RE: Coward. I wanted YOUR perspective. Gutless. nm

Posted on: February 19, 2019 at 13:36:27 CT

1.1 Social Construction of Race
The reason sociologists say race is a social construction is because what it means to be “White,” “Black,” “Latin,” “Asian,” and so on, is defined according to culture, time and place. The meanings of these categories have changed over time. What has not changed, is that racial groups are placed into a hierarchy, with White or lighter-skinned people at the top; non-Indigenous people of colour subjugated beneath lighter skinned people; Black and Indigenous people at the bottom of the racial system. (In Australia, Indigenous people are both Black and Indigenous.)

As an example of these shifting ideas about race, one of Australia’s first federal laws after federation is the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, which is known as the White Australia Policy. This law was used to control immigration. White people from Britain were allowed entry, however, “non Whites,” such as people from Southern Europe and Asia, were turned away through the use of unfair language tests (some times given in languages other than English and their own language) and through scare campaigns. Small waves of people of colour were allowed entry in this early colonial period, such as Chinese migrants during the Gold Rush, but these groups endured strong discrimination, such as the “Yellow Peril” campaign in the 1890s. These racist narratives still inform xenophobia in the present-day, from politics to big-budget movies to the property boom.

In the 1950s, when Australia was short on working class labourers, Southern Europeans were allowed entry, and they were initially considered “not White.” Over time, however, laws were forced to change, so that by the mid-1970s, when this policy was formally abolished, Southern European migrants already had Australia-born children. Over time, most of them, such as Italians and Greeks, were eventually considered White but not Anglo (the ideal “White” Australian). So they are still subjected to racial prejudice as “wogs,” derogatory slang used on most non Anglo-Celtic migrants (but not usually Asian people, who are called by other racist phrases).

The social mechanisms by which certain groups are shifted into another racial category varies, but it’s always the outcome of political and social forces. For example, a middle-class, light-skinned Han-Chinese person belongs to the majority group in China and Taiwan. Present-day racial categories in China draw on early 19th century narratives which position minorities such as Tibetans or non-Han Chinese people (55 ethnic minority groups), migrants and people with darker skin in lower social positions. But if that Han-Chinese person moves to Australia, they will be classified as “Asian,” regardless of their ethnic identity (that is, their culture). Despite their lighter skin, they may be exposed to racism in Australia, but not in the same way in which racism affects Indigenous Australians. That Chinese person, irrespective of how they see their personal identity, will not likely be able to adopt a “White” identity, if their physical features are not “read” or recognised by other Australians as “White.”

The fact that lighter skin is revered in many countries is a facet of colonialism, which was used to expand the wealth of empires. As such, there is a close link between the social construction of race, patriarchy (the historical, ideological and material ways in which societies are structured to preserve men’s dominance), and capitalism (an economic system in which natural resources and the production of goods and services are privately controlled for profit of elite groups). The ideology of race spread over the centuries through art, literature, media and economic interests. A modern-day example of the link between race, patriarchy and capitalism is advertising; an enterprise that has invested heavily in racist constructions of beauty across the world.