On 23 August, academic Priyamvada Gopal who specialises in postcolonial studies (including race and Empire), posted the below, earning the following community note:

If you believe in the existence biological racial differences, you are a racist.

Hope that clears it up.

— Priyamvada Gopal © (@PriyamvadaGopal) August 23, 2026

Gopal has since disputed the validity of the community note. Self-described ‘race realists’, meanwhile, have freaked out over the initial comment. So what’s going on here?

Race

There are no doubt many who have no idea what Gopal is talking about nor what the community note is supposedly disputing. What it comes down to is the meaning of ‘race’.

The concept of ‘race’ is only applied to one species on this planet, and that’s human beings. The reason for this is that there’s no meaningful definition of ‘race’ (as opposed to terms like ‘species’ and ‘genus’). As the BBC reported in 2025:

When scientists unveiled the first draft of the Human Genome Project 25 years ago, it seemed to deliver the final word on some antiquated myths about race. It provided definitive evidence that racial groupings have no biological basis. In fact, there is more genetic variation within racial groups than between them. Race, it showed, is a social construct.

To clarify further, when we think of someone belonging to a ‘race’, we’re making assumptions based on skin colour and facial features. The thing is, skin colour and facial features don’t tell us anything about people besides what they look like. White skin is no indicator of fitness; black skin is no indicator of intelligence, and an eye with epicanthal folds is no indication of empathy. In other words, the signifiers of race don’t tell us anything interesting about biology, which is why race is not used as a biological distinction.

History

So – why is any of this important?

It’s important because there are those who claim that races are biologically distinct, and there are all manner of assumptions you can make about people based on their skin colour. These ‘race realists’ or ‘race scientists’ generally want to convince you that certain races are inferior – usually intellectually – and that other races are superior.

Ironically, these racial supremacists often look like this:

‘Race realist’ who launched Jason Arday hate campaign smears vigil

Explaining the origins of race science, the BBC note it was the Carl Linnaeus — the “father of modern biology” — who came up with the term. Linnaeus also created the terms ‘genus’ and ‘species’ which are still used today, and apply to all living beings. Linnaeus’s races included the following:

• Asiaticus – people with “yellow skin”, and straight black hair.
• Americanus – indigenous Americans, with “red skin” also with straight black hair.
• Africanus – “black skinned” people with tight curls in their hair.
• Europeaus – “white skinned” with blue eyes.

As the BBC added:

Even if this colour scheme were true, Linnaeus’ original descriptions only began with physical traits. What he included in later editions of Systemae Naturae, which became the basis for scientific racism, were portrayals of behaviours. Asiaticus were described as “haughty, greedy and ruled by opinions” while Americanus were labelled “stubborn, zealous, regulated by customs”. Africanus women were denoted as being “without shame” while both sexes were said to be “crafty, lazy, and governed by caprice”. He described Europaeus as “gentle, acute, inventive, governed by laws”.

By any definition in any age, these assertions are racist and entirely incorrect.

Retrograde

Giving you an idea of how the concept of biological race doesn’t hold up, this is one of the replies to Gopal:

The 100 fastest 10,000m runners were born here: https://t.co/S4lqcnuYU0 pic.twitter.com/n35k8efYML

— Adam Hibbert (@adhib) August 24, 2026

If race was a consistent indicator of other biological traits, the 100 fastest 10,000m runners would be evenly spread across the entire African continent – not tied to one corner of it. There are also several reasons why successful 10,000m runners come from the same region of Kenya — chief among them that the area is 8,000 feet above sea level, and high altitude training is ideal for long distance runners.

No one is arguing that it’s impossible for biological differences to manifest in distinct populations over time. This is why certain physical differences exist between ethnic groups after all. What scientists are saying is that these physical differences are no indicator of intelligence, fitness, or personality. And the people who claim otherwise are — as Gopal says — are the very definition of racist.

Featured image via the Canary

By Willem Moore

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