CHAPTER 10:

RACE, ETHNICITY
AND GENDER
PREPARED BY: OCBINA, MA. LIEZEL SHANE C. (BS MIDWIFERY 1)
MEANING AND NATURE OF RACE AND ETHNICITY
• According to Macionis (2006), race is a socially constructed category composed of
people who share biologically transmitted traits that members of society consider
important.
• Some people believe that racial differences are real and important, and behave
accordingly, therefore those differences become real and important (Bogatta and
Montigomery 2000)
• According to Schaefer (1990) race, ethnicity and religion serve as barriers to
harmonious relation between groups and even nations. In many cases tension
between countries are often caused by varying perceptions of race and ethnic
differences between neighboring societies.
• Racial, ethnic and religious differences also exist and can give rise to tension even
within society.
• Some nation in the world are in conflict to differences in race
• It is the language that also divides people.
According to the Encyclopedia of Sociology ( Borgatta and Montgomery
2000), sociologists’ definitions of ethnicity has the following dimensions:

1. Ethnic groups extended kinship groups although kinship may be defined

loosely as based on a common homeland rather that common ancestry.

2. Co-ethnic share a distinctive culture, marked by differences ranging from

language and religion to styles of dress or cooking. Distinctive culture may be
primarily symbolic, as when a group’s traditional language is no longer widely
used or its religious observance is confined to holidays.

3. An ethnic group shares a common history, in which key events such as

learning action, colonization, ect. form a sense of collective memory.

4. An ethnic group is marked by self- consciousness in that its member are

themselves as a people and are seen as such by others.
 WHAT IS A MINORITY GROUP
• Social scientists use the term “minority” to refer to
groups subordinated in terms of power and privilege to
the majority or dominant group.

• Macionis (2006) defined minority as any category of

people distinguished by physical of cultural differences
that a society sets apart and subordinates.
The following are properties that characterize a minority group:

1. Minorities have physical or cultural characteristics that distinguish them from the dominant
groups.

2. Membership in minority or majority groups is not voluntary. Membership in a minority group is

ascribed since a person is born to an existing group that define his/her as apart of a minority
group.

3. Members of a minority group generally marry members of the same minority group. This concept
of in-group marriage is called endogamy, the opposite of which is exogamy.

4. Members of a minority group are aware of their subordinate status, a perception that may lead to
strong group solidarity.

5. Members of a minority group experience unequal treatment from the dominant group in the form
of prejudices, discrimination and segregation
 TYPES OF MINORITY GROUP
Schaefer (1990) identified four types of minority group. The four
criteria for classifying minority are race, ethnicity, religion and gender.

1. RACIAL GROUPS
Racial groups refers to those minorities and corresponding majorities
who are classified according to obvious physical differences.

2. ETHNIC GROUPS
These are minority groups who are designated by their ethnicity
based on cultural differences such as language, attitudes toward
marriage and parenting and food habits, among others.
3. RELIGIOUS GROUPS
The third basis for minority group status is association with a
religion other than the dominant faith. Religion is meant to include a
sacred literature and ritual, institutional and cultist practices and
essential beliefs and philosophy.

4. GENDER GROUPS
Generally, males are the social majority. Females, although more
numerous are relegated the position of social minority. Women are
considered the minority in many societies even though they do not
exhibit all the characteristics.
Women are encountered prejudice and discrimination and are
physically visible. Group membership is involuntary and many women
are developing a sense of sisterhood.
WHY ARE ETHNIC GROUPS MAINTAINED
McNall (1992) identified several reasons why ethnic groups are
maintained in society: attitudes, internal and external boundaries,
common cultural indicators and discrimination. Some sociologist
theories explain how this maintenance happens;

1. FUNCTIONALIST THEORY
This explains that cohesive groups are the building blocks that
comprise the social order. Every individual needs to belong to a group.
Any democratic process depends on the presence of competing group
interest.
 According to Schaefer (1989), there are three functions that racially
prejudiced beliefs have for the dominant group:

A. Such view provide a moral justification for maintaining an unequal society

that deprives a minority of its rights and privileges.

B. Racial beliefs discourage the subordinate minority to questions its lowly

status since to do so is to question the very foundation of the society.

C. Racial myths encourage support for the existing order by introducing

argument that if there were any major societal change (like the end to
discrimination), the minority could experience greater poverty and the majority
would see its standard of living lowered.
 However, although some sociologist speak of the functions performed by racial
prejudice in society, other sociologists also pointed out the dysfunctions of racism;

A. A society which practices discrimination fails to use the resources of all individuals.
Discrimination limits the search for talent and leadership to the dominant group.

B. Discrimination aggravates social problems such as poverty, delinquency and crime,

and places the financial burden to alleviate these problems in dominant group.

C. Society must invest a good deal of time and financial resources to defend its barrier
to full participation of all members.

D. Goodwill and friendly diplomatic relations between nations are often undercut by
racial prejudice and discrimination.
2. INTERNAL COLONIALISM THEORY
In this theory, the frequently close overlap of class difficulties and cultural boundaries is
emphasized. For instance, people may speak of internal colonialism when the dominant
group benefits from the exploitation of minority that is mostly located in one religion of the
country.

3. CONFLICT THEORY
Sociologist supporting this theory argue that racial prejudice and discrimination have
many harmful consequences in society.
Related to the application of conflict theory is the split-labor market theory, first
proposed by Edna Bonach, explain racial antagonism as the outcome of economic forces.

4. INTERNATIONIST PERSPECTIVE
Here, contact hypothesis is important. It states that interracial contact of people with
equal status in cooperative circumstances will cause them to become less prejudiced and
to abandon previously hold hypothesis.
PROBLEMS IN RACE AND RELATIONS
1. PREJUDICE
Tischler (1990) spoke of prejudice as being down on something one is not up
on. Prejudice results from lack of knowledge of or unfamiliarity with the subject.
To Louis Wirth, a sociologist in the mid 20 th century, prejudice means a pre-
judgement, an attitude with emotional bias.
There are certain functions which prejudice may serve:
A. There is prejudice because it is a shared, drawing together the people who
hold it.
B. It plays a significant role in the field of competition for limited resources such as
jobs.
C. According to psychologists, prejudice allows us to project onto others those
parts of ourselves that we do not like and therefore try to avoid facing it.
2. DISCRIMINATION
While prejudice is a subjective feeling, discrimination is an overt action.
Discrimination my be define as different treatment, usually unequal and
injurious accorded to individuals who are assumed to belong to a particular
category or group. Prejudice may not necessarily result always to discrimination.

Attitudes and overt behavior vary independently. With this premise, Merton
(1957) identified four types of people manifesting various categories related to
racial prejudice and discrimination:

A. Unprejudiced non-discriminators.
There are people who are not prejudiced against members of other racial and
ethnic groups. They also do not practice discrimination. They believe implicitly in
the ideals of justice, freedom, equality of opportunity, and dignity of the
individual.
B. Unprejudiced discriminators.
They are people who always think of expediency. At times they are free from
prejudiced, but would always keep silent when unreasonable people speak out.
They may not condemn acts of discrimination but usually make concessions to
the intolerant and accept discriminatory practices for fear that their own position
will be hurt if they do the opposite.

C. Prejudiced non-discriminators.
These are described to be timid bigots who do not accept the tenets of
equality for all. However they conform inequality and do lip service when there
are pressures

D. Prejudice discriminators.
These are who do not believe in equality and strongly express their non-
belief. For them these is no conflict between attitudes and behavior. They practice
discrimination.
 CAUSES OF PREJUDICE
Thomas and Anderson (1952) identified ways by which a majority group
maintains its dominant status:
1. STEREOTYPING
This is tendency to picture all members of a group in an oversimplified or
exaggerated manner. This is the process by which all members of a particular
category have the same qualities.
2. ETHNOCENTRISM
This occur when one has the belief that his/her own race, nation or group is
the best. As a result he/she believes that other group of societies are inferior to
his/her own.
3. SCAPEGOATING
This occur when people have problems they cannot solve and feel
frustration. Sometimes, this frustration can lead to aggression. When times
happens, people usually search for a way to let out that aggression. Many
times they find a scapegoat to blame for their problems.
The term “scapegoat” comes from the ancient Hebrew custom to
identifying the sins of the people with a goat and then driving the goal into
wilderness.

4. AUTHORITARIAN PERSONALITY
Some member of a majority group manifest authoritarian personality, often
intolerant, highly conformist, submissive to superior, and bullying to inferior.
Early studies discovered that those traits were highly characteristics of the
Nazis. Later researchers, however, showed that the authoritarian personality is
not confined to fascism. It can be found in political extremists of any ideology.
 PATTERNS OF RACIAL AND
ETHNIC INTERGROUP RELATIONS
Relations between racial and ethnic group that are part of a single society
range from friendly to murderous;
1. PLURALISM
This is the first pattern of ethnic or racial or intergroup relation. Pluralism is a
society in which ethnic and racial groups maintain their distinctiveness but treat
one another with respect.
The theory on pluralism celebrates the differences among groups of people. It
also implies a hostility to existing inequalities in status and treatment of minority
group.
Pluralism assumes that the minority is primarily unit of society and that the
unity of the whole depends on the harmony of the various part.
Culture pluralism occurs when various groups maintain their identities whether
these are racial, ethnics, or religious. Different racial and culture groups seldom,
have equal power although, group identity can help minority members to work
together for a common interest.

Pluralism therefore refers to the development or co-existence of separate racist

and ethnic group identities within a society. It is more of a philosophical view point
that attempts to produce what is considered to be desirable social situation.

2. ASSIMILATION
This is the second patterns of intergroup racial and ethnic relation. This occur
when a minority group becomes integrated into the dominant society. This also
means the process whereby groups with different cultures come to have a
common culture.
Assimilation can happen in society when ethnic and racial minorities are
absorbed by the dominant culture so that the differences are eventually forgotten
or destroyed.
 Assimilation may take the from of cultural assimilation, structural assimilation, primary
assimilation and symbolic ethnicity. Cultural assimilation is the adaptation of the dominant
group’s food, dress, customs, and language. This process of adaptation is only often partial
among first generation immigrants who tend to form ethnic communities of their own.

3. RADICAL FEMINISM
Being the most extreme of all feminist theories, this theory argues that men, not
institutions, are the problems. They view all history as more or less successful domination
od men and men’s idea over women and women’s ideas. Proponents of this theory do not
believe that changing social institutions will help since the problem is men. Their suggested
solution is the separation of women from men, ceasing all heterosexual relationship between
the two and creating a separate women’s culture. They believe that such culture will feature
such characteristics as nurturance, sharing and intuition.
 PROSPECT FOR CHANGE
• The traditional gender roles are supported and reinforced by societal norms-
legal, religious, educational and political.
• There are many prospects for gender role change.
• There has been very noticeable decrease in power of men and increase
competition between men and women in various fields as education, work and
career, politics, managerial responsibilities and others. This has led many men
to give up rights and power n favor of women.
• This means that the changes in gender roles means that both men and
women must add new roles, while retaining many of the traditional obligations.
As a result of this women new perform multifaceted roles at home and outside.
• Behavior changes slowly that attitude, normative support for traditional gender
role is decreasing.
THANK YOU!