Races as a biological and social construct.

The phenotypic differences represented by the construct of “race” is the result of geographical isolation following human migrations, the long-term effect of aforementioned initial gene pool in immigrant groups, and the cultural emphasis on choice of mating within gene pools. Geographic isolation continued inbreeding especially in initially small populations responsible for some visual traits. Environmental forces also produced some selective advantages especially with skin color that people commonly associate with race. It has been argued and seems logically irrefutable, that skin color is a response to the amount and strength of sunlight in geographical regions. In the tropical areas where sunlight is especially intense a dark skin color may offer some protection and selective advantage from an evolutionary perspective. In the north where the amount of sunlight exposure is less (but needed as a source of vitamin D required for prevention of rickets), light skin conferred evolutionary advantages (Vogel & Motulsky, 1979). Today the study of deep genetic (geneographic) genealogy elicit strong support for the contention that we all came out of Africa, and that the change in skin color probably occurred as a consequence of the selective advantage of lighter skin tones in the more northern regions. In other words people with genetic mutations for light skin were more evolutionary fit in the northern regions, and therefore left offspring that survived.

Scientific evidence supports the contention that all humans are genetically brothers and sisters and racism in stereotypic expression is incredibly disingenuous (Paabo, 2001). Although such “racial” differences are very visual, the differences in gene pools are quite small compared to the genetic overlap. Differences between population groups separated by geography are also small compared to the genetic diversity existing within established population groups. For example, although blood groups vary to a small degree across geographic regions of the world, the same groups exist everywhere. The common human genetic pool ensure that you are as well served by blood transfusions from different regions and “races” as you are in getting one from your same “race” neighbor.

Nevertheless the sad story of humanity show that “race” matters as a social construct. As a social construct it is the beliefs of people about phenotypes that matter, and when informed by prejudice racism has proven to be a very negative force in the world. It has played a historical role in all societies, and influenced the direction of history as in the case of slavery and all that followed. However, the human genome project of the National Geographic journal demonstrates our very common genetic heritage, and that we were only separated in relatively recent evolutionary history.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 768