What is the importance of ethnicity in the social construction of identity?

Question

sociology pros...plz help!!!

Answer 1

I think it's a personal issue - some folks feel it's THE most important aspect of themselves and who they identify with - others, like myself, could care less.  What my ancestors did or didn't do, is meaningless to who I am today.  We pick and choose what traditions are remain important based on its value to us.  If there's a benefit, we'll hold on to it - if not, it becomes history,  Traditions, language, religions - are fluid, not fixed.

Like everything else, value is assigned arbitrarily.

Answer 2

It depends on which society you're referring to. I don't think there can be one general answer that applies to all societies. However, I'll try my best.

I think ethnicity is important to people because it enables people to imagine an "inside" and an "outside", or "them" versus "us". Being able to imagine being part of a group ("us") gives people a sense of stability and continuity in their own identity. It enables the person to imagine that they are part of a coherent history and a future which is much longer than their own life-span.

Ethnicity enables a person to say: "I am so and so" because "I am not so and so". The concept of ethnicity helps provide a person with a sense of validation of their tastes and values; they can imagine that an entire group of people share their values (whether or not it be factually proven). For example, the concept of "Asian values" (made notorious by Singapore's Lee Kwan Yu) is a way for some Asians to try and justify their own values - they argue that their own values should be promoted because they are the values of an entire ethnic group. (However many people, including myself, strongly disagree.)

A person's ethnic group may often serve as an extension of his/her ego, for example, when the person is proud of the achievements of another member of his/her ethnic group.... such as when a White person wants to feel proud of being White because of the "achievements" of Europeans (even if the person has personally done nothing  to contribute to that "achievement"). Or, for example, Indigenous Australians being proud of Cathy Freeman at the Olympics.

Ethnicity can also be exploited by unscrupulous political leaders who want to garner support for himself/herself or for a particular cause. Ethnic tensions can be exploited through fear-mongering and propaganda. In this sense, ethnicity can be a way for people to group together around a common political cause; the individuals in the group see their own interests as tied in with the interests/fate of the group as a whole. This can result in animosity, perhaps violence, towards other (constructed) ethnic groups.  

Hope that helped.