Race refers to classifications of
humans into relatively large and distinct
populations or
groups often based on factors such as appearance based on heritable
phenotypical characteristics or geographic ancestry, but also often influenced by and correlated with traits such as
culture,
ethnicity and socio-economic status.
[1] As a
biological term, race denotes
genetically divergent human
populations that can be marked by common
phenotypic traits.
[2] This sense of race is often used by
forensic anthropologists when analyzing skeletal remains, in
biomedical research, and in
race-based medicine.
[3] The study of shared traits among peoples is also conducted along
ethnic lines, involving the
endogamic history of groups. In many societies racial groupings correspond closely with patterns of
social stratification, and for
social scientists studying social inequality, race understood as a set of ideologies and practices is in an important variable.
[4][5] Additionally,
law enforcement utilizes race to
create profiles of wanted suspects in an expeditious manner.
While scientists use the concept of race to make practical distinctions among
fuzzy sets of traits, the
scientific community feels that the idea of race is often used by the general public
[6] in a naive
[7] or simplistic way, erroneously designating wholly discrete types of individuals. Among humans, race has no taxonomic significance—all people belong to the same
hominid subspecies,
Homo sapiens sapiens.
[8][9] Regardless of the extent to which race exists, the word "race" is problematic and may carry negative connotations.
[10] Social conceptions and
groupings of races vary over time, involving
folk taxonomies[11][12][13] that define
essential types of individuals based on perceived sets of traits. Scientists consider biological
essentialism obsolete,
[14] and generally discourage racial explanations for collective differentiation in both physical and behavioral traits.
[7][15]
As people define and put about different conceptions of race, they actively create contrasting social realities through which racial categorization is achieved in varied ways.
[16] In this sense, races are said to be
social constructs.
[17][18] These constructs can develop within various legal,
[16][19] economic,
[19] and sociopolitical
[20][21] contexts, and at times may be the effect, rather than the cause, of major social situations.
[20] Socioeconomic factors,
[20][22][23][24][25] in combination with early but enduring
[26] views of race, have led to considerable suffering amongst the disadvantaged racial groups. Scholars continue to debate the degrees to which racial categories are biologically warranted
[10][27] and socially constructed, as well as the extent to which the realities
[28] of race must be acknowledged in order for society to comprehend and address
racism adequately.
[
