Black and White Twins and the Social Construction of Race
More proof that what we think of as “race” is an arbitrary social construct, not an objective biological category that existed before we came up with it. Modern science is not on the side of racists, and that’s why they reject science just like creationists, even if they claim to be promoting real science. A series of videos by HannibaltheVictor13 debunking a particular racist youtuber that I mirrored on my GargamelGold channel comes to mind.
By Lisa Wade, PhD.
I’m thrilled to share this remarkable newspaper article that I use to illustrate how skin color (which is real) is translated into categorical racial categories (which are not). The children in the images below are fraternal twins born to two bi-racial parents:
The story explains the biology:
Skin colour is believed to be determined by up to seven different genes working together. If a woman is of mixed race, her eggs will usually contain a mixture of genes coding for both black and white skin. Similarly, a man of mixed race will have a variety of different genes in his sperm. When these eggs and sperm come together, they will create a baby of mixed race. But, very occasionally, the egg or sperm might contain genes coding for one skin colour. If both the egg and sperm contain all white genes, the baby will be white. And if both contain just the versions necessary for black skin, the baby will be black
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