Race & Ethnicity,

Gender & Diaspora

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Cross-Cultural & Global Issues in
Communication
 "What are you?" Many of us are often posed with this
awkward question when it comes to how we identify, and
it's hard to know how to answer. Is the person asking you to
explain your race, or your ethnicity—or maybe even both?
And then, there's another question: What is the difference
between race and ethnicity, anyway?
 To find some clarification and better understand the significance of each of these
two terms
 When looking at how society, scholars, and the government define the words, the
university explains: "There is little agreement on core distinctions between race
and ethnicity." Brody herself uses the word "complicated" when asked about how
we can genuinely understand race and ethnicity, explaining that over the years,
"law, medicine, and common sense" have blurred their true meanings
 As Toni Morrison would have said, race and ethnicity are 'metaphorical terms.'
They're concepts that get used every day by different kinds of people to
understand difference in the world," Brody says.

 Aha. So, essentially...the difference between race and ethnicity is complicated,

indeed. But with a little help from Brody, we broke it down below.
 In society, race is often used to define someone by their skin
color, as well as other physical, social, and biological
attributes. For example, the U.S. Census defines race as "a
person’s self-identification with one or more social groups."
These personal identifiers are the words you most often see
when you're completing official paperwork and are asked
to check the box of your respective race. So when
considering what the different types of races are, the
options are usually: white, Black of African American,
Asian, American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian,
and Other Pacific Islander.

How do you define race?

 Race is usually associated with biology and linked with physical
characteristics, such as hair texture or skin color and covers a relatively
narrow range of options. Yet people of similar complexions/hair
textures can be defined as different races, and definitions in the United
States have changed over time.

 While some may be considered to be of a certain race, Black for example, people may
identify more with their individual ethnicity, as opposed to race. This could apply for any
member of any race.

 When completing paperwork that asks for race, you may be asked to identify yourself as
belonging to one or more of the following categories:

 White
 Black or African American
 Asian
 American Indian or Alaska Native
 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander

 Sometimes, you may be asked to select just one category. At

other times, you may be invited to check all the categories that
apply.
 The idea that the human species is divided into distinct groups on the basis of inherited
physical and behavioral differences. Genetic studies in the late 20th century refuted the
existence of biogenetically distinct races, and scholars now argue that “races” are cultural
interventions reflecting specific attitudes and beliefs that were imposed on different
populations in the wake of western European conquests beginning in the 15th century.
 But as the above definition points out, the word race has a long history of being used to
divide members of society, often based on superficial physical attributes. As Brody explains
it, for hundreds of years, race has been "defined by ourselves, by the law, by scientists, and
the government, often with competing interests" as cultural norms change. For example, she
says, the offensive term "mulatto" (referring to people of mixed white and Black ancestry)
used to be freely used in the U.S. Census in the 19th century. Now? Not so much.

 "We think we know someone's race when we see it, and it's really much more complicated
and more powerful than that," Brody says. "They change over time, they have power, and
we claim them because they're about our lives. But they're also about our relationships with
power... Some people want to exploit difference. And if you want to re-classify people, race
is one way of having power over them."
 Now, when using the word ethnicity, that term most often
refers to the way in which one identifies learned aspects of
themselves—i.e., nationality, language, and culture. For
example, Italian is both a nationality and an ethnicity. To
further clarify, Brody explains that when looking at how it's
often used in language, someone could say, I identify as
Black, but I was raised in Panama, so I'm ethnically
Panamanian, or: We are both Black, but I am West Indian. Or,
to bring pop culture into it, Jason Momoa identifies his race
as Native Hawaiian, but his ethnicity is Polynesian.

How do you define ethnicity?

 Brody clarifies that though it seems like they're two different
concepts (as explained above), one can't exist without the other,
as they have a large influence in how we deal with race in our
country. Race and ethnicity are also often substituted for one
another, due to how an individual chooses to identify and the
historical impact on the perception of the two terms.

When looking at race vs. ethnicity, is there a real

difference?
 Race and ethnicity are typically misunderstood
as most people often don’t fit into neat
categories that are offered on forms with
checkboxes. We don’t necessarily have any
tests or scientific basis to separate people out;
people are able to self-identify.

Race vs. Ethnicity

 Race
 Narrow
 Based on similar
physical and
biological attributes Ethnicity
Broad
Based on cultural expression and place of
origin
 Culture is a way of thinking and living whereby one picks up a set of
attitudes, values, norms and beliefs that are taught and reinforced by other
members in the group. This set of basic assumptions and solutions to the
problems of the world is a shared system that is passed on from generation to
generation to ensure survival. A culture consists of unwritten and written
principles and laws that guide how an individual interacts with the outside
world. Members of a culture can be identified by the fact that they share some
similarity. They may be united by religion, by geography, by race or ethnicity.

 Our cultural understanding of the world and everything in it ultimately

affects our style of communication as we start picking up ways of one’s
culture at around the same time we start learning to communicate. Culture
influences the words we speak and our behavior.

Cross Cultural Communication

 Cross cultural communication thus refers to the communication between
people who have differences in any one of the following: styles of working,
age, nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. Cross
cultural communication can also refer to the attempts that are made to
exchange, negotiate and mediate cultural differences by means of language,
gestures and body language. It is how people belonging to different cultures
communicate with each other.

 Each individual can practice culture at varying levels. There is the culture of
the community he grows up in, there is work culture at his work place and
other cultures to which one becomes an active participant or slowly
withdraws from. An individual is constantly confronted with the clash
between his original culture and the majority culture that he is exposed to
daily. Cultural clashes occur as a result of individuals believing their culture
is better than others.
 Cross cultural communication has been influenced by a variety of
academic disciplines. It is necessary in order to avoid misunderstandings
that can lead to conflicts between individuals or groups. Cross cultural
communication creates a feeling of trust and enables cooperation.The
focus is on providing the right response rather than providing the right
message.

 When two people of different cultures encounter each other, they not
only have different cultural backgrounds but their systems of turn –
talking are also different. Cross cultural communication will be more
effective and easier if both the speakers have knowledge of the turn
taking system being used in the conversation (For example: One person
should not monopolize the conversation or only one person should talk at
a time).
Gender Roles and Society
 Racial and ethnic identity, commonly defined as the significance and
meaning of race and ethnicity to one’s self-concept (Phinney, 1996; Sellers,
Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998), represent crucial components of
adolescent development and exploration among youth of color (Cross &
Cross, 2007). As with most racial identity constructs, research on the
importance of race and ethnicity was initiated with adult African American
populations (e.g., Cross, 1995; Cross, Parham, & Helms, 1991; Sellers et al.,
1998) and has provided critical foundations for the study of racial and ethnic
identity. A growing body of work investigates how these constructs apply to
diverse groups of adolescents (e.g., Charmaraman & Grossman, 2008;
Herman, 2004; Martinez & Dukes, 1997; Pellebon, 2000; Romero & Roberts,
1998), although Multiracial populations in particular remain understudied
(Herman, 2004).
 Researchers have suggested several explanations for individuals’ varying racial-ethnic
centrality levels. Sellers and colleagues (1998) identify racial regard as central to how
African American individuals assign meaning to their racial identity. This concept,
arising from Luhtanen & Crocker’s (1992) construct of collective self-esteem, is a
frequently identified component of racial-ethnic meaning making. It includes positive
feelings and pride towards one’s racial-ethnic group, and has shown positive influence
among diverse adolescents, including those of Mexican and Chinese descent (Kiang,
Yip, Gonzales-Backen, Witkow, & Fuligni, 2006) and predicts self-esteem among African
American, Latino and White adolescents (Phinney, Cantu, & Kurtz, 1997). Another
orientation underlying racial-ethnic centrality is the belief in a colorblind society,
wherein everyone is considered to be part of the “human” race. Notions of
colorblindnesss are typically identified with Whites (e.g., Grossman & Charmaraman,
2009; Perry, 2002) and can entail denial of discrimination and racism (Bonilla-Silva,
2003). Some models of racial-ethnic identity have also alluded to colorblind ideologies in
their developmental statuses, such as Cross and colleagues’ (1991) pre-encounter stage
and Rockquemore and Brunsma’s (2002) transcendent identity. Neville & colleagues
(2001) suggest that colorblindness may have different meanings for ethnic minorities
than for Whites, as such perspectives work against one’s own group interest for people
of color.

Meanings of Racial-Ethnic Identity

 "Race" and
"ethnicity" are
complex terms and
often used
interchangeably.
 Cross and Madson (1997) theorize that girls and young women are more interdependent and concerned
with being connected to others and maintaining relationships, while boys are more independent and
focused on agentic action. Such gender differences may relate to differential patterns of parental cultural
socialization which favor girls as being connected to home, community, and traditions, whereas boys
are more attuned to messages of racial barriers and bias (Bowman & Howard, 1985; Hughes,
Hagelskamp, Way, & Foust, 2009; Thomas & Speight, 1999). These distinctions may lead to greater
expression of themes related to family culture and heritage for girls than for boys.

 These conceptualizations have found mixed support in empirical literature. According toMaywalt
Scottham and colleagues (2008), few studies have considered gender variation in centrality or even in
the broader area of racial-ethnic identity, and existing findings have shown inconsistent relationships,
ranging from no significant gender differences (e.g. Rowley, Chavous, & Cooke, 2003) to finding gender
differences only in limited situations or subscales (e.g. Maywalt Scottham et al., 2008; Munford, 1994). In
the area of centrality, one of few studies addressing gender found direct relationships between
centrality and academic achievement only for boys, while moderating roles for centrality also differed
across gender (Chavous et al., 2008). Within the broader area of ethnic identity, while adolescent girls
have been reported to have stronger ethnic identity than boys (Romero & Roberts, 1998), another study
showed similar results only among Black and Asian adolescents, with no gender differences for
Hispanic or mixed-race adolescents (Martinez and Dukes, 1997). Plummer (1995) also found that
African American males endorsed more “raceless” or “pre-encounter” attitudes than females. These
findings suggest that further exploration is needed regarding intersections of gender and racial-ethnic
identity.

The Role of Gender

 Racial identity has been historically understood as relating to responses to racism
and prejudice (Helms, 2007), while ethnic identity has included a sense of belonging
to a group connected by heritage, values, traditions, and often languages (Phinney
& Ong, 2007), although both terms are acknowledged as socially constructed (Cross
& Cross, 2007; Helms, 2007; Markus, 2008; Omi & Winant, 1986). Consistent with
these definitions, Markus (2008) argues that race should be conceptualized as
distinct from ethnicity due to historical and contemporary racial hegemony related
to power and privilege. However, as Cokley (2005) notes, there is great variability
in how these constructs are operationalized, with much complexity and definitional
overlap (Trimble, Helms, & Root, 2003; Worrell & Gardner-Kitt, 2006). Cross and
Cross further argued that regardless of these theoretical differentiations, racial and
ethnic elements interact within individuals’ lived experiences and should not be
artificially isolated from one another, as in the exploration of ethnic features of
African American racial identity (Cokley, 2005).

Use of “Racial” and “Ethnic”

Identity
 These terms were initially separated to
designate “race” as a biological quality
and “ethnicity” as a cultural
phenomenon. This distinction mirrors
efforts to distinguish sex and gender.
Unlike “sex” and “gender,” however,
there is little agreement on core
distinctions between race and ethnicity.
 Race is a powerful social category forged
historically through oppression, slavery, and
conquest. Most geneticists agree that racial
taxonomies at the DNA level are invalid.
Genetic differences within any designated
racial group are often greater than differences
between racial groups. Most genetic markers
do not differ sufficiently by race to be useful in
medical research (Duster, 2009;Cosmides,
2003).

Definition of Race
 Humans vary remarkably in wealth, exposure to
environmental toxins, and access to medicine.
These factors can create health disparities. Krieger
(2000) describes disparities that result from racial
discrimination as “biological expressions of race
relations.” African Americans, for example, have
higher rates of mortality than other racial groups
for 8 of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. (Race,
Ethnicity, and Genetics Working Group, 2005).
Although these disparities can be explained in part
by social class, they are not reducible to class
distinctions.

Race as a Social Category

 The U.S. National Institute of Medicine has noted that
"historically, studies on race, ethnicity, age, nationality, religion,
and sex have sometimes led to discriminatory practices"
(Wizemann & Pardue, 2001). In the same way that science based
on “inherent sex difference” was used throughout the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries to justify women's exclusion from
science and the professions, and to deny women the rights of
citizenship, science based on "inherent racial difference" was
used to justify the continued subordination of non-white races
(Russett, 1989; Schiebinger, 1993). Much research was done in the
nineteenth century in efforts to show that differences in brain
structure between whites and blacks reflected the lesser
evolution of non-white peoples (Tucker, 1996). Twentieth-century
debates over IQ and brain structure played a similar role (Gould,
1996).

Scientific Racism
 Biologists Marcus Feldman and Richard
Lewontin write that the 0.1% genetic difference
among humans can be traced to divergent
ancestral geographic regions. Sickle cell anemia,
for example, should be thought of as connected
not to race but to geographic ancestry. Sickle cell
disease arose where malaria is or was prevalent,
including sub-Saharan Africa, the Mediterranean,
and the Indian subcontinent. Thus knowledge of
biogeographical ancestry may assist physicians in
medical diagnosis (Koenig et al., 2008)

Definition of Geographical Ancestry

 Ethnicity denotes groups, such as Irish, Fijian, or Sioux, etc. that
share a common identity-based ancestry, language, or culture. It is
often based on religion, beliefs, and customs as well as memories
of migration or colonization (Cornell & Hartmann, 2007). In
scientific analysis, it can be important to distinguish, however
loosely, between race and ethnicity. Biological anthropologist
Fatimah Jackson (2003) provides a pertinent example of cultural
practices being misread as biological differences. Microethnic
groups living in the Mississippi Delta, she writes, use sassafras in
traditional cooking. Sassafras increases susceptibility to pancreatic
cancer. Medical practitioners who do not carefully disaggregate
cultural and biological traits might interpret a geographic cluster
of pancreatic cancer as related to a genetic or racial trait when, in
fact, the disease is produced by cultural practices—in this case,
shared culinary habits.

Definition of Ethnicity
 Race and ethnicity are two concepts related to human
ancestry. Race is defined as “a category of humankind that
shares certain distinctive physical traits.” The term
ethnicities is more broadly defined as “large groups of
people classed according to common racial, national, tribal,
religious, linguistic, or cultural origin or background.”

 “Race” is usually associated with biology and linked with

physical characteristics such as skin color or hair texture.
“Ethnicity” is linked with cultural expression and
identification. However, both are social constructs used to
categorize and characterize seemingly distinct populations.
 Neither race nor ethnicity is detectable in the human genome.
Humans do have genetic variations, some of which were once
associated with ancestry from different parts of the world. But
those variations cannot be tracked to distinct biological categories.
Genetic tests cannot be used to verify or determine race or
ethnicity, though the tests themselves are associated with an
increased belief in racial differences.

 Though race has no genetic basis, the social concept of race still
shapes human experiences. Racial bias fuels social exclusion,
discrimination and violence against people from certain social
groups. In turn, racial prejudice confers social privilege to some
and social and physical disparities to others, and is widely
expressed in hierarchies that privilege people with white skin over
people with darker skin colors.

Genetics and race

 Race and ethnicity are often regarded as the
same, but the social and biological sciences
consider the concepts distinct. In general,
people can adopt or deny ethnic affiliations
more readily than racial ones, though different
ethnicities have been folded into racial
categories during different periods of history.

Categorizing race
 Gender roles are based on the different expectations
 that individuals, groups, and societies have of
 individuals based on their sex and based on each
 society's values and beliefs about gender. Gender
 roles are the product of the interactions between
 individuals and their environments, and they give
 individuals cues about what sort of behavior is believed
 to be appropriate for what sex. Appropriate
 gender roles are defined according to a society's
 beliefs about differences between the sexes.

Gender Roles and Society

Appropriate
gender roles are defined
according to a society's
beliefs about differences
between the sexes.
 Understanding the term "gender roles" requires
 an understanding of the term "gender't''Gender" is
 a social term that is often confused with the term
 "sex:' Sex and gender are different concepts. Sex is
 a biological concept, determined on the basis of
 individuals' primary sex characteristics. Gender,
 on the other hand, refers to the meanings, values,
 and characteristics that people ascribe to different
 sexes.
 Communication opens in new window between men and women is affected by gender
related factors. It is found that male and female brains are structured to process
information differently. This makes relations between women and men complex; and poses
many communication challenges.

  To make matters worse, each genderOpens in new window has a distinctive
communication pattern and often mistakenly assumes that the opposite gender thinks and
acts as they do. This is where miscommunication arises because each side believes that
they are communicating clearly based on their own communication patterns but they are
not.

  Studies show that when men and women interact in a group, men seem to be more
assertive, acquisitive, self-confident and aggressive than women. This may be because a
five-year old boy is encouraged to hit back (if someone assaults him) by his father, but the
boy’s sister is told that girls don’t fight.
 Gender specialist Barbara Annis says many men report that a
woman may interpret what they say in a way they didn’t
expect, causing men to feel unsure about how to approach a
topic when discussing it with a woman. When women and men
attempt to communicate with no understanding of the other’s
communication style, they may come across in a way they
didn’t intend. For example, because women tend to focus more
on relationship-building when meeting new people, men may
doubt their professionalism. On the other hand, because men
tend to be more direct and focused on their achievements,
women may perceive them as too aggressive.

Misunderstandings
 Cultural expectations are different for men and women.
Women are raised to be nice. Men to be right, which is why
many men don’t like asking for directions and women can’t
figure out what the fuss is all about!
 The girls tend to be less aggressive because they receive negative results such as
rejection and criticism for such behavior. They are brought up with the feeling
that aggressiveness is unfeminine. A girl, who is brought up with such feminine
conceptions about her, may try to avoid a frank eye contact with the interviewer
and may even speak in a voice that is almost inaudible. On the other hand, man is
more assertive in his thoughts and opinions. Thus, gender stands as a barrier to a
direct, honest and appropriate expression of the thoughts, opinions and beliefs of
a female.

 However, it must be said that today, girls, especially the urban girls are far more
confident and they get plum jobs in banks, in IT sector, and so on. American
Express, which has around 43 percent of women as its workforce, has taken
initiatives like The Women’s Interest Network (WIN), an employee network
which seeks to build a community that supports development of all women in the
workplace through idea sharing and networking, thereby minimizing gender
barriers.