Why It Is Difficult To Use Biological Characteristics To Categorize People Into Races (Essay Sample)

Watch Skin Color Is an Illusion https://www.ted.com/talks/nina_jablonski_breaks_the_illusion_of_skin_color
1) Race is a powerful and contentious topic in today’s society. How does anthropology, as a discipline, define race? Explain why it is difficult to use biological characteristics to categorize people into races.
2) In response to your peers, either agree or disagree with their answers on race and biology. Explain your rationale.
Classmate Molly W:
In Anthropology the textbook definition of race is defined as a subpopulation of species that are different in gene frequency in comparison to other similar varieties of a species. (Ember 76). In simpler words, Race can be defined as a small group of species that are different genetically in comparison to other small groups of species.
It is relatively difficult to use biological characteristics in anthropology to categorize people into races because of its inconsistencies among groups of people. For starters, race is not something that should be categorized by biological characteristics because of the mass diversity that race, holistically, contains. One example of this is would be skin tones, races cannot be defined by this biological trait because there aren’t just 3 to 4 groups that people with “similar” skin colors can go into. There are thousands of skin colors and even the slightest variation of a color could create another group for placements of another set of skin tones. There is also another reason skin tones should not define biological characteristics. Skin color is a dependent variable on the location of a persons dwelling. Where someone lives can determine their skin tone. If a person lives in the Mediterranean, they are likely, but not definite, to have a light to medium tan complexion. However, if one lived in southern Africa, they are likely, but not definite, to have a very dark complexion to accommodate the proximity to the equator. This is not a definite type of way to define where skin tones can occur in the world, but the examples are merely a way to show how there is vast diversity regarding biological traits. This is also is to help show that race cannot be defined as a biological trait. Race is more than a skin tone or where one might live, it defines the group of people holistically. This means it includes a groups culture, lifestyles, languages, ethnicity, and religions. In conclusion, the human races’ skin colors do not define any biological traits that are correlated to matter on a medical form or on a voting ballot. For this reason, and many others that can be found through research, most insinuations on race and its correlations to biological traits and genetics are considered inaccurate.
Ember, Carol R., et al. Human Evolution and Culture: Highlights of Anthropology. 8th ed., Pearson, 2015