One can guess a person’s belongingness to a particular place before they introduce themselves easily by recognizing their race or ethnicity. Basically, these are two ways which classify people according to their characteristics, into various social groups. The race is understood as the division of human beings, depending on their biological attributes such as skin colour, built, hair, height, eye formation, etc.
On the other hand, ethnicity refers to the state of being from a specific social or cultural group, which follows a particular tradition or religion or speak a particular language. Now, we are going to discuss all the important differences between race and ethnicity.
Content: Race Vs Ethnicity
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Race | Ethnicity |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Race implies the social belief which classifies people into different categories based on physical or genealogical traits. | Ethnicity is described as the fact of belonging to a group who share common nationality, culture, traditions, manner of dressing or language. |
| What is it? | Broad grouping of human beings | Group constructed identity |
| Concerned with | Biological Traits | Cultural Traits |
| Belongingness | A person belongs to a particular race only. | A person can belong to one or more ethnic group. |
| Change | Not possible | Possible |
| Example | White, Red, Brown or Black skin | German, American, Indian, European, etc. |
Definition of Race
The word ‘Race’ is often used to classify human beings into various groups, as per their inherited physical or behavioural characteristics, which all the members of that group possess. Individuals belonging to a particular race have similar biological and genealogical traits, like their skin colour, facial features, eye shape, height, hair texture and so forth.
It often represents a biological basis which creates a group in a way that all the people of that race possess the specific set of characteristics which are not possessed by people of other races. Moreover, these characteristics are inherited from one generation to another, by way of ancestry or genealogy. One has no control over his/her race, it defines the way a person is perceived by others.
Further, it is used to identify a person’s belongingness to a group or his/her geographic origin, i.e. Asia, Africa, Europe, America, etc.
In this regard, you have also heard the term ‘racism’ which is a practice of discriminating people on the basis of their biological characteristics, which are perceived as different by the other society members, especially skin colour, which encouraged race-based conflicts and inequality in the society.
Definition of Ethnicity
The ethnicity of a person reflects the fact of being a member of a specific nation or cultural group. Individuals belonging to a particular ethnic group often share the same culture, way of living and have the same cultural history, which can be seen in their language, dialect, accent, festivals, cuisine, dressing style, art, religion and tradition.
In finer terms, ethnicity describes the ‘we-ness’ of a group and indicates belongingness to a place.
Ethnicity is a group constructed identity which relates group members through a mutual sense of what is distinct, thus differentiating one person from another. It describes affiliation, choice, group membership of a person and it is concerned with the geographic region from where an individual belongs or comes from.
Key Differences Between Race and Ethnicity
The difference between race and ethnicity can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:
- Race defines a group of people distinguished by specific biological or physical traits such as skin colour, such as Black or White. On the other hand, when people are identified as per their similarities as to language, history, culture, religion or nation, it is termed as ethnicity.
- The race is a broad classification of humans typically the ones who comes from a particular continent or subcontinent. Ethnicity recognizes the differences in human beings based on the culture they pursue. It helps the members of a particular group to identify each other easily on the basis of cultural traits or nationality shared by them.
- While race defines the physical characteristics of a person, ethnicity describes the cultural affiliation of a person.
- A person is either a member of a particular race or not, but when it comes to ethnicity, one can belong to a particular ethnic group but still, he can learn language, customs, values, tradition, festivals, accent and dialect of another ethnic group. So, there is a scope of change as one can leave one ethnicity and embrace another.
- A person belonging to a particular race cannot join another race. A person belonging to one ethnic group can become part of another ethnic group, by language shift, religious conversion, acculturation etc.
Conclusion
Both race and ethnicity are a social and political construct. Thousands of people belonging to different races and ethnic groups live in the world. It must be noted that a person can have only one race, but one or more ethnic affiliation.
Race classifies people into different categories based on their physical traits which are unchangeable. However, it has been scientifically proven that the race of a person does not make him different from the others in the society. On the other hand, ethnicity defines the regional cultural heritage of a person.
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