Social Perception Of Racial Identity

Race is a common factor when commenting on a person who is trying to define who they are and identify themselves in a group of people. The fact however lies that race is not a biological concept as stated by and is rather a social perception. The way one chooses to identify their race and who they are as a whole plays a part on who they are and sometimes even their social class within the life they live. Through racialization and racial formation both in and out of the Americas even Susie Phipps was able to identify that even if you have an ounce of black you are considered black in the US because it is a way to identify as a social concept and ideological process along with Omi and Winant 's thought process.

Racial identity is the classification …show more content…
Through interactions with my peers in elementary school, I

noticed that my hair was a different texture, that my color was a lot darker than most, and that I

was different. “Give the horse back its hair” were comments that lingered throughout my junior

high days, where I struggled to fit in by putting hair extensions in my hair. Although I longed to

feel a part of the bigger group, I kept sane by hanging with other minorities, they were my

clique.

Not only was this alienation felt among my peers, but it was also felt in the classroom. Growing up I never quite felt that I could really speak up in class and show my outgoing persona, for fear of people making fun of me. I knew I was different and did not want to do anything that could cause them to focus their attention on that difference. For projects in school, I would always take the role that required speaking the least, so that I wouldn’t have to speak in front of them. I got along with everybody, but was not truly myself until I set foot inside my home, my private domain.

As I moved on to high school it is as if there was a shift from being ashamed of my …show more content…
The color of someone 's skin has begun to dictate people 's lives since the beginning of exploration in the new world and transition into slavery. The way a person feel when the “claim” who they are becomes a part of them and ultimately can affect if they get a certain job or a position in the workforce because of their race. This can also place a hand on the topic of being someone who is of lighter skin pigmentation or Caucasian and see that this choice of race holds some typical of higher position in the different races of the United States. Race is a term that is somewhat socially constructed and as you can see through my personal experience and through Omi and Winant’s accounts that they are connected and have strong effects in people 's day to day