Been swimming since I was a baby. Why not?
Humans, it is generally accepted, evolved in Africa, where hunting typically involved chasing down faster animals on endurance runs. Humans, being hairless and better able to sweat, did not overheat so severely and could run down exhausted game animals. Running ability was, therefore, a key reproductive advantage in Africa at this stage in evolution.
I think the most plausible theory that I've heard wasn't due to muscle density or body fat (although I have heard these) but to differences in Achilles tendon proportions. Supposedly, black people have a proportionately longer Achilles tendon than people of European or Asian backgrounds, which is great when it comes to running but not so good when swimming.
Although it's not inherently racist to say something like this, (any more than it is to note that black people typically have more melanin and curlier hair than Europeans and East Asians, or that Indo-Europeans have a lower incidence of lactose intolerance than black Africans or East Asians) it doesn't make sense in an evolutionary sense in the same way which other differences in adaptations to climate (etc.) in humans do. Humankind has never been a particularly aquatic species and there are no reasons why adaptations to make humans more suited for running should not exist outside Africa. Europeans and Asians needed to hunt prey too, so the adaptations would not die out there. The only possible explanation for its absence, if the difference is genetic, is that it emerged in Africa after groups had left into Asia and Europe.
Of course, it's pretty hard to control for activities which would naturally affect tendon growth in individuals when testing these things. If you take a guy from a landlocked African country who still lives like a hunter-gatherer (in one of the few such societies which still exist) and compare him to a Polynesian or Southeast Asian who swims and dives regularly, the differences between their regular muscle use are likely to make more difference in terms of physique as their genes. Not to mention difference in diet and the effects these have...
Whatever the case, none of the black people I know in London are particularly keen swimmers; by far the best swimmer I know is of Chinese descent. This aversion may be due to culture, but I'd expect that with most of my black friends being from Afro-Caribbean families that this wouldn't be such a significant factor as the African-Americans in the BBC article, certainly the social history is different.
Discussions about racial differences often get mired in racial politics so I'm going to start with the disclaimer that I am an Anthropologist, not a racist. Also, bear in mind that "black people" describes a completely non-homogenous group, both in terms of genetics and culture.Jamash said:I don't really understand the stereotype either.uneek said:I don't understand that stereotype. Doesn't it contradict the other black stereotype that we're all athletic?Jamash said:It's a cultural thing. There's an interesting article on the BBC about why lots of Black Americans can't swim:craftomega said:Everyone should know how to swim.....
I really cant fathom why you would not know....
(Other then being Hydrophobic)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11172054
I know it's a racist trope that black people can't swim (at all, because of genetics), but it's also a true observation that lots of black people can't swim because they've never learned how to, for a multitude of reasons.
I became aware of the stereotype some years ago (I think through the punchline of jokes and comments), but I don't really understand where it came from, apart from observations being touted as evidence of racial differences and superiority/inferiority.
There's some kind of genetics based pseudo-science that says black people's bones and musculature is more dense, so they sink, but that's mainly spouted by closet racists trying to justify their prejudices with science.
While it may be true that black people don't swim as much or as well as other races, that's because of sociological, cultural and geographical/environmental reasons, not race based genetics.
It's quite a hard stereotype to investigate independently without encountering closet or overt racial superiority theories, although that BBC article did address it in a good way without directly identifying the stereotype.
Humans, it is generally accepted, evolved in Africa, where hunting typically involved chasing down faster animals on endurance runs. Humans, being hairless and better able to sweat, did not overheat so severely and could run down exhausted game animals. Running ability was, therefore, a key reproductive advantage in Africa at this stage in evolution.
I think the most plausible theory that I've heard wasn't due to muscle density or body fat (although I have heard these) but to differences in Achilles tendon proportions. Supposedly, black people have a proportionately longer Achilles tendon than people of European or Asian backgrounds, which is great when it comes to running but not so good when swimming.
Although it's not inherently racist to say something like this, (any more than it is to note that black people typically have more melanin and curlier hair than Europeans and East Asians, or that Indo-Europeans have a lower incidence of lactose intolerance than black Africans or East Asians) it doesn't make sense in an evolutionary sense in the same way which other differences in adaptations to climate (etc.) in humans do. Humankind has never been a particularly aquatic species and there are no reasons why adaptations to make humans more suited for running should not exist outside Africa. Europeans and Asians needed to hunt prey too, so the adaptations would not die out there. The only possible explanation for its absence, if the difference is genetic, is that it emerged in Africa after groups had left into Asia and Europe.
Of course, it's pretty hard to control for activities which would naturally affect tendon growth in individuals when testing these things. If you take a guy from a landlocked African country who still lives like a hunter-gatherer (in one of the few such societies which still exist) and compare him to a Polynesian or Southeast Asian who swims and dives regularly, the differences between their regular muscle use are likely to make more difference in terms of physique as their genes. Not to mention difference in diet and the effects these have...
Whatever the case, none of the black people I know in London are particularly keen swimmers; by far the best swimmer I know is of Chinese descent. This aversion may be due to culture, but I'd expect that with most of my black friends being from Afro-Caribbean families that this wouldn't be such a significant factor as the African-Americans in the BBC article, certainly the social history is different.