Is Race A Social Construct?

Plain and simply, I do not think race is socially constructed. The stigmas and stereotypes that revolve around race, indeed, are social constructs, but race itself is not.
To begin with, dictionary.com defines race, among other definitions, as "a human population partially isolated reproductively from other populations, whose members share a greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with other humans." Humans are given a set of genes that characterize individuals; they define skin color, hair color, eye color, bone structure, height, blood type etc. When a collection of people within a geographic region share similar physical characteristics, it is defined as a "race."
Some may argue that genetic variance among humans are minuscule; scientists have discovered that humans may only genetically differ by 0.1%. However, the genetic difference between humans and chimps is only 1.2%, and it goes without saying that there is a great disparity in physical appearance between humans and chimps. Point is, what seems to be minute genetic variance actually results in major physical differences, and it allows for the categorization of humans into subgroups based solely on physical characteristics. This plain categorization is purely objective.

When we base race purely on genetic variance and the resulting phenotypes, we remove all social implications and connotations associated with individual races. When we place race in context of society, however, stereotypes and stigmas form- it is these that are social constructs. Throughout history, race has been used to alienate, to segregate, and to discriminate groups of people. As demonstrated in the graphic novel Maus, Adolf Hitler subverts an entire population, claiming that "the Jews are undoubtedly a race, but they are not human." This history has led us to, at the present time, doubt race classifications of people based on physical appearance. While society is moving away from generalizing groups of people, it is worth distinguishing the difference between race and the connotations that come with race. As quoted by Will McAvoy in the TV series The Newsroom,"the first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one." There exists a problem in the social constructs based on race, not in race itself. Race does not define any individual. People should, therefore, embrace their race, not the socially constructed connotations that are paired with it, as a biological component of their complex individuality.