What this lesson teaches
I can explain how race and ethnicity shape people's identities and add to diversity in society.
Syllabus K336, Issue 2, Guiding Question 1. Race and ethnicity
Make a guess
Singapore's statistics group people as Chinese, Malay, Indian or Others. What do you think one of these labels tells you about a person?
- Their religion, because most of each group follows one faith.
- A broad heritage group, not their customs, beliefs or abilities.
- Their culture, habits and abilities, because race is passed down.
Show the answer
A broad heritage group, not their customs, beliefs or abilities.
Each category includes people with different histories, languages and customs. Many people also have mixed heritage.
Race and ethnicity link people through shared heritage, language, customs and history. They do not decide a person's abilities or behaviour.
Race is a way societies group people, often by appearance and ancestry. Racial categories are made and used by societies. They are not separate biological types. Ethnicity is about shared heritage: languages, customs and history passed down through families and communities. The two terms often overlap, and the categories used differ between places and over time.
Singapore's official statistics use four broad categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others (known as CMIO). Each category includes people with different family histories, languages and customs. Many people have mixed heritage or identify with more than one tradition.
Learning a language, hearing family stories or taking part in a custom can connect someone to a community and its past. These different traditions add to a society's diversity. But people within a group practise traditions differently. A name or appearance does not tell you how someone lives.
- Race
- A social way of grouping people by appearance and ancestry.
- Ethnicity
- Shared heritage: language, customs, history.
- CMIO
- Chinese, Malay, Indian, Others: Singapore's broad categories.
Real examples to use
Double-barrelled race
Since 2011, Singaporeans of mixed heritage can register a double-barrelled race, such as "Chinese-Indian", instead of choosing only one category.
Worked example: One label, many roots
Lina calls herself Malay. Her grandparents have Bugis and Javanese roots. She records their family stories, while her cousin takes lessons in the family's language.
- The broad label 'Malay' includes several heritages.
- Lina and her cousin connect to their heritage in different ways.
- A category does not describe a person's full identity. Their shared heritage also does not tell us their nationality, religion or views.
Watch out for this
Race is fixed and tells you a person's culture and abilities.
Race and ethnicity are about heritage and how societies group people. Do not guess someone's culture, beliefs or abilities from their appearance; look at their stated heritage and what they actually do.
Check your understanding
Why is 'Chinese, Malay, Indian or Others' only a broad description?
- The categories describe ancestry, so they tell you little about a person's nationality.
- The categories were set long ago and people in each group have since mixed with one another.
- Each category includes people with quite different histories, languages and customs.
Show the answer
Each category includes people with quite different histories, languages and customs.
Yes. Broad categories hide a lot of diversity.