Can we say “race”?

By URelles

January 5, 2026

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Have you ever tried to find the right word to describe someone’s origins… and suddenly realized that… phew! It’s not that simple! Between “race,” “ethnicity,” and “nationality,” we quickly find ourselves dealing with concepts whose meanings we’re not entirely sure about. We even wonder if they might be disrespectful? So, which one should we use in which context? And above all, why does it matter? Hang on, we’ll sort it all out together!

Race: a social system that organizes differences

The term “race” carries a long historical baggage. Contrary to the widely held belief until the 20th century, science has long since proven that human beings are not divided into biological races. The concept of “race” has no solid genetic basis; it is not based on natural differences between humans. There is only one race, and that is the human race. What we call “race” is instead a social construct, that is, a system invented by societies over the centuries to classify people according to visible physical characteristics, such as skin color, hair texture, or certain facial features.

This system is not neutral. It was created to justify hierarchies, privileges, and, very concretely, inequalities. To be “racialized” is to be perceived and treated through these categories, whether one likes it or not. A person can therefore be considered “Black,” “White,” “Arab,” or “Asian” depending on the social context in which they find themselves, i.e., depending on the cultural, historical, and political frameworks of a country or region.

Racial categories are not universal: they vary greatly from place to place depending on what each society considers “significant” in physical or cultural terms. For example, two people from completely different cultures or backgrounds may be racialized in the same way because they share a physical trait that society associates with a particular racial category. From a Quebec perspective, a person from India and a person from Sri Lanka may be perceived as “South Asian” or “Indian,” even though their cultures, languages, religions, and histories are very different. Similarly, people from geographically distant countries, such as Egypt, Lebanon, or Algeria, are often grouped under the label “Arab” in Quebec, even though their ethnic or linguistic identities may be distinct (Amazigh, Coptic, Kurdish, etc.).

Race is therefore not something we choose or something we inherently possess. It is a framework imposed by society, a filter that changes according to the norms, categories, and perceptions of each society.

Ethnicity: a set of shared traditions, cultures, and histories

While race refers to how someone is perceived, ethnicity refers more to how someone identifies themselves. Ethnicity encompasses language, cultural traditions, collective history, religion (sometimes), social practices, and a sense of belonging to a group. It is not simply an origin “on paper,” but a living set of cultural references passed down over time that influence how a person understands the world and their place in it.

Ethnicity is often more fluid than we think. A person may have multiple ethnic identities, or feel more deeply connected to some than others. Ethnicity is not limited to a fixed category, but can evolve over the course of a lifetime. For example, a person born in Quebec to a Haitian family may grow up identifying primarily with Quebec culture, then, as an adult, become more interested in their Haitian roots and the Creole language, or explore other aspects of their family heritage.

Ethnicity can also change depending on the environment: a child adopted in another country may develop a different sense of belonging than that of their biological family, while retaining certain cultural traditions.

Immigration also plays a role: someone born in Syria and living in Canada may adopt certain aspects of Canadian culture while continuing to celebrate holidays and speak the language of their country of origin.

Even the family context can influence ethnicity: mixed families allow individuals to navigate between several cultural identities, depending on the traditions practiced at home.

Ethnicity is therefore a rich, sometimes complex dimension of identity that can rarely be reduced to a single label. It reflects a personal and collective journey, combining experiences, heritage, and choices, and shows that cultural identity is alive and evolving.

In everyday language, we often hear people talk about “ethnic groups” to group people together under a single label. This transforms rich and diverse identities into a “whole” and can be used to create an “us vs. them” divide, giving the impression that there are separate and hierarchical categories of humans. In reality, each person can experience their ethnicity in multiple and nuanced ways.

Nationality: primarily a legal status

Nationality is probably the simplest of the three dimensions. It is a legal status that binds a person to a state. It is what appears on a passport, what gives access to certain civil rights, what defines citizenship. Nationality indicates where a person is recognized as a member of a country, but it says nothing about their culture, traditions, or how they are perceived socially.

Take Quebec, for example: someone may proudly hold Canadian citizenship, but feel much more Quebecois than Canadian. Here, it’s not a question of paperwork, but of culture, traditions, language, and shared references (ethnicity!).

Two people with exactly the same nationality can therefore have completely different ethnicities, and two people of the same ethnicity can have different nationalities. It is also possible to have more than one nationality, or to lose one, or to acquire a new one during one’s lifetime. Nationality is therefore an administrative reality that answers a very specific question: “To which country are you legally bound?”

Why is it important to make a difference?

Ultimately, understanding the difference between “race,” “ethnicity,” and “nationality” is not just a matter of vocabulary. It is a genuine gesture of respect toward the people with whom we interact. Using the wrong term can turn an innocent question into an awkward situation or an unintentional microaggression. Asking “What is your race?” to find out someone’s culture or country of origin is not only inaccurate, but it also recalls historical categories created to rank humans. Not very nice, is it?

If we really want to ask the right question, the best term to use is ethnicity. It allows us to talk about a person’s cultural origins, traditions, history, and sense of belonging, without reducing someone to their appearance or an imposed social framework. For example, we could ask, “What are your ethnocultural origins?”

Nationality can be useful when you need legal or administrative information, such as for a passport, work permit, or official survey (e.g., “What is your country of citizenship?”).

To make this more concrete, you can try it yourself: “My name is Florence, I am white (race), I am a French-speaking Quebecer (ethnicity), and I am a Canadian citizen.” It is clear that each term conveys something different and that ethnicity is what most accurately describes who we are in our culture and daily identity.

In summary, if you want to ask someone about their background in a respectful and inclusive way, start with ethnicity, then nationality if needed, and skip race. This small adjustment in vocabulary will transform your conversations, professional interactions, and even administrative forms, while showing that you respect the complexity of human identities.