Scapegoating- The practice of placing the blame of ones troubles on an innocent individual or group.Anyone know where the term scapegoat comes from?

Psychological ExplanationsMinority groups become scapegoats because of their distinctive appearance, language, style of dress, religious practices.They tend to lack power in societyTend to be concentrated in one geographic region.

Cultural PluralismCultural pluralism is a policy that allows each group within society to keep its unique cultural identity.Good example- Switzerland: 3 official languages, French, German and Italian.Extremely loyal to Switzerland and live peacefully.AssimilationAssimilation is the blending of culturally distinct groups into a single group with a common culture.Good example- America: the idea that various groups can be blended into a single people with a common, homogeneous culture.Melting potSegregationSegregation is the act of using policies to separate a minority group from the dominant group.Two types of segregationDe jure segregation- based on lawsDe facto segregation- based on informal normsGenocideGenocide is the intentional extermination of a targeted population.This kind of extermination has been attempted many times, and sometimes achieved, throughout history.