Download Race, Ethnicity & Families

Race, Ethnicity, & Families
Family Sociology
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
How do we define race?
How do we define ethnicity?
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Racial-Ethnic Groups
 Racial groups are those with a common set of
physical features that distinguishes them from
other groups
 Race is defined as a category composed of
people who share real or alleged physical traits
that members of a society deem to be socially
significant
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
But race is also a social concept
 Race is socially constructed
 The characteristics associated with each
racial group are subjective
 Definitions of race:
vary over time
from one society to another
have emerged from interaction of various
populations over long periods of human history
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
Why do sociologists argue that
race is socially constructed?
1) While racial characteristics may have
been biological in origin, the
interpretation of those characteristics
varies
Societies each decide which racial
differences are meaningful
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
 Why do sociologists argue that race
is socially constructed?
2) Choice of racial characteristics is
subjective
 People differ in many ways, but only some of
those differences are emphasized
 For example, in defining differences in racial
characteristics, why have we focused on skin
color or the shape of a person’s eyes?
 Why isn’t race based on different blood types
or eye color?
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
 Why do sociologists argue that race is
socially constructed?
3) The characteristics used to distinguish racial
differences and stereotypes change over time
4) And the last reason to argue that race is socially
constructed is that definitions of race differences
vary from one society to the next
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
How do we define ethnicity?
A population that shares a cultural
heritage
Ethnic Groups have a sense of group
identity based on a distinctive cultural
pattern or heritage
They often share a place of common
ancestry, language, or religion that is the
basis of their collective identity
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
How do we define ethnicity??
 Ethnic groups often have a sense of
brotherhood or sisterhood that is maintained
within a larger society.
 Members of ethnic groups have usually migrated
to a new nation or have been conquered by an
invading population.
 MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RACE AND
ETNICITY!
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U.S. Population by Race, 2005
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U.S. Population by Hispanic Origin:
2000 & 2010
Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent!!!
The Hispanic population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010,
Number of Hispanics rose from 35.3 million in 2000 when group made up 13
percent of the total population to
To 50.5 million or 16.3 percent of total population
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
Need to recognize diversity in families
How do families vary by race/ethnicity?
How does family structure vary?
How does the teen pregnancy rate vary
by race/ethnicity
How do families’ ties to other social
institutions, like education system, the
economy, or health care system, vary by
race/ethnicity?
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
Different racial groups make their homes
in different neighborhoods, and have
different access to a different set of social
institutions
Social institutions create paths in which
families are assigned to a different set of
opportunities
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Race, Ethnicity & Families
Minority families are:
more likely to live in disadvantaged
neighborhoods
go to under-funded schools
have less access to high level colleges
have poorer health care options
have higher rates of teen pregnancy
less access to career or higher paying jobs
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Social Institutions
Family sociologists examine interactions among social
institutions and how they influence behaviors, attitudes,
and opportunities in families
All of these interactions take place in the context of
racial/ethnic relations in the U.S.
Economy
Education
Race
Government
Families
Religion
Ethnicity
Healthcare
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Race/Ethnic differences
Great differences among individual and
families outcomes by racial/ethnic
groups
Let’s consider the rate of teen
pregnancy:
 Source: http://www.cdc.gov/TeenPregnancy/Massachusetts.htm
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Teen Pregnancy by Race/Ethnicity in
Massachusetts
For example:
In 2006 4,724 mothers age 15-19 gave birth in Massachusetts
 This is a birth rate of 21 per 1,000 females in that age group
 Significant disparities exist in birth rates for Massachusetts
youth by race and Hispanic origin.
 In 2006, the non-Hispanic black teen birth rate was nearly
three times higher than the white teen birth rate
 Hispanic teen birth rate was nearly six times higher
In sum your race/ethnicity has an effect on your likelihood
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of having a teen birth
Sociologist Howard Taylor asks…
Why are African-American families different
from other racial-ethnic groups?
Why is the teen pregnancy rate so much
higher for African American women?
Cultural argument – African American
families rely more on extended family ties,
rely less on nuclear family
Economic argument – As we changed from
emphasis on industrial occupations to
service ones – A.A. men were displaced
from their jobs more than white men
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Sociologist Howard Taylor asks:
Why are African-American families
different from other racial-ethnic groups?
Economic argument – African American
men, it is argues, “bring less to the table”
in terms of economic stability – so African
American women are less likely to marry
them
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African-American Families
Union formation - first unions formed are
twice as likely to be cohabitations compared
to whites
Family incomes for black families well below
averages for white families
Median Family income:
African American families is $32,584
White families: $51,861
Economic gains to marriage have declined
for black women
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Hispanic Families
 As much variation within the group as between
Hispanics and other groups
 Mexican Americans, Cuban Americans, Puerto
Ricans = 31.3 million people
Mexicans and Mexican Americans = 65%
Central and South Americans = 14%
Puerto Rican = 10%
Cuban Americans = 4%
We call these groups Hispanic, but they come
from different countries with different traditions
and beliefs
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Asian-American Families
Again Asian is an “umbrella” term that
includes diverse groups
Less research on Asian-American families
as prior to 1965 numbers were lower than
Hispanics
But for Example, in 1970 there were
69,000 Korean Americans
By 1998 there were 980,000 living in U.S.
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Asian-American Families
In general Asian-Americans emphasize
interdependence among family members
over individualism favored by western
cultures
Asian families place more emphasis on
children’s loyalty and service to parents
Asian-American adults are more likely to
live in a household with an adult child who
provide most of the income
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Summary
Race is socially constructed
We define race by physical characteristics
such as skin color and eye shape in U.S. but
why did we choose those?
Ethnicity refers to your ancestry, language,
religion, or traditions.
Family patterns vary greatly by race/ethnicity
Rates of marriage and fertility rate varies
across racial and ethnic groups
Make sure you know percentages of major
racial/ethnic groups
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