What is the best way to discuss “race is a social construct” but also, there are instances where some phenotypes are more prevalent among certain groups bc of genomics#environment#socioeconomics? What I see here can lead one to not believe what we know abt SCD βThal, CF etc
Yes race is the product of racism, but it‘s also a rough proxy for ancestry#migration or whatever experts call it, it is not a randomly fabricated construct like idk Zodiac signs. & I’m not sure we have a better proxy for that, short of sequencing everyone? Isn’t it Both/and?
Of course we disproportionately fund research focused on genetics vs SDOH. But I worry that for those who don’t know better, the message “race is a social construct” is too simple and translates into dismissing concerns abt clinical trial diversity for example.
Or the fact that cystic fibrosis research has gotten a ton more funding compared to sickle cell disease, in terms of federal $, foundation $ and new therapeutic advances. 1 in 365 Black kids are born with SCD, 1 in 2500 White kids are born with CF.
these are not new or even original thoughts. I’ve talked w/ @ShawnJohnsonBOS abt this bc some of his work is in that pharmacogenetics & clinical trial diversity arena. This convo needs > room & nuance than what we give it? The genetic stuff=far fewer instances vs SDOH but still..
Put otherwise, if you think of race is as random as zodiac signs bc it’s totally constructed, then you must think two White people have the same odds of having a White vs Black baby? The same way 2 Virgos like my parents gave birth to me, a Taurus, and my brother, a cancer?
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