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People who use home genetic test kits to uncover the mysteries of their ancestors tend to "choose" the results, relying on prejudiced prejudices to accept some of the conclusions while neglecting others.
Genetic testing at home has become a multimillion dollar industry that has seen millions of people around the world sign up for tampon kits in hopes of discovering the secrets hidden in their genomes.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver focused on how results shape perceptions of race and ethnicity. They interviewed a hundred or so Americans of various ethnic and racial backgrounds who had passed the tests and returned 18 months later to see if the tests had gradually altered their perception of their identity.
The findings, published this week in the American Journal of Sociology showed that most participants – 59% – have not changed their views on their identity despite receiving new news information from the tests.
"I was surprised to find that, for most people, they did not adopt the ancestry suggested by the test," said Wendy Roth, sociologist and senior author of the study. study
. so on a selective basis, she added. "They did not kiss them on a large scale – they chose the cherry."
Participants tended to adopt identities that they saw positively or that they thought others would accept. Test results that have been hated have simply been rejected or ignored in some cases.
"So it's not as if people see this genetic information as definitive, it's really allowed their social desires and their influences to change the way they respond," she said.
The white-Mexican American prior to the examination was identified as having Native American, Celtic and Jewish ancestry.The researchers found that he embraced his Jewish roots in relation to other ancestries put into practice. evidence in test.
Another participant was adopted and still believed aboriginal.After the test suggested that she had no Native American ancestry, she dismissed it. as inaccurate and continued to identify as an American anyway.
A notable exception was found in some white respondents, who were more likely to adopt new racial identities as well. that they thought that aut They would still accept them. "They were really excited to try that identity that made them something other than white," Roth said.
Part of this could be explained by the type of person taking this test, Roth said. "Many of these people were looking for a sense of belonging, they did not know where their family came from, many of them were adopted and they were just looking for a place to belong."
The findings suggest that genetic testing could end up reinforcing racial privilege, Roth said, citing the example of someone who's still identified as being white but who, now, on the basis test results, takes on a new identity: white and black, or white and Native American.
"This has no consequence for them. They can try it, mention it when it is to their advantage and ignore it otherwise. It does not have the same consequences as the race for non-white people, "she said. "It can really lead whites in particular to think that race is like that for everyone."
Of those who have embraced the results of their tests, over 80% of them have documented this change in the census. the tradition of racial categories based solely on the appearance or knowledge of parentage. "If it becomes commonplace, it's a real concern," she said. "This means that these inequalities will be underestimated."
Roth is now conducting similar research on randomly selected samples to see if the results – which hint at the myriad of social factors that play into our race concept – over.
"It really makes me understand that race is much more complex than just information encoded in your genes," she said. "Even though they receive this information, they still interpret this information according to who they want to be, how they want to introduce themselves and what they think society will accept." And then they chose to 39; kissing or ignoring it according to that. "
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