Post by Justbec on Jan 23, 2023 16:48:22 GMT -5
Can white people experience racism?
In its most simplistic definition, racism is prejudice or discrimination directed at someone of a different race – based on the belief that your own race is superior.
Taking this definition at its word, then, would suggest that it is possible for a person of any race to experience racism if someone treats them badly for this reason – even white people.
But this definition of racism leaves out one crucial element: The power structures that uphold and perpetuate racism.
Racism doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists within a hierarchical structure with power at its core. Racism only works because one group has power and other groups do not.
And it is white people who – historically, and in the West at least – hold the power when it comes to racial divides, thanks to centuries of Eurocentric beliefs and structures that continue to privilege and centre whiteness.
Think about it in terms of the effects
If an ethnic minority person treats a white person badly because of inherent prejudice against white people, that is wrong and completely unacceptable, but the wider ramifications are likely to be less significant than if it were the other way around.
If a white person treats an ethnic minority badly because of the color of their skin, not only is it morally wrong, it can also have serious and dangerous implications for the life and prospects of that person.
Prejudice against white people might make individuals feel bad, but prejudice against ethnic minorities can lead to structural, systemic and lasting disadvantages (in education, healthcare, disproportionate policing, career prospects, among other areas), and this is what makes it racism.
White people would only experience racism if the existing power structures enabled prejudice against them to cause this kind of widespread negative impact – as it does for people of color. But that’s not how society currently works.
Can white people experience racial prejudice?
In a word, yes. Stereotypes and negative beliefs about white people are examples of racial prejudice – but not racism.
Which, to be clear, is still wrong. Prejudice directed at any group based on a set of pre-conceived assumptions is never a good thing, and almost always leads to behavior that is hurtful and causes harm.
The difference between racial prejudice and racism is the lack of any power structure weighted in favour of a particular race.
‘There is no doubt that white people can experience discrimination, harassment and be the victim of prejudice,’ explains psychologist and anti-racism scholar Guilaine Kinouani.
‘We could even argue in some contexts they can be the victims of racial hatred. However, no matter how condemnable these acts or attitudes are, we should be careful, as has been now argued for decades, not to confuse individual acts of prejudice or bigotry with racism, which, as a system, is ubiquitous and determinative of life course, opportunities and experiences.’
Why white people can't experience racism
White people can indeed face stereotypical assumptions based on their skin colour and hence encounter racial prejudice. But this cannot be called racism, because of the inherent systemic imbalance of power between those with lighter skin colour and people of colour.
Racial prejudice can affect people on an individual level, but it would not have the same effect on a larger social and cultural level because it is only when stereotypes are bolstered by power, such as through a eurocentric model of thinking, that it creates systemic and structural racism and oppression that people of color have encountered throughout history.
Dr Pragya Agarwal, author and behavioral scientist
Guilaine adds that racism as a system is supported by institutional power and historical myths about the socially constructed inferiority of certain groups; people of color.
‘It is a system which has a history spanning several centuries, a system which has become part of the very fabric of our society and, which ultimately continues to place increased worth on the lives and bodies of white people,’ explains Guilaine.
link
In its most simplistic definition, racism is prejudice or discrimination directed at someone of a different race – based on the belief that your own race is superior.
Taking this definition at its word, then, would suggest that it is possible for a person of any race to experience racism if someone treats them badly for this reason – even white people.
But this definition of racism leaves out one crucial element: The power structures that uphold and perpetuate racism.
Racism doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It exists within a hierarchical structure with power at its core. Racism only works because one group has power and other groups do not.
And it is white people who – historically, and in the West at least – hold the power when it comes to racial divides, thanks to centuries of Eurocentric beliefs and structures that continue to privilege and centre whiteness.
Think about it in terms of the effects
If an ethnic minority person treats a white person badly because of inherent prejudice against white people, that is wrong and completely unacceptable, but the wider ramifications are likely to be less significant than if it were the other way around.
If a white person treats an ethnic minority badly because of the color of their skin, not only is it morally wrong, it can also have serious and dangerous implications for the life and prospects of that person.
Prejudice against white people might make individuals feel bad, but prejudice against ethnic minorities can lead to structural, systemic and lasting disadvantages (in education, healthcare, disproportionate policing, career prospects, among other areas), and this is what makes it racism.
White people would only experience racism if the existing power structures enabled prejudice against them to cause this kind of widespread negative impact – as it does for people of color. But that’s not how society currently works.
Can white people experience racial prejudice?
In a word, yes. Stereotypes and negative beliefs about white people are examples of racial prejudice – but not racism.
Which, to be clear, is still wrong. Prejudice directed at any group based on a set of pre-conceived assumptions is never a good thing, and almost always leads to behavior that is hurtful and causes harm.
The difference between racial prejudice and racism is the lack of any power structure weighted in favour of a particular race.
‘There is no doubt that white people can experience discrimination, harassment and be the victim of prejudice,’ explains psychologist and anti-racism scholar Guilaine Kinouani.
‘We could even argue in some contexts they can be the victims of racial hatred. However, no matter how condemnable these acts or attitudes are, we should be careful, as has been now argued for decades, not to confuse individual acts of prejudice or bigotry with racism, which, as a system, is ubiquitous and determinative of life course, opportunities and experiences.’
Why white people can't experience racism
White people can indeed face stereotypical assumptions based on their skin colour and hence encounter racial prejudice. But this cannot be called racism, because of the inherent systemic imbalance of power between those with lighter skin colour and people of colour.
Racial prejudice can affect people on an individual level, but it would not have the same effect on a larger social and cultural level because it is only when stereotypes are bolstered by power, such as through a eurocentric model of thinking, that it creates systemic and structural racism and oppression that people of color have encountered throughout history.
Dr Pragya Agarwal, author and behavioral scientist
Guilaine adds that racism as a system is supported by institutional power and historical myths about the socially constructed inferiority of certain groups; people of color.
‘It is a system which has a history spanning several centuries, a system which has become part of the very fabric of our society and, which ultimately continues to place increased worth on the lives and bodies of white people,’ explains Guilaine.
link