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Cultural Diversity - Multi-Ethic Britain (3)

Race 

The term 'race' is no longer used widely in the human and health sciences. It originated in relation to assumed differences on biological grounds with members of a particular racial group sharing certain distinguishing physical characteristics such as bone structure and skin colour (Giger & Davidhizar, 1999). However, as more has become known about biological variations through population and genetics studies, and findings that show that there is little genetic difference between so-called racial groups, the term has been discredited. 'Race, is now widely acknowledged, as a social and political construct, not a biological or genetic fact. It cannot be used scientifically to account for the wide range of differences among peoples. There is more genetic variation within any so-called race than there is between 'races'' (The Runnymede Trust 2000,  p.63).

The term 'race' has no biological consequences (Senior & Bhopal, 1994). Although of no scientific or biological consequence, the term still has negative political and psychological impact. In this resource, the word 'race' is used only to illustrate other concepts by its social and political associations, for example 'racial groups', 'racism', 'race relations' and discrimination.