This article is a research paper asking the question of whether cultural essentialism has primarily negative effects. They distinguish between biological and cultural essentialism. Biological essential is the idea that different races have fundamentally different biology, and should be treated accordingly. Cultural essentialism is the idea that different races and/ or ethnic groups have fundamental differences within their culture that define them. The paper does multiple studies, some of which focus on predominantly white people and some which focus on ethnic and racial minorities. The study concluded by saying that biological essentialism only had benefits for the predominant group (men, white people, etc), while cultural essentialism if done the right way can be sued to help promote social justice and unity within groups.
