Race as a Social Construct

Racial Formations

Race as a Social Construct

According to Omi and Winant, race is a socially constructed concept of individual identity, and collective social structure. Race tends to group people together based on similar physical characteristics, so this made it possible for whites to present themselves as superior, and conquer other groups that had different physical attributes. The result of this process is the formation of racial categories. These forces develop racial ideology and racial identities during the racial formation process. Separating people by physical attributes is the cornerstone for creating a system of oppression. My objective in this paper is to examine how a system of oppression is formed by this fictitious concept of race. First I will explain the racial formation process to the best of my understanding, and use the ideology of a system of oppression to support their theory. I will explore what a supremacist ideology is, discriminatory acts that are performed by the dominant group, and social structures of domination created by the oppressor. My paper will highlight how a false concept has dominated U.S. culture, and shaped our society.

Omi and Winant sought out to highlight the effectiveness of the racial formation process in the existing racial order. Consider when you meet someone for the first time. What do you notice about them? Race is one of the first things that we notice about a person. Omi and Winant suggest that "we utilize race to provide clues about who a person is". When you encounter someone who is not easily categorized, it is difficult to determine racial meaning. "Without a racial identity, one is in danger of having no identity" (12). Omi and Winant also described the way in which we determine what each racial group looks like, or what each specific group should act like is derived from "preconceived notions" (12). Stereotypes are derived from these preconceived notions, which lead to false generalizations of who groups are, and what they are like. This has created a "racial etiquette" (12) in US society, that determines the way that someone presents themselves, what their socio-economic status disparity, and the appropriate manner in which their racial group must conduct themselves. Race then becomes a way of making sense of the world, how to behave in it, and also provides a way to explain the people living in it. If I am part of the majority of people, and we just so happen to have more fair skin complexion, we can say that the smaller (darker skinned) population is inferior, because there is power in numbers. If they challenge what we say, we can prove our dominance by harming them, and intimidating others. If you tell someone enough times that they are inferior, they may start to believe it.

Omi and Winant propose that "racial beliefs operate as a way of explaining the variations in human nature" (13). Omi and Winant suggest that "the presence of a system of racial meanings and stereotypes, and of racial ideology, seem to be a permanent feature of US culture" (13). The way that different racial groups are portrayed in the media, films, and in television, adds to stereotypes and falsely confirms racial beliefs. Omi and Winant believe that the media not only has the power to reflect the dominant racial ideology, but also has the ability to shape that ideology (13). Currently, the NFL seems to be the NOT FOR LONG collection of mostly African-American, domestically abusive men. Although the players being indicted for several different incidents reflect a small percentage of the league, it shines a light on all of the players to be suffering from the same issues. Historical trauma may be the cause of these incidents, but that is for another paper. What this suggests is that you can group behaviors together based on race, and although this isn't accurate, racial formations create a lane for generalizations and stereotypes to occur. These stereotypes are reflective of what the supremacist (dominant racial) ideology represents.

What is a Supremacist Ideology? When describing a Supremacist ideology, we must first identify this system of ideas as white supremacy. White supremacy is a belief system that the white "race" is of a higher rank, status, and quality over all other races, and therefore should have control over people belonging to other race categories. The problem with race is that it was socially constructed to group people together based on similarities. This fictitious concept has shaped the United States from its inception. Early European settlers killed indigenous Native people at will, because they felt that they were not fully human. They were considered to be primitive savages, which were full of hostility, and regarded as wild animals. In their minds, these "beasts" posed a threat to humanity, so it was justifiable to take theirs lives. They were "less than" human. This same ideology spearheaded chattel slavery (people are treated as property, and bought and sold as commodities - bonded labor) in America, when the "color line" was introduced. The slavery of blacks was made possible due to blacks being stripped from their land, and the helplessness that comes from not knowing the new land (unlike the Native Indians). The concept that white is superior, and all other races were inferior is what Omi and Winant were setting out to explain. Those who are in power are able to dictate how others must behave, and if they didn't behave accordingly, they would be subjected disadvantageous consequences. White privilege is a byproduct of adapting to the dominant racial ideology. If you are a member of the dominant cultural group, the advantages are insurmountable to those or the inferior cultural groups. Privilege keeps a white supremacist viewpoint alive, because society gives benefits due to racial categories. "White privilege is like flying first class" (Cole). Once the curtain gets pulled back, those sitting in coach can only imagine the comfort and accomadation of living in the lamp of luxury. We are all on the same flight, but unearned advantages are presented to some people based solely on the color of their skin. They are allowed to pull back curtain, and not acknowledge that they are receiving anymore benefits than those sitting in coach. Many of those belonging to the dominant cultural group have been conditioned to not notice these differences. White privilege will always exist until all of those who experience it recognize its existence. Race allows for the dominant group to make all the rules, even if it appears that all groups are not playing on an equal playing field. This allows for conditioning to occur that denies the existence of advantages,