Racism is the belief that characteristics and abilities can be attributed to people simply

on the basis of their race and that some racial groups are superior to others. Racism
and discrimination have been used as powerful weapons encouraging fear or hatred of
others in times of conflict and war, and even during economic downturns.
In a short introductory video the Understanding Race project from the American
Anthropological Association says race is a powerful idea and an enduring concept,
invented by society. It has also fostered inequality and discrimination for centuries, as
well as influencing how we relate to other human beings:
About racism
Understanding racism
What is racism? | The importance of culture, language and identity | The extent of
racism in Australian schools | References | Glossary
What is racism?
"Irrespective of its sources, racism is racism. Ignorance is no excuse. Insecurity is
not justification...racism in all its forms should be uncompromisingly condemned."
Michael Dodson, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner,
quoted in Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Fourth Report, 1996
Racism is destructive. It disempowers people by devaluing their identity. It destroys
community cohesion and creates divisions in society. It is the opposite of the
democratic principle of equality and the right of all people to be treated fairly.
An understanding of the nature of racism is essential in order to recognise and
counter it successfully. Racism is a global phenomenon which is influenced by a
range of historical, social, political and economic factors. It takes different forms in
different contexts and as a result has been defined in many different ways. In
Australia, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1998) defines it
as:
"Racism is an ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic
groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, that reflects and is
perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in
society."
Racism is the result of a complex interplay of individual attitudes, social values and
institutional practices. It is expressed in the actions of individuals and institutions
and is promoted in the ideology of popular culture. It changes its form in response
to social change.
Racism has its roots in the belief that some people are superior because they
belong to a particular race, ethnic or national group. The concept of race is a social
construct, not a scientific one. (For a discussion of the meaning of the word 'race',
refer to the glossary).

Racist attitudes and beliefs are misconceptions about people based on perceived
racial lines and are often founded on the fear of difference, including differences in
customs, values, religion, physical appearance and ways of living and viewing the
world. This includes negative attitudes towards the use of different languages,
'foreign' accents or the use of non-standard variations of a dominant community
language. [1]
Racist attitudes may be manifested in a number of ways including common
expressions of racial prejudice towards and stereotyped assumptions about other
cultures as well as more extreme forms of prejudice such as xenophobia. These
beliefs are reinforced by prevailing social attitudes towards people who are seen as
different and are often a reflection of the values which underpin social relations and
institutional practices.
These attitudes and beliefs find expression in racist behaviours, both in the actions
of individuals and in the policies and entrenched practices of institutions. Where
these behaviours involve unequal power relationships between individuals or groups
from different cultural backgrounds, racist actions on the part of members of the
dominant culture have the effect of marginalising those from minority groups.
Examples of racist behaviour include ridicule, racist abuse, property damage, racial
harassment, racist propaganda, racial vilification and physical assault. It also
includes practices that exploit or exclude members of particular groups from
aspects of society. Extreme examples of racist behaviour include ethnic cleansing
and genocide.
Racist behaviour may be direct (overt) or indirect (covert) in nature. Direct racial
discrimination is the unfair or unequal treatment of a person or a group on racial
grounds. An example would be an employer who won't hire someone on the basis of
their cultural or linguistic background. This type of discrimination is typically
deliberate. Indirect racial discrimination is seemingly equitable on the surface, but
in practice disadvantages people from particular groups. For example, a rule that
says that all students must not wear anything on their heads could result in
discrimination against students whose religion requires the wearing of headwear.
Indirect racial discrimination can occur even when there is no intention to
discriminate.
Institutional racism (or systemic racism) describes forms of racism which are
structured into political and social institutions. It occurs when organisations,
institutions or governments discriminate, either deliberately or indirectly, against
certain groups of people to limit their rights.
This form of racism reflects the cultural assumptions of the dominant group, so that
the practices of that group are seen as the norm to which other cultural practices
should conform. It regularly and systematically advantages some ethnic and cultural
groups and disadvantages and marginalises others.
Institutional racism is often the most difficult to recognise and counter, particularly
when it is perpetrated by institutions and governments who do not view themselves

as racist. When present in a range of social contexts, this form of racism reinforces
the disadvantage already experienced by some members of the community. For
example, racism experienced by students at school may result in early school
dropout and lower educational outcomes. Together with discrimination in
employment, this may lead to fewer employment opportunities and higher levels of
unemployment for these students when they leave school. In turn, lower income
levels combined with discrimination in the provision of goods and services restrict
access to housing, health care and life opportunities generally. In this way,
institutional racism may be particularly damaging for minority groups and further
restrict their access to services and participation in society.

Racism and gender discrimination

Public
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Posted to marietta64's Journal
By marietta64
On 15 Aot, 2009
Race and gender
Racism affects women in some ways differently from men, and gender discrimination
does not affect all women in the same way. Pragna Patel writing about black and
minority women says that their experiences are seen through the lens of a mutually
exclusive checklist of discrimination. They face over-inclusion and under-inclusion.
Over-inclusion means that the racial dimension of an experience is subsumed within a
gender perspective. For instance, the trafficking of girls and women is perceived as
gender subordination. The fact that certain groups of girls and women are targetted is
not considered in spite of the fact that it is a combination of their gender, race and socioeconomic status that makes them vulnerable to trafficking.
Under-inclusion means that the gender dimension of an experience is ignored. For
instance, where forced sterilisation is seen as racial discrimination and not as sexual
abuse. For a time in the 1970s and 1980s, in the United Kingdoms immigration policies,
virginity testing of young South Asian brides travelling to the UK to get married was
sanctioned. The public outcry against this practice focussed on its racial discrimination
dimension, but not on the fact that it was a violation of womens bodies.

Structural racism
There are parallels between racial discrimination and gender discrimination. Race is not
simply a biological or genetic classification. It is, according to Manning Marable a way
of interpreting differences between people which creates or reinforces inequalities
among them. Racism is not simply a collection of beliefs and attitudes. It is a strategy
and a process of social and political control which functions to exclude opportunities and
benefits to certain groups and serves to exclude the diversity of peoples lives and
rights. In this way, racism is similar to patriarchy.
Structural racism is present in immigration laws and policies, criminal justice systems,
governance structures and health care systems. This kind of racism means that African
and Latino Americans are criminalised more than other races in the United States.
Juries, for instance, are more likely to convict them. Black people are more likely to be
denied mortgages than white people with similar income levels.
The situation for women is compounded and sometimes measures introduced to
combat one form of discrimination paradoxically reinforce another. A woman reporting
domestic violence to the police might be subjected to scrutiny on her immigration status.
Patel writes that the burden that black women bear is multiple. They are under
immense pressures not to expose the wider community to institutional racism, but also,
they are unable to seek redress for abuses that take place against them as women
within their communities.
Domestic violence is one area where structural racism is evident in the United Kingdom.
According to Patel, black and minority women are overpoliced, but their experiences of
domestic violence are underpoliced. Assumptions about South Asian culture and the
need to appear sensitive to cultural differences are used as excuses by the police, who
frequently fail to criminalise domestic violence in cases where South Asian women are
victims. This relativist approach to human rights reinforces patriarchy. The United
Nations has organised several global spaces to combat various forms of discrimination
but the space to address discrimination on the basis of race is probably more fraught
than others with controversy and opposition. The credibility of the space provided by the
WCAR-2001 World Conference Against Racism and WCARII-2009 Durban Review
Conference was called into question after the boycott of this years conference by the
United States, Poland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Germany, Canada
and Australia. They stayed away because they thought that it would be used as an antiIsrael platform since there had been some attempts during the previous conference to

equate Zionism with racism. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad whom Israel
has called a holocaust-denier - was the only head of state to attend the conference. In
his address to the conference, which provoked walk-outs from European delegates,
Ahmedinejad strongly criticised Israel and equated its formation with racism. His speech
was condemned by the UN Secretary General.
This controversy detracted from the importance of the conference which is one of the
few global forums that acknowledge the multiple dimensions of womens oppression and
seek to address them. Nevertheless, it provides a useful framework for states willing to
tackle racism and xenophobia in their different manifestations.