Re:White US professor admits she has pretended to be Black f...
by dragonwriter on Friday September 04, 2020 @05:10AM
(#24373177)
> It seems society itself viewed her as Black. So based on race being a social construct, wouldn't that make her Black?
No, that's not what a “social construct” means. Social constructs still have socially constructed rules, and the social construct of race is mostly based around the race socially ascribed to your ancestors. (There's a newer complementary or competing coexisting construct that has a greater contribution from self-identity, as well, but even that one still has a significant contribution from ascribed race of ancestors.) In her case, neither her ancestry nor her genuine self-identity were black, she was viewed as back only based on her false presentation of both of those points.
No, that's not what a “social construct” means. Social constructs still have socially constructed rules, and the social construct of race is mostly based around the race socially ascribed to your ancestors. (There's a newer complementary or competing coexisting construct that has a greater contribution from self-identity, as well, but even that one still has a significant contribution from ascribed race of ancestors.) In her case, neither her ancestry nor her genuine self-identity were black, she was viewed as back only based on her false presentation of both of those points.