WHAT DOES ETHNICITY MEAN?

Debbie explains why ethnicity isn’t a matter of race, and can’t actually be detected by DNA

Ethnicity is a reflection of shared ancestry based on social and cultural practices. Ethnic groups may be linked by a religious affiliation, a shared linguistic heritage or a common geographical origin. Ethnicity cannot be detected by DNA, but there is sometimes an overlap with a person’s genetic ancestry. For example, people who share the same heritage will often live in the same places and marry people from similar backgrounds.

Ethnicity was historically used as a synonym for race, but the meanings have diverged over time. Ethnicity differs from race in that individuals can choose how they wish to self-identify, and decide whether or not to express the cultural practices associated with their ethnicity. In contrast, artificial categories of race are imposed upon individuals, and are often based on perceived physical characteristics. Racial categories such as black and white can represent a multitude of ethnicities. ‘Biogeographical ancestry’ is the scientific term used to describe the assignment of genetic ancestry to specific continents, countries or regions. However, this phrase does not easily roll off the tongue, so the companies have tried to use simpler names. 23andMe provides its customers with an Ancestry Composition report while Living DNA provides “recent ancestry results”. FamilyTreeDNA’s report is known as myOrigins. AncestryDNA and MyHeritage describe their reports as “Ethnicity Estimates”. The term is nicely alliterative, but scientifically incorrect. Remember that whatever your DNA results tell you about your biogeographical ancestry, it makes no difference to how you self-identify and define your own ethnicity.