So "what is" Tiger Woods anyway? (and should we care?)

Gene Expression discusses race and appearance, pointing to people disagreeing about whether Tiger Woods looks "Black" or "Asian." Not only is there a good discussion of the involved genetic dynamics, but the larger question of "why do we still focus on race?" is touched on.

Being of mixed descent myself, my appearance and behavior has confounded many people who have tried to "pin me down" as a certain race or ethnicity, much to my amusement (some have been wildly off) - I grew up always being asked the question, "So what are you?" And I wonder now, does it serve any purpose beyond satisfying curiosity to try to ascertain a person's race when so many other factors, like culture and nationality, contribute to a person's identity and perspective when interacting in the world? Many have speculated on the future of race, that we will lose the need for such distinctions because more people will claim mixed heritage (as shown by the 2000 U.S. Census) and will grow up with a cosmopolitan appreciation of all cultures, making attempts to reify race and ethnicity superfluous and inaccurate.

Speaking as someone who eats everything from sushi, kimchee and curry to gyros, crawdad boil, and stroganoff, I have to agree.

Addendum: Beyond aesthetic considerations, attempts to classify race and ethnicity can have very real economic impacts.

Bioethics Quilt Project: Black Americans and Medicine

[Thanks to Karama Neal for this entry!]
STORIES THAT BIND, STITCHES THAT HEAL

This presentation will explore the relationship between quilting, an enriched group process, and the emergence of a community narrative concerning a traumatic community experience, the U.S. Public Health Service Syphilis Study. Using the framework of occupational science, the academic discipline that informs occupational therapy as a profession, the relationship between engagement in meaningful activities, health and well-being is explored. The project is collaboration among 15 African American women, between the ages of 55 and 95 years, who attend a local community center and the Occupational Therapy Program at Tuskegee University. Incorporating an enriched group process described as occupational form, the pre existing physical elements & social cultural contexts that elicit, guide, or structure human performance (Nelson 1988 p. 21), is instrumental in revealing important clues about the projects potential as a catalytic tool for community outreach, public conversation, and education. Moreover, as a result of this engagement there are strong indications that health related benefits are also possible. Quilting is a most appropriate occupation (meaningful activity) to use with African American women because of the social, cultural, and personal meanings and metaphors inherent in the activity (Fidler, 1999 p. 3).

Like the multiple textures of a quilt, this inquiry project has multiple themes and objectives. From the perspective of the participating women, it seeks to "patch" together stories in an effort to understand the legacy of the syphilis study, and the biopsychosocial impact it had, and continues to have on the lives of women, families and the community as a whole. In the vernacular of African American quilting the term "patch," remnant pieces of fabric or those extracted from old clothes and sewn into squares, is used as a metaphor for stories being told, hence; "stories that bind, stitches that heal." Patch one of the project represents the central motif and provides a rich description of the project, its qualitative design, objectives, and methodologies. Patch two discusses what was learned from the project, its• socially constructed-meaning, as well as the expressed hopes and aspirations of the participants.

Sources:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9105953
http://press.creighton.edu/102706/news11.html
http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2007/Mar/hour2_032307.html