>both are social constructs which makes them 'real' in many >ways. or at least real enough in that they have real impact >on ppl's behavior toward each other and their self-image.
Chris Hayes had a response to last night's show on his twitter today where he said: "Race isn't real. Racism, however, is."
Just as we discussed how Gender wasn't real, was something man-made and wholly inefficient to describe Janet Mock's identity, the same can be said about Race.
It's real, but not particularly helpful in terms of producing authentic identity that has any real flexibility. Just as conventional notions of "gender" are inadequate to frame Janet Mock's gender identity, so too might current racial identity constraints be for individuals who do not feel comfortably framed in a black/white racial identity categorization.