In the current reality of the international society built under the influence of the process of globalization, ethnicity seems to matter much less than before; a similar tendency can be explored in Miami as well. This phenomenon of being “post-racial” can be witnessed on the most varied levels of society including the Presidency and the Supreme Court. This situation can be explained by the fact that there are so many different races and ethnicities mixed both in the global society and in the society of Miami, in particular. However, a closer look at the current situation in the globalized society shows that there exist such areas where ethnicity still matters including making stereotypes, marrying and medicine.
According to Placecia, “race matters only to the extent that people in our society are still treated as members of a race”. Speaking about the main areas where ethnicity is still important nowadays, it should be stated that making stereotypes is the most significant area where one’s race still can be addressed as rather important. Race and Ethnicity argue that “stereotyping is undoubtedly a natural process, used by individuals to simplify the world and to make life somewhat predictable” (par.32). Concerning this, people seem to view and evaluate others based on one’s ethnicity. I am a “Latino”, and that is why people who meet me for the first have a row of stereotypes about my personality especially about my hot, passionate and explosive nature. All the above-mentioned characteristics are not fully relevant to my personality, and for the reason of such a stereotyped misunderstanding, I am disappointed sometimes. Some sociologists and anthropologists believe that we “perform” race and ethnicity. It seems that such a saying implicate the idea that the representatives of different ethnic groups have their mentality and temperament. I thought about my behaviour in that way many times, and I must admit it often happens that my conduct does support the stereotypes about the mentality of my people; however, I am a person constantly trying to improve and enrich my personality trying to adopt the best qualities form the other ethnicities, and that is why I cannot agree with the above-mentioned scientists to the full extent.
Further, another important area where ethnicity still matters is the institute of marriage. “By 1980 only one quarter of American-born whites was married to someone with an undivided ethnic heritage identical to his or her own” (Race and Ethnicity par.37). Thus, it is evident that the assimilating process continues actively. However, “roughly 99 percent of African American women and 97 percent of African American men marry one of their race” (Race and Ethnicity par.37). From the last piece of data, the conclusion can be made that ethnicity still means a lot for the institution of the family.
In addition, the specialists on race naturalism may think that in some ways different genetic materials can influence the operating of the human body, and thus require a different treatment for particular diseases especially for such ones connected to genetics as cancer and diabetes. So, racial inherence can be seen as important in the area of medical treatment.
In conclusion, nowadays in the era of creating a new globalized society ethnicity appears to be less important than before. However, it is still rather significant for stereotyping, the institute of marriage and medicine. “By 2001 there was an estimated 37 million Hispanic Americans, or nearly 13% of the total population” (Alcoff par. 23). Thus, I can believe myself to be a part of one of the most numerous ethnicities in the United States. With regards to my position on the actuality of the “racial” issue nowadays I would say it still matters but it is less important.
Works Cited
- Alcoff, Linda. n. d. Latinos and the Categories of Race. n. d. 2012.
- Placecia, Nathan. n. d. Does Race Matter? n. d. 2012.
- Race and Ethnicity. n. d. 2012.