Unfulfilled Hopes: Genetic Ancestry Testing's Impact on Identity and Anger

• In Event: 452 - Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 05. Race, Science, and Medicine

Abstract

Backed by scientific advancements in DNA genome mapping, Genetic Ancestry Testing (GAT) has become a popular source of information for those interested in their ancestral history. Despite evidence that race is not a product of genetics and serious concerns on the ability of GATs to provide valid ancestry information, the GAT industry continues to grow through the use of racialized language. While academic research has recently explored many of the implications of the expansion of biological-race research, scholarship on the experience of GAT participants is largely comprised of unsystematic, convenience anecdotes covered in the news media and lacks empirical, systematic research.
By analyzing 307 pre/post-test surveys of DNA ancestry testing participants, this paper explores the impact the DNA ancestry testing process on participants. This research shows that participants engaged in GAT experience “new moments” in their racial and ethnic identity in the form of desires and expectations for their ancestry test results. This paper reports trends in the rates of desired and expected ancestry for participants with different racial/ethnic self-identifications and analyzes the impact that confirming or denying these desires and expectations has on a participant’s formation of anger toward their ancestry test results. As most participants discover multi-ancestral GAT results, the implication on forming multi-ancestral desires and expectation is considered. Similar to Mary C. Water’s optional ethnicity, white participant’s form identities of “optional ancestries” by disconnecting their desires from expectations and, under certain conditions where multi-ancestry is desired b not confirmed, experience anger towards GAT results.

Author

• Jonathan P Schreiner, Washington State University