on what characteristics might an ethnic group base its identity?
These generally are based on cultural and/or biological factors. Americans tend to see each other in terms of age, economic class, religion, gender, ethnicity, and race. We are usually a member of a particular group for each of these criteria. Which of our group identities is most important varies with the social situation. In America today, gender, ethnicity, and race often have the most far ranging impacts on us as individuals. Ethnicity refers to selected cultural and sometimes physical characteristics used to classify people into groups or categories considered to be significantly different from others.