Study Questions

  1. The chapter notes that plastic surgery is often used to make minorities look more Caucasian. The argument has been made that minorities in the media tend to be more visible when they have features that are typically associated with whites. Do you see this in the media today?
     
  2. It is projected that by the year 2042, whites will be less than 50% of the population. They will still be the largest racial group in the United States, but they will no longer be a statistical majority. What impact (if any) do you think this will have on race relations? Why?
     
  3. What do you think accounts for white consumption of black lower class culture? What do you think of the assertion that whites want “everything but the burden?”
     
  4. The Academy Award winning movie “The Help” noted that domestic workers, who were overwhelmingly black, were not entitled to Social Security benefits. Farm workers, who were generally Latino, were also left out of the program. How is this an example of institutional racism? The US government asserts that the intent was not racist. Do you think that intent is a necessary part of racism, or can a policy be institutional racism unintentionally?
     
  5. Why is the cultural explanations for race more accurate than the biological explanations? Explain and give examples.
     
  6. Discuss the relationships among the concepts racism, stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination. What, specifically, makes them distinct from one another?
     
  7. How is race socially constructed? Give evidence from history and modern day.
     
  8. Explain how stereotypes can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Is discrimination always inevitable when stereotype and prejudice exist? Why or why not? Give examples.