Deconstructing the Social Construct of Race: Understanding the Power of Perception

Name Institutional Affiliations Date Assignment Three: Social Construction of Race What does it mean to argue that race is socially constructed? Race is a social construct that analyzes people/groups based on socially and biologically attributed aspects (Pitones, Chapter 11). People tend to view and classify each other based on socially perceived beliefs attributed to physical characteristics like color tone, hair texture and facial features. For this reason, one can attribute the human-invented classification system as the primary identifier of race as a social construct. The system works when people invent and accept the idea of analyzing each other based on physical characteristics coined around stereotypes. It is a system that defines physical differences between people making race a vital tool for violence and oppression as each race try to define its superiority and uniqueness over the other. When societies generate formal and informal rules about perceptions (what people see) and how to act towards them, it enhances the strength of defining race as a socially constructed aspect. Therefore, race from socially constructed perception as a label that peop