Biological racismBiological racism means that there is superiority among people based on their characteristics, physically or mentally.Biological racism is based on the belief that biological inheritance transmits superior physical and intellectual characteristics. It would therefore be accepted that there are races whose intellectual or physical ability is above other races (“The 18 types”).
Sexual racismSexual racism is a type of racism; is very popular in the world because it is exists widely among people especially the women. It is the ignorance of certain person or group of people because they are different physically or mentally regarding other people.Sexual racism consists in rejecting a person or group of people of a particular genre. Sometimes this type of racism can arise if the person has suffered some kind of physical or psychological damage.
In general this racism usually occurs in women especially if they have been strongly injured or humiliated by a man(“The 18types”).Racism for disabilityRacism for disability means the rejection of certain type of people because they have a special case or a handicap, even denied them from participating in the social life, such as work, having friends, interacting with others…etc. It would discriminate against all those people who have some type of physical or psychological disability, so that they are denied access to housing and employment, even keeping them in poverty (“The 18 Types”).3.2.3.
Reasons behind racism History shows us the wayHistory plays an important part in the way how our lives will goes on. If we allow to ourselves to make the history control us, nothing will change, we have to learn from our past and from our ancestors ‘mistakes. Therefore, letting the bad ideas and the customs of the past to be more awareness in order to create a better future for ourselves and the next generation.According to “Top 10 Reasons”, the irony that underlines human and world history is that history gives us an insight both into our glorious and shameful pasts. History acts as a guidance, which determines our future course of action. Hence, if history itself is misinterpreted and if we are not taught to learn a lesson from our predecessors’ mistakes, history shall repeat itself in its most retrogressive forms. The injustice done to the blacks and the torture inflicted upon them have been recorded over centuries.Lack of awarenessMany efforts have been appeared by certain institutions and historical people to prevent racism in the world.
One of the examples of struggling racism are Nelson Mandela and Maya Angelou, these characters play a fundamental role in fighting racism. They open the eyes of many people and raise their awareness on the effects and results of racism. These famous characters defend their rights and believed in themselves as they are.
Otherwise, the reality is that racism and discrimination still exit till now.We have read about Nelson Mandela and his Anti-Apartheid movement. We know that he has spent 27 years of his life in jail for the cause and recently his death captured a sizeable share of space in the world media. Will it be absolutely unjust to say that Mandela for majority of the people has been just a chapter in the textbooks? Things have changed for the better and The United Nations has taken steps to curb racism around the world. The hard reality though is that at ground levels racial prejudices still exist, even though genocide/widespread torture on racial grounds have been controlled by efforts of many such organizations (Top 10 Reasons ).
Mass media and popular cultureMedia is integrated widely in the spread of racism all over the world. Concerning the advertisement, we can see injustice and forms of racism in the display of the advertisement. For example the advertisement of beauty creams reveals discrimination; prejudice against black people; there is sarcasm from the black skin. This can give us a strong evidence that racism is still alive till today in societies.According to “Top 10 Reasons”, the fixation with fairness creams gives us enough reason to believe that we are a herd of white-obsessed individuals. The moment you switch on to your television sets, you will manage to catch a glimpse of the latest fairness product, with a white-washed face making tall claims of ‘revolutionising’ your life.
This problem is not just restricted to South-Asian countries as advertisements all over the world harp on being fair in order to be called a ‘natural beauty’. An international human rights lawyer, ArsalanIftikhar was quoted saying recently that racism is alive and well in America. He tweeted against the defacing of a GAP advertisement featuring Sikh model WarisAhluwalia in a New York subway station. The company drew flak for the racial stereotyping they professed and had to apologise.Fragmentation/Stratification of societyThe system of classifying people into classes has a great effect on what happens in the world. It has negative sides; it creates division betweenpeople based on their colour, race, religion, ethnicity, social class. Therefore, this is what push someone to practice racial discrimination which can leads to creates tension in the relationships among people in the society.Many people would argue that a classless/undifferentiated society leads to disorder and anarchy.
It is true that such a proposition has its share of disadvantages but it is an undeniable fact that the hierarchy in our society is what propels a person towards practicing racial discrimination. A highly stratified society creates division between a ‘black/brown’ and a ‘white’, a Hindu, Muslim, Christian and Sikh, between a Caucasian and a Latino. Members of a particular group club together and detest any communication/mingling with members of another group. This effort can be read as a defence mechanism against ‘outsiders/invaders’. This in turn leads to unprecedented animosity among people and creates tension( “Top 10 Reasons”).Political insinuationPolitical insinuation is considered as one of the reasons of racism. The division of people according to certain characteristics is also integrated in the field of politics.
In other words, also in the political side there is racism, discrimination, prejudice against certain people. Many people did not enter to the world of politics because of their colour, race, religion, social class, and other aspects.The politics of divide and rule has been predominant in our social and cultural discourse for a long time. In an attempt to consolidate ones’ support among a certain section of people, politicians and our law-makers indulge in the politics of appeasement. Barack Obama broke many cultural and political barriers by becoming the first coloured President of the world’s most powerful country The United States of America(“Top 10 Reasons”).The otherThe word other is created for people whom different physically and mentally; they are not considered like the normal people.
The production of the word other contributes in the downplay of certain humans and their importance in the universe. The word other is integrated in the system of division between people; one of the reasons behind racism.According to” Top 10 Reasons”any person who is different from us in skin colour/habits/practices gets tagged as The Other. The art of Other-ization is often an attempt to validate ones’ own importance in the world order. Individuals seem to have nurtured pre-conceived ideas about the other.
Anything that is unknown/foreign to us is treated as a mark of danger and threat. The racially different person is viewed with apprehension and distrust.Intrinsic human natureIntrinsic human nature is one of the reasons of racism, many people suffer from it; people struggle to overcome supremacy in society created by certain groups in order to make some people different from others in particular aspects. Humans are fighting to disposal discrimination and to be equal in the community.Somewhere deep down, all of us suffer from an inferiority complex.
In order to establish our supremacy, it has trickled down into our senses that we need to show others in a poor light. Racial segregation provides us mortals with this wonderful opportunity. By telling and making a group realize that they are racially inferior to others, one often feels a sadistic pleasure.
The need of the hour is to get rid of such prejudices and treat everyone as an equal and competent fellow-being(“Top 10 Reasons”).
