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posted by Fnord666 on Monday February 10 2020, @01:45PM   Printer-friendly
from the Who-Are-You? dept.

Genetic ancestry tests are a multi-billion dollar industry. In exchange for a sample of genetic material, one receives charts and figures mapping them onto popular concepts of race. The problem with this approach is that although there are minor genetic differences that allow geneticists to trace population migrations, these differences don't support the idea that one can sort races on genetic differences alone. Social scientists have argued that given how race definitions have changed over time and place, that race classifications are more a social construct defined more in terms of geographic proximity and cultural norms than they are based on genetics. At the other end of the spectrum is the concept of genetic essentialism. This views the concept of race as being exclusively defined in terms of genetic makeup and how these differences imbue different races with different inherent abilities or liabilities. Genetic essentialist views promote the concept of genetic exclusivity and reinforces racial stereotypes, underpinning negative policies such as eugenics and apartheid.

The problem with genetic ancestry testing, apart from the privacy issues that we typically see stories about here, is the inconsistency of analysis and popular misconceptions of what the results mean. With tens of millions of people taking these tests every year, an open question has been what effect these results have on people's concepts of race. Some have argued that they are likely to reinforce a genetic essentialist view of race because the results are broken down into distinct groups and people interpret the results as being objective and authoritative. Others have argued the opposite in that people have a more social construct idea of race when the results do not confirm their experience ("All my life I thought I was German, but I found out I'm actually Italian!").

Researchers from the University of British Columbia attempted to answer this question with a paper published in the open access journal Plos One. They conducted a randomized controlled trial where they assembled a group of people who were willing to take a genetic ancestry test and provided half of them with a test. The group was then evaluated to gauge the extent that they supported genetic essentialism ideas. In addition, at the outset the group was also quizzed on their general knowledge of genetics. What the researchers found was that, on average, getting these test results did not change one's views on genetic essentialism; however, when considering a person's overall level of genetics understanding, they found that genetic essentialism ideas were strengthened in people who had lower knowledge of genetics after they received their ancestry test results. "Taking a test thus has a polarizing effect, magnifying differences in essentialist beliefs even further between those with weaker and stronger understandings of the science behind them."

Roth WD, Yaylacı Ş, Jaffe K, Richardson L. (2020) Do genetic ancestry tests increase racial essentialism? Findings from a randomized controlled trial. PLoS ONE 15(1): e0227399. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227399


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  • (Score: 3, Disagree) by shortscreen on Monday February 10 2020, @09:35PM (7 children)

    by shortscreen (2252) on Monday February 10 2020, @09:35PM (#956544) Journal

    Right. Everyone is the same and race is a figment of the imagination.

    Am I allowed to suggest that you tell that to the people who have constructed a system of protected classes, oppressors, privelege, and diversity all based on race? Is it OK to acknowledge the contradiction between "race is an artificial construct" and identity politics based on race?

    I don't think it is reasonable to assert that the concept of race only exists in the minds of racists and that they are the only reason that this idea continues to linger. The self professed non-racists claim to understand quite well what the alleged racists have to say about something that would only exist in the latters' imagination. Supposedly they even know the underlying racist thoughts when they remain unspoken (ie. "dog whistles"). How is this possible? Is everyone racist after all? Or maybe race isn't so imaginary?

    It's obvious that what constitutes race is fuzzy and varies by the time and place and people. But saying that it is 100% arbitrary and fake is an extreme position that you have not offered adequate evidence to support.

    It's also not clear why this question even needs to be answered. Discrimination based on generalizations, stereotypes, or other irrelevant attributes is wrong. If we agree not to discriminate based on race then why should it even matter what race anyone is or isn't?

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Aegis on Tuesday February 11 2020, @12:15AM (6 children)

    by Aegis (6714) on Tuesday February 11 2020, @12:15AM (#956617)

    People do all sorts of fucked up shit based on imaginary bullshit *coughRELIGIONcough* That doesn't make it real.

    But saying that it is 100% arbitrary and fake is an extreme position that you have not offered adequate evidence to support.

    You've got that reversed. If you are going to claim something exists then you need to provide the evidence. Evidence, like say, a DNA test that could successfully identify race would be a good start! But, as this article notes, that does not exist.

    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday February 11 2020, @02:03AM (4 children)

      by Bot (3902) on Tuesday February 11 2020, @02:03AM (#956663) Journal

      >People do all sorts of fucked up shit based on imaginary bullshit *coughRELIGIONcough* That doesn't make it real.

      oh yeah the atheist religion and his bunch of cells ritual child sacrifice. Because one woman that was raped justifies one hundred that failed their contraception methods. Because one episode of guys against the commandments justifies the removal of the cross worshipped by those who follow the commandments. And so on. But what does this have to do with the topic? Your remark takes the hypothesis for granted, says an action doesn't affect it (true) but hasn't verified the hypothesis.
      Your requirement for DNA tests to 100% define race prove that my car hasn't made any distance ever, because the different temperature of the air inside the tyres affects its height and its height skews the precision of even the best possible theoretical measurement that in cars is made on the rotation of the wheels. Given the absurd reached I call bullshit on your requirement of a 100% precision on DNA tests. Those who worship logic should first try to respect it.

      Races are real, so what? Does that justify collective responsibility/punishment? Because racism is just that, an excuse to apply injustice. Remove racism and the guys who applied injustice in its name will find some other excuse. They are way ahead than race deniers, in fact, they probably fund them.

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      Account abandoned.
      • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Tuesday February 11 2020, @04:03AM (3 children)

        by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Tuesday February 11 2020, @04:03AM (#956714) Journal

        Looks like someone triggered you! :)

        Pop quiz, hotshot! I have in my left hand a 3 month old infant. I have in my right hand a rack containing 24 embryos in the third month of development. Don't ask me how this works; they're two dozen completely viable embryos, all of which will grow into perfectly normal, healthy infants if allowed.

        I will drop one over the side of a 70-story building. You choose which one.

        Choose.

        --
        I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
        • (Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday February 11 2020, @05:00PM (2 children)

          by Bot (3902) on Tuesday February 11 2020, @05:00PM (#956891) Journal

          Drop 'em all, there are too many japs already.

          If I say the sky is blue somebody must have triggered me, right?

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          Account abandoned.
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 11 2020, @09:43PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 11 2020, @09:43PM (#956980)

            That's it, I'm now in support of re-education camps. Clearly the alternative is literally Nazi Party 2.0. We should separate the children from these dangerous ideologues and put them in schools that adhere to modern standards. Don't worry little nazis, no cages for your kids.

            • (Score: 2) by Bot on Wednesday February 12 2020, @10:32PM

              by Bot (3902) on Wednesday February 12 2020, @10:32PM (#957439) Journal

              >That's it, I'm now in support of re-education camps.

              Fight fire with fire, and you became an arsonist.

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              Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 2) by shortscreen on Tuesday February 11 2020, @09:36AM

      by shortscreen (2252) on Tuesday February 11 2020, @09:36AM (#956787) Journal

      I have nothing to gain by trying to prove that race exists, I am just pointing out the cognitive dissonance which you have just expertly demonstrated.

      The DNA tests can be used to put people into vaguely defined groups. That is one of their main selling points in fact. How is that not identifying race? You apparently think that it must not be identifying race only because the grouping reported by the DNA test does not match up with YOUR OWN PRECONCEIVED ideas of what races are.

      When birds are found to have large amounts of DNA in common with lizards and dinosaurs, scientists modify their taxonomy to group birds and lizards closer together. They do NOT say "gee, birds are birds and lizards are lizards, and DNA can't distinguish them, so must be species aren't a real thing."