Race, Medicine, & Society Notes- February 6, 2018

Race, Medicine, & Society Notes- February 6, 2018

Class Discussion Questions:

In what ways is race socially constructed? What functions does the social construction of race serve?

What does it mean to talk about medicine as a racialized practice? Is this a valid way to talk about it?

Do these racial dimensions of medicine matter? Do they meaningfully impact the material conditions of people’s lives?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Social Construction of Race: Some Observations on Illusion, Fabrication, and Choice

by Ian F Haney-López

López’s Latin American identity

His brothers middle names lead to them pursuing different identities

Race is not a biological construct, it is a social construct (no genetic differences between races)

Race is determinative = determines things about you

“Race dominates our personal lives. It manifests itself in our speech, dance, neighbors, and friends--
"our very ways of talking, walking, eating and dreaming are ineluctably shaped by notions of race.
Race determines our economic prospects. The race-conscious market screens and selects us for manual jobs
and professional careers, red-lines financing for real estate, green-lines our access to insurance, and even
raises the price of that car we need to buy. Race permeates our politics. It alters electoral boundaries, shapes
the disbursement of local, state, and federal funds, fuels the creation and collapse of political alliances, and
twists the conduct of law enforcement. In short, race mediates every aspect of our lives.” (López 3)

Race is:

-Embedded/reinforcing

-A hierarchy that leads to enslavement, genocide

Is American culture keeping up with the fiction of race for political benefit?

Race is historical

-”Contingent” = based on historical events

Hereditary traits lead to social meanings

López example:

“If race is not biological, then what is it? Why do we easily recognize races when walking down the street
if there is no morphological basis to race? Why does race seem obvious if it is only a fiction?” (López 19)

-Subconscious categorization

López’s definition of race:

“In this Article, I define a "race" as a vast group of people loosely bound together by historically contingent,
socially significant elements of their morphology and/or ancestry.” (López 7)

-Morphology + Ancestry. Connections between physical features, races, and personal characteristics.

“How you look”= morphology

-Facial features, skin tone, nose (chosen markers for classifying)

Ancestry - traced back to a specific geological region

Example used by López: Hudgins v. Wright

“A race is not created because people share just any characteristic, such as height or hand size, or just any
ancestry, for example Yoruba or Yugoslav. Instead, it is the social significance attached to certain features, like
our faces, and to certain forebears, like Africans, which defines races. Context superimposed on chance largely
shapes races in the United States.” (López 46)

DK’s equations for race:

(Morphology + Ancestry) + Social Significance = Race

(Morphology x Social Significance) + (Ancestry x Social Significance) = Race

Social Significance = stereotype = “controlled imagine”

Chance- Which qualities you’re born with (morphology), ancestry

Context- Historical moment, geographical location, social setting is constructed and contested. Social Significance that places people in particular hierarchy

Choice- [Not formally discussed] What you do with your position in the hierarchy?

Physical Features -> Race -> Personal Characteristics = Racism

Should everyone speak English? In the United States, everyone is assumed to know English, the United States does not privilege 2nd language acquisition

Unequal Treatment - Physicians giving different diagnostic and prescriptions for whites and
non-whites. Different dosage of medicine, different drug (non-white patients got worse care)

Doctors rated black patients as less intelligent, less likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation, less likely to follow medical care, more likely to abuse drugs

Would these doctors who made this characterization deny that they’re racist?

-Deny claim because under oath as a doctor

-Would result in Malpractice

-Anyone going into the field of medicine should know from the beginning that they will be
working with a large population of people, as well as communities. No matter who the
patient is, they will be seeking help, and it is the doctor’s responsibility to provide the utmost
care.

Implicit Bias- bias you don’t know you have, or bias that you rationalize away

-more present in those that aren’t experiencing problems

Medicalized Biases -> Historical Discourses of Race

Missing Persons. White’s income is 40% higher than African Americans. Why don’t African Americans join the medical field?

-Less obtainable

-Mentors for the medical profession are usually white, causing some non-white students to have no-one to look up to

To Do:

-Think of questions based on what we talked about for Mario (Guest Speaker) on Thursday

-Start future reading assignment

Main Points of the class:

-Race is not biological

-Mapping of race in society