Pick a Box, Any Box: The Influence of Commercialized Genetics on Caribbean Biosociality

Abstract

This is an interview with three Caribbean international students at Stanford University, covering how commercialized genetics may shape or change understandings of identity yet cannot fully capture the nuances of identity formation. Through personal stories and interviews, we can specifically monitor how the commercialization of genetics has influenced the ways in which people understand both their identities and the field's capabilities. Caribbean populations are of particular interest given the combination of their complex colonial past and their strong sense of ethnic identity and unity. These interviews gauged how the interviewees perceived genetics as a field, as well as how information discovered via ancestry testing would influence the way they self-identify. The interviews revealed that commercialized genetics may shape or change understandings of identity, yet it cannot fully capture the complexities of identity formation. This study uncovered nuances in the interviewees' understandings of "being mixed" and genetic kinship, revealing the ability of commercialized genetics to re-create their identities. This information allows for a closer monitoring of biosociality and gives insight into the way specific populations interact with changing cultural categorizations, as well as the "exactness" of science and inexactness of identity.