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Racial Formation Theory

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The Racial formation theory has its basis on the assumption that race of an individual is an identity that is socially constructed. As per the paradigms of this theory, the content and significance associated with racial categories are found to be determined in terms of political, social and economic forces. In the context of the society of the United States, the concept of race is found to be used in order to indicate the physical differences that exist between people as well as to signify the perceived and actual economic, behavioural and cultural differences that exist between people (Omi and Winant, 2014).
In the early 19th century, the United States faced a major change due to the immigration of the Irish. The Irish were able to flee …show more content…

However, the entry of the Irish comprising of more than half women resulted in creating a significant shift in this balance. This took place as a number of Irish women found household jobs for themselves. Having worked in the cottage industries, the Irish women also made efforts in order to take jobs in the US textile factories. With the passage of time, these women also took positions as secretaries, teachers and nurses. With the passage of time and increased efforts of the Irish people, they were eventually considered as belonging to the racial formation of white people. They even used their white race in order to gain powerful positions and as a result of immense efforts were also able to help their fellow Irish immigrants in finding jobs by opening up new organizations in the US (Takaki, …show more content…

These groups were not given equal rights as compared to the white people that existed in the US. However, the analysis clearly signifies that the Irish immigrants were able to bring a transformation in their racial formation by focusing on being considered as white people. A key opportunity that was present for them as a result of this transformation was the availability of comparatively respectable jobs. In contrast to this, the Chinese immigrants were not able to cope up with the resentment of the white people in the US. They faced problems as they were not able to gain the status similar to the white people that existed in the

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