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However, the concept of ethnicity, much like the concept of race, is mostly a social construct. That is, no ethnicity or race has ever been pure. They are all products of a long process of intermarriage between groups of people who look different from one another and have a different cultural background. White Americans are much more fractionalized than they would admit, their ancestors being products of many different "invasions" and cycles of intermarriage happening throughout the history of human civilization on the European continent. Similarly, those who identify as black or African mostly do not mention the interbreeding of Bantu tribes with pygmie peoples and other southern African populations. Still, despite the empirical fuzziness that this term must embody, social relationships based on ethnicity remain very real and consequential for everyday social life. GOVERNMENT CENSUSES AND ETHNIC FRACTIONALIZATION All national Government s use Census es to obtain statistical data about the make-up of their society. France currently does not collect racial data but, after the recent riots caused by racial tensions, France may change this policy. In Rwanda censuses were taken to identify people of the Hutu and Tutsi ethnicity. These people were given cards with their ethnicities and were targeted in the 1994 Genocide s. (Negrin, 1). Censuses provide statistics about a country's population make-up by race and in some cases ethnicity, as well. In a country like the United States Of America , where most Marriage s are a blend of two or more ethnicities, fractionalization is present when the census is taken. However, the current census format does not allow an individual to adequately identify their "ethnic niche." Further details are given in the article Race (US Census) . DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN RACE AND ETHNICITY Race s can be determined by using Medicine and Genetic s as a source of identification. For the vast majority of human genetic variations, classical racial categories as defined by a combination of Geography , skin color, nose shape and hair type, an occasional Blood Type or selected microsatellites make no useful prediction of genetic differences. (Lewontin, 2). Many races are susceptible or resistant to certain diseases (for example Africans are susceptible to Sickle-cell Anemia but are resistant to Malaria ) and people of the same race have similar Phenotypic and Genotypic characteristics. Ethnicity is the grouping of people according to similar cultural traits such as: language, economic status, religious affiliation, political power, and cultural views. Race is also a major component of ethnicity. Sometimes races are mixed through marriage and multiracial children are born. See Miscegenation . MARRIAGE AND ETHNIC FRACTIONALIZATION Research has shown that ethnically fractionalized marriages are more likely to end up in a divorce. Domestic Violence is greatly increased because of these unhappy marriages. Most people marry out of their ethnic background because they believe it is true love, as opposed to arranged marriages where partners are chosen on same ethnic traits, there are often ethnic tensions in society. For example, if a Puerto Rican man were to marry a Cuban woman, most likely there would be problems within their relationship, because these are two ethnicities that usually have animosity towards each other. It is even worse with their fractionalized children; they are constantly in a divided state because they do not know which background to choose. If they choose one background over another background, then they run the risk of weakening ties with one of their parents. ETHNICALLY FRACTIONALIZED CHILDREN Fractionalized marriages cause Stress to both partners. Males, overall, are more likely to express their stressful mood on other people. In the majority of cases, ethnically married fathers beat their wives or children. Children are psychologically affected by this display of “stress-venting.” They see their parents fighting and often feel the violence themselves. It is mostly the parents’ fault because they force their children into choosing, instead of accepting that their children are now divided into two backgrounds. Some parents may encourage their children to choose one ethnicity over the other. In some societies, one ethnicity may have been more valuable than another, for instance mulatto children historically favored their white ethnicity. Other parents may encourage the children to blend their ethnicities. The consequences of personal identity are explained in the next section. Along with choice of background, comes a choice of political affiliation. In some nations, ethnic backgrounds are associated with a traditional political party that they side with. PERSONAL IDENTITY AND ETHNIC FRACTIONALIZATION Ethnically fractionalized people may have problems adjusting and finding a place within their different groups. When it comes to identifying themselves on government censuses or any type of identification, people with ethnically fractionalized backgrounds have trouble identifying which ethnicity they will choose. People are forced to choose one ethnicity or the other. ADVANTAGES OF BEING AN ETHNICALLY FRACTIONALIZED INDIVIDUAL Along with the negative effects of having multiple ethnicities to choose from; an individual may choose to use one ethnicity over the other in order to get ahead. People often choose to use their ethnicities in job interviews or College applications. Even though this is an advantage for the individual, it also tends to agitate those that are truly members of the ethnicity that the other individual has temporarily chosen to use in order to get a job or college acceptance. For example, there is a large percentage of high students who do not even know the basics of Spanish, yet they claim they are Hispanic. In this case they are Hispanic only through blood and genes. They cannot be considered Hispanic by culture because they do not know the Hispanic Culture . WEB RESOURCES
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