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Assess The Effects Of Racial And Ethnic Labels In Society

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Assess The Effects Of Racial And Ethnic Labels In Society
Society constructs race and ethnicity by giving labels to different groups based on various characteristics. History has shown that these labels can have disastrous effects.

Racial and ethnic labels can be considered a social problem. This is because it is a condition or behaviour a large enough section of society consider negative or harmful, therefore it requires remedy or attention. When considering racial and ethnic labels, this is a problem for society because of the negative treatment that can occur to these groups in society, such as racism, prejudice and discrimination. For example, racial or ethnic labelling against a minority group could lead to negative treatment of that group that becomes inbuilt into societies institutions.

The social theory symbolic interactionism could be used to explain why this social problem occurs. Symbolic interactionism is a micro level theory, which means it looks at the individual’s role in constructing society. It received its named because it is a theory about …show more content…
Cooley developed the concept of the ‘looking glass self’, which is the argument that people imagine themselves through the eyes of others and this causes people to define themselves according to those perceptions. Cooley believed that these imaginary perceptions shaped an individuals behaviour and identity. Racial and ethnic labels could lead to individuals defining themselves based on this label. Furthermore, generalisations against these labels could impact the identity of these individuals. For example, a specific ethnic or racial label could be associated with crime or drug use. Therefore, individuals who identify as part of these groups could perceive that society sees them as a drug user or criminal and may adopt those behaviours. This is particularly concerning, as a person may develop their self-identify based on these incorrect assumptions of how others perceive
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