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MCAT
Course: MCAT > Unit 13
Lesson 2: Demographics- Demographic characteristics and processes
- Demographic structure of society - age
- Demographic structure of society - race and ethnicity
- Demographic structure of society - immigration
- Demographic structure of society - sex, gender, and sexual orientation
- Demographic structure of society overview
- Urbanization
- What is urban growth?
- Population dynamics
- Demographic transition
- Globalization theories
- Globalization- trade and transnational corporations
- Social movements
- Overview of demographics
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Demographic structure of society - race and ethnicity
Created by Sydney Brown.
Want to join the conversation?
- @In a previous video on society and culture it was said that according to sociology a "minority" was a group which was a distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. And it was their level of power and influence that made them a minority NOT the percent of the population that the group made up. Why have we now changed the definition? 1:40(26 votes)
- A social minority is identified based on their level of power in society.
A statistical minority is a group of people who make up less than 50% of the population.(37 votes)
- -humans are 99.8% genetically identical
...yes, race is nearly non-existent but used as a tool for control by insecure people
...why do we still use statistics for human constructs that discriminate i.e. race, gender identity, etc?(6 votes)- Because the experience of those constructs (ie. experiencing racism or experiencing transphobia) has tangible effects on a person's life and health that can be illustrated through statistics.(33 votes)
- At"Percentage wise, more minorities are being incarcerated than their white counterparts." We must not be quick to term causation, because this is simply a correlational assessment of a statistical observation. We cannot make the assumption that because there are more minorities in jail, that minorities are more deviant. We could make the genetic fallacy that "since minorities are minorities, that's just the way they are." 5:41
There could be several confounding variables at work here, like:
1. Do cops patrol lower socioeconomic status routes than higher socioeconomic routes?
2. Do people in a minority feed into the self serving bias that they will not be able to make it in life or get a good education, and thus drop out of school?
3. Do more minorities work lower wage jobs, and since they cannot make ends meet, have to turn to more deviant ways of providing for their families?
Correlation does not equal causation my friends.(14 votes)- Very valid point, and those variables you mentioned very likely also have an effect.
However I think this fact was quite clearly explained by the author of the video. She summarizes it well in saying that our society is structure in such a way that differences among racial and ethnic groups remain present. Factors such as lower employment rates among minorities, stratification of education based on differing teaching qualities, and discrimination (whether unconcious or concious) throughout life, can all cause higher rates of incarceration.
Also as for your point 2, self-serving bias is an adaptive bias associated with attributing oneself as the cause of favourable events, and the environment/external factors as the cause of unfavourable events. Learned helplessness for example may be a more appropriate term for your point.(10 votes)
- To play devil's advocate:
Humans and chimps are 98% genetically similar yet most would consider us dramatically different from them in many ways. I'm not saying that I believe that genetics are what lead to the difference in outcomes between races, but that % of genetic similarity is a poor argument. And that if you want to convince people who think that way otherwise, you should try from a different standpoint.(12 votes) - Asians are a minority so why are they not discriminated against? Anything to do with cultural value of things like education and working hard?(5 votes)
- Asians are discriminated against on a daily basis. Many institutions refuse to allow Asians into higher ranks or levels because they have an unexplicable fear that the "asian" will take over or is not predictable. We are also considered ORM even though we are a statistical minority and are therefore now facing discrimination from certain institutions in an effort to reverse discrimination for URM. There should be no discrimination in general and people should not have to list their races to be able to gain opportunities. Using race to determine where someone should be placed (be it a school or workplace) is inherently racist. We should instead work towards equality across all spheres including helping those who are disadvantaged have the same opportunities as opposed to the same outcomes.(3 votes)
Aren't Asian Americans Minority too?
(6 votes)- When referring to Italian and Jewish immigrants (around), how was their white skin color a factor in determining their ethnic identity? Isn't skin color a physical factor that determines race? I thought that ethnicity was determined by cultural factors? 2:10(2 votes)
- You are correct. Physical factors determine race, while cultural factors determine ethnicity. But that doesn't stop a physical characteristic from being a valued cultural factor that can help define an ethnicity.(3 votes)
- At, how is stating "...for some people, starting a family is more important than continuing an education..." not an example of attributing a racial identity to members of a minority group that they do not identify for themselves. Unless you specify a specific race or ethnicity in this or cite statistical evidence, I feel like you are doing exactly that. 4:27(2 votes)
- The 2000 Census listed 2 options under ethnicity: 1)Non-Hispanic or Latino OR 2)Hispanic or Latino. According to this video shouldn't this be a question of race as opposed to ethnicity?(2 votes)
- Whats the difference between racism and discrimination? Does racism have to have a historical connotation linked with racist behaviour?(1 vote)
Video transcript
Voiceover:There are many
inequalities in a population, based on race and ethnicity. Just to get some
terminology out of the way, let's figure out the difference
between race and ethnicity. Race is a socially-defined
category that is based on physical differences
between groups of people. Racial formation theory
looks at the social, economic and political forces that result in socially-constructed racial identity. Sometimes these differences
are real, but sometimes they are only perceived
or are defined by history. In the 1800s, if a person
in the United States had a black ancestor,
they could be considered black even if they appeared white. Honestly though, since all
humans are 99.9% identical, genetically, there really
isn't enough wiggle room in human DNA for there to be
a genetic foundation for race. Yet, it is incredibly
important on a social level. Every culture places
a different importance on specific physical characteristics. For example, in the US, race is identified by broad categories of skin color, but hair color is considered unimportant. In South America, there are more specific categories of skin color. The Latin American race in
the US may be broken down into five, or even six, different categories of races in South America. Ethnicity is also socially defined, but, instead of using physical
characteristics, these groups are defined by a shared
language, religion, nationality, history or
some other cultural factor. Ethnic groups are less
statistically defined than racial groups, and the
definitions can change over time. Sometimes the ethnic
minority can even be absorbed into the majority after
a generation or two. A minority consists of
a group that makes up less than half the total population and is treated differently
because of some characteristic. In the 1900s, native-born
Americans did not consider Irish, Italian or Jewish
immigrants to be white, which actually resulted
in a discrimination against them and limited
where they could live. Discrimination is the unjust
treatment of a category of people simply because
they belong to that category. It often results from prejudice, which is when someone has
some preconceived opinion that isn't based on reason or experience. Let's get back to those immigrants. While the immigrants
weren't considered white, the children of those
immigrants were considered white because they were culturally
American, so their skin color could be used to determine
their ethnic identity. As we begin to look at socially
defined groups of people, please keep in mind that what I'm saying doesn't apply to everyone in that group. Just like the English language,
there are always exceptions. We need to be sure not to
stereotype everyone in a group. We can look at statistical
values for a group, but these are only guidelines,
trends to keep in mind as we look at the population as a whole. There are a lot of statistical differences between both different races
and different ethnicities. Racial differences especially
can cause some drastic events, such as genocide or population transfer, where a group is forcefully
moved from their territory, or inter-colonialism, where a
minority group is segregated and exploited, or assimilation, where the minority group is
absorbed into the majority. Pluralism, on the other
hand, actually encourages racial and ethnic variation in a society. Statistically, families,
education, income, birthrates and life expectancies all vary between racial and ethnic groups. There's a wide-spread
disparity in health care between racial and ethnic groups as well. Many Americans simply can't
afford basic health care, which then affects the
life span of these people. Statistically, minorities
tend to have shorter life span because of limited access to
health care, lower-income jobs that can have greater
dangers in the workplace, a higher prevalence of
toxins in the environment, as well as personal behaviors,
like drinking or poor diet. Throughout history, dominant groups have racialized minority groups. This means the dominant group ascribes some racial identity to
members of a minority group that they do not identify for themselves. You can see this in the labor
force in the United States. There's a myth in the United States that everyone has equal
opportunities in life, including access to education. In reality, different races tend to be stereotyped for certain jobs. Minorities are expected
to have lower-paying jobs, while majorities are expected
to have higher-paying jobs. Asian Americans and whites,
overall, have more access to education than African
Americans or Latin Americans. What it usually comes down to is economic and cultural factors. The cost of education can
be too high for minorities, who statistically tend
to work lower-waged jobs. Perhaps culturally, for some
people, starting a family is more important than
continuing an education. This perpetuates the trend of
difficulties for minorities, but it isn't just the
cultural differences. Our society is structured so that racial and economic subordination
develops and is sustained. In order to get a
higher-paying job, you need a good education, so when
education is not a priority, or isn't available, or
when it is simply withheld because of discrimination,
the jobs available are unskilled or
semi-skilled low-paying jobs. An interesting discrimination
among different races and ethnicities is present in
the criminal justice system. While laws may not seem racist, the punishment for similar
offences vary drastically. For example, the punishment
for crack cocaine, which is less expensive and
used by low-income users, is much tougher than for powdered cocaine, which is much more expensive. This separates the rich from
the poor in the justice system, handing out tougher sentences
to low-income criminals, who, statistically, are minorities. There are also higher
unemployment and dropout rates for minorities, providing fewer
options, other than crime. If you look at the
percentage of people in jail who are minorities, it's much
higher than the percentage of minorities who live
in the United States. These numbers don't line up. Percentage wise, more minorities
are being incarcerated than their white counterparts.