The Changing Meaning of Race: From Individualism to BFOQS (Bonafide Occupational Qualifications)

Abstract

Scholars generally agree that race is a constructed category; one with no rational or inherent meaning. Although this has long been an unsuccessful aspiration in the United States, in recent years, in many segments of politics and society, it no longer remains even an aspiration. In particular, I look at job requirements that mandate a specific racial identity to successfully carry out the tasks. This BFOQ has become accepted by many courts for a variety of reasons. In this paper, I look at this court activity with an eye towards racial and liberal theory. What does this activity by courts mean for how we understand race? What does it suggest for the historical development of racial constructions, one that upholds liberalism but has swung from quasi-biological to cultural to now job required race-based identities?