The Illusion of Social Construction

The rise of scientific discoveries and insights also saw the rise of racial justification and disparities, a common method to “improve” society’s standards. As more waves of knowledge and technology enhance human genetic variation, where does science overlap racial variation? In the text Race: Are We So Different?, author Alan H. Goodman — known as a biological anthropologist and professor — emphasizes the idea of race as inadequate in representing a meaningful descriptor for human biological variation (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). He supports his claim through five pieces of evidence, reasoning why race wouldn’t align with a human variation, exhibiting evolution, skin color, and genetic realities (Goodman, 2011, p. 419). Known already globally, a “race gene” doesn’t exist. However, in our society, there are common conceptions that misconstrue the integrity of the relationship between scientific and racial beliefs. For instance, in The New York Times, articles highlight the association of Asian-Americans and human genetic variation to higher test scores and admission demographics. Though initially assuming and feasible to an unknowing eye, these articles utilize a connection between race and human genetic variation which doesn’t maintain any biological meaning. When defining “race,” it’s displayed as “any one of groups that human beings are often divided into based on physical traits or ancestry” (Merriam-Webster, 2022). Hence, contrasting one’s “physical traits and ancestry” doesn’t signify human genetic variation. Race is a social construct that has been generated to distinguish various human groups which cannot reflect the classifications and scientific standing. It’s a concept that is fabricated under the perceptions of how humans are segregated and interchangeable under movements such as Black Lives Matter protests. When comparing human variation through our genetics with our ancestors, there is much variability. Although individuals may share many geographic similarities, everyone’s genetics are unique, proving that variations in our biology are continuous and share no correlation to race.

To start, observing heritable characteristics of biological populations over generations of mutations, genetic recombination, and genetic variations can justify whether race is a meaningful descriptor of human genetic variation. Indeed, our society has constructed hundreds of genomic editing industries, saved millions of lives, and generated numerous new products which have emanated the imagination of future scientists and revealed many scientific mysteries in our universe. Additionally, as we make more scientific discoveries, questions concerning race become more heavily discussed and genomic ancestry inclines to a more biological topic. Illumina — a biotechnology company specialized in genetic variation and biological function — released their product GRCh38/hg38 as a “scaffold on which to map sequencing reads” (Eisenstein, 2022, p. 658). Furthermore, it featured as a “human genome . . . that uses alternate contigs to represent common complex variation” (gatk, 2022). Illumina’s product proves how as genomic sequencing technology improves, it will become easier to identify genetic markers of DNA sequence at specific locations of the genome. Hence, race is labeled as a social construct that has been developed to classify humans into different groups based on stereotypes and physical characteristics and doesn’t classify as biological. As stated by contributing author Alan H. Goodman, “Evolution, rather than race, explains human biological variation” (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). Though today, evolution is an accepted and supported theory, “European scientists once thought the world was fixed and static” until evolutionary theory emerged disproving unchanging racial types (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). Therefore, scientists — like Goodman — wouldn’t believe that race is a meaningful descriptor of human genetic variation because before race-as-biology was based on “fixed, ideal, and unchanging types” (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). Moreover, according to the work “Skin Deep,” by anthropologists Nina Jablonski and George Chaplin, they discuss the evolutionary significance of race categorized under biological variations including skin color, hair color, and eye color. They mention, “Populations of Bantu-language speakers who live in southern Africa today are far darker than the Khoisan” (Jablonski & Chaplin, 2002, p. 170). More specifically, when observing genetic markers of the skin color of the indigenous Khoisan population, the “canonical Eurasian skin pigmentation gene, SLC24A5, was introduced to southern Africa through recent migration and strong adaptive evolution” (Lin, 2018). Also, “the derived causal allele in SLC24A5, p.Ala111Thr” is significant for lightening basal skin pigmentation in the Khoisan population causing phenotypic variance (Lin, 2018). Interestingly, if race was labeled as biological, then how could similar races share contrasting skin colors? Therefore, the concept of “race”, comprising an inconsistent representation in different regions and populations, does not adequately reflect human genetic variation.

Imagine sitting in your lecture hall on your first day of school. As you’re waiting for your class to start, you observe the various students around you. More than likely, they’ll have a different skin color than you. Possibly, their hair color differed from your hair color. Maybe you can tell that they’re much taller or shorter than you. Generally, everyone will possess a different physical appearance than you; It’s what makes everyone unique. Hence, the variations in our biology are continuous. Race cannot be used when determining biological ancestry as we all are continuously evolving and developing as a human genome. Biological anthropologist Alan H. Goodman focuses on how “Human variation is continuous’’ and that there isn’t a clear place to designate the beginning and end of a race (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). He mentions that physical characteristics like skin color “continuously changes from place to place and person to person” (Goodman, 2011, p. 417). If you were to take a walk from Norway to Kenya, you would notice gradual changes in the skin color of residents. Goodman clarifies that “variation is continuous” by elucidating how different populations of the same race can exhibit variation in skin color and that there is no line distinguishing populations from the beginning and the end of darker and lighter tone skin. (Goodman, 2011, p. 418). The same instance can be indicated in the variation of height. Height is a genetic and environmental variation that is continuous as a possible characteristic that can change gradually over a range of values. Particularly, a study identified multiple genetic markers and loci which were associated with height in a Korean population. Altogether, “eight loci were newly identified in Koreans (SUPT3H, EXT1, FREM1, PALM2-AKAP2, NUP37-PMCH, IGF1, KRT20, and ANKRD60)” (Kim, 2010). Also, Kim analyzed that “15 significant loci account for approximately 1.0% of height variation with a 3.7-cm difference between individuals with ⩽8 height-increasing alleles (5.1%) and ⩾19 height-increasing alleles (4.2%)” (Kim, 2010). Furthermore, The University of Pennsylvania performed a study emphasizing diverse African groups associated with genetic variants and skin pigmentation to predict genetic ancestry (ScienceDaily, 2017, p. 1). They realized that genetic ancestry doesn’t necessarily require one’s own “genome” and rather can be determined under maternal mitochondrial inheritance. For instance, they observed that a specific region maintained the “strongest associations around the SLC24A5 gene” notable as a variant that played a role in light skin color in European and southern Asian populations (ScienceDaily, 2017, p. 2). Consequently, genetic variation can only be accurately tracked through genetics because race is fabricated under the perceptions of how humans are segregated and interchangeable under one’s experience resulting in many inconsistencies.

Lastly, race has been recognized as a categorization of solely differentiating individuals by physical characteristics such as one’s color of skin. On the other hand, does race account for internal features such as intelligence or athletic ability? Alan H. Goodman again highlights these inconsistencies when comparing other individuals’ traits that are genetically passed down from generations. He mentions how “there is no way to consistently classify human beings by race” under people’s classification (Goodman, 2011, p. 420). Though we can make observations about an individual’s physical features, it’s inconsistent to categorize individuals and make “scientific generalizations about them.” (Goodman, 2011, p. 420). Furthermore, Goodman discusses the subjectivity of the definition of race in various countries resulting in a less reliable descriptor of human genetic variation. Namely, “someone considered ‘white’ in Brazil can be considered ‘black’ in the United States” (Goodman, 2011, p. 420). Throughout history, the perceptions of race have always been interchangeable, especially among different civilizations. In Romania — of the Communist regime —, “dark” babies were considered inferior while today “white couples clamored to adopt them” and “seen as white” (Goodman, 2011, p. 420). Racial classification depends on the culture and beliefs that the populations have been raised under, resulting in conflicting perceptions of what’s considered “black” or “white.” When observing the genetic variation at loci underlying physical characteristics, there are genetic markers — more specifically microsatellite loci and clustering. A study of human population genetic structure observing African, Asian, and European populations resulted “with a mean accuracy of at least 90% requiring a minimum of 60 Alu markers or microsatellites and reached 99%–100% when ⩾100 loci were used” (Bamshad, 2003). The clustering was formed through a “data set of 60 microsatellites and 100 Alu insertion polymorphisms to infer genetic clusters in a heterogeneous sample of >500 individuals” (Bamshad, 2003). Hence, claiming race as a meaningful descriptor of human genetic variation would be an inaccurate and fallacious stance since subjective categories cannot conclude science in human biological diversity.

To conclude, as scientific discoveries and insights rise, racial justification and disparities follow as well. Through various evidence, race is a social construct generated to distinguish various human groups which cannot reflect scientific standing. Race is always interchangeable as genetic variation can only be accurately tracked through genetics. Also, race comprises an inconsistent representation in different regions and populations and does not adequately reflect human genetic variation. After all, race is the source of the illusion of social construction.

References

Bamshad, M. J., Wooding, S., Watkins, W. S., Ostler, C. T., Batzer, M. A., & Jorde, L. B.

(2003). Human population genetic structure and inference of group membership.

American journal of human genetics, 72(3), 578–589. https://doi.org/10.1086/368061

Eisenstein, M. (2022, January 25). Seven Technologies to Watch in 2022. Nature News.

Retrieved January 27, 2022, from

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00163-x

Goodman, A. H., Moses, Y. T., & Jones, J. L. (2012). Race: Are we so different?. Malden,

MA: Wiley-Blackwell.

Human genome reference builds — GRCH38 or hg38 — B37 … (n.d.). Retrieved January 27,

2022, from

https://gatk.broadinstitute.org/hc/en-us/articles/360035890951-Human-genome-refere

nce-builds-GRCh38-or-hg38-b37-hg19

Jablonski, N. G., & Chaplin, G. (2002). Skin deep. Scientific American, 287(4),

74–81. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1002-74

Kim, J.-J., Lee, H.-I., Park, T., Kim, K., Lee, J.-E., Cho, N. H., Shin, C., Cho, Y. S., Lee,

J.-Y., Han, B.-G., Yoo, H.-W., & Lee, J.-K. (2009, November 6). Identification of 15

loci influencing height in a Korean population. Nature News. Retrieved January 27,

2022, from

https://www.nature.com/articles/jhg2009116#:~:text=Height%20is%20a%20complex

%20genetic%20trait%20that%20involves%20multiple%20genetic%20loci.&text=The

%2015%20significant%20loci%20account,%2Dincreasing%20alleles%20(4.2%25).

Lin, M., Siford, R. L., Martin, A. R., Nakagome, S., Möller, M., Hoal, E. G., Bustamante, C.

D., Gignoux, C. R., & Henn, B. M. (2018, December 26). Rapid evolution of a

skin-lightening allele in southern African khoesan. PNAS. Retrieved January 27,

2022, from https://www.pnas.org/content/115/52/13324

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Race definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved January

27, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/race

ScienceDaily. (2017, October 12). Genes responsible for diversity of human skin colors

identified. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171012143324.htmlc