After being around people doing this for a little while, I noticed that when I saw the number 45 in a totally neutral context, I had a negative emotional reaction. I remember a while back it being a trend to call Donald Trump “45” as in the 45th POTUS. Some people try to argue for using a word at all even if it *reminds* them of it being used in a negative context – but then we just need new words to describe those things, and they will also take on negative connotations. It’s just a colloquial turn of phrase about our evolution, where monkey is being used as a synonym with primate. Someone could be talking about being a monkey in that context and even apply it to a black person, because they are applying it to *any* human, and it wouldn’t be racist. It had nothing to do with race at all, it was about her accepting evolution instead of creationism. Like a while ago there was this whole conversation in the comments about whether Joyce was being racist for saying she was a monkey…or a dumb monkey or something. It doesn’t have to be big massive POWER, like governmental or something, it can be as small as “I usually use my snowblower to clear the driveways of my neighbors but that black family moved in and I didn’t do their driveway” That’s racist, because prejudice+action based on prejudice = measurable harm or inconvenience to the party prejudiced against.Ĭontext matters, here too though. Its STILL racist if “Dwayne” ended up being white and not being hired for that reason. If a black boss doesn’t interview “Ian” and does interview “Dwayne” solely based on the name and their perceived perceptions of what those names mean, that is Racist. I can give you examples for all of your questions.įor the Black racist example, it works in the same way. If somebody doesn’t like hanging out with other women for whatever reason, that’s prejudice, but if somebody works in HR and intentionally only pushes forward the resumes of men for consideration, that’s Sexist.Įtc, etc. If they specifically don’t hire black people, or throw away resumes with black-sounding names, that’s racism. If somebody doesnt like black people, they can choose not to sit next to them at the table or cross the street when they walk. Hiring practices are a fantastic example of where prejudice and racism differ. It might make more sense to you to say that Prejudice+Action taken because of said Prejudice=Racism So when you’re looking at lowercase-r racism, it sounds like you’re talking about prejudice. So I’m always still trying to learn and understand more. My college didn’t have any gender studies programs to take, and most of what I’ve learned online through self-study has been…varied, and at times contradictory. I ask these things because I’m really genuinely curious, possibly slightly autistic, and a math person…so my brain really likes the idea of being able to construct a set of definitions and equations to help equitably figure these things out.īut only a single formula “Racism = Prejudice + Power” to say “No black person could ever be racist against a white person, in any way whatsoever” just feels…incomplete. While capital-R Racism might be based on power, does that completely eliminate the existence of lowercase-r racism, that could exist independent of a power dynamic?Ĭan a woman be sexist toward another woman? (or, for instance, some far right women who advocate for repealing women’s voting rights, or assume women are incapable of leadership)Ĭan a man be sexist toward another man? (or is this solely toxic masculinity? Is toxic femininity a thing? Can both men and women express/perpetuate toxic masculinity and toxic femininity, or is it gender specific?)Ĭan a white person be racist toward another white person? A black person racist toward another black person? What if a white person is racist toward an Asian…while in Japan, where they do not hold any power? Sexism = prejudice based on sex (in either direction, such as against male nurses, for instance)īigotry = prejudice based on anything that doesn’t form a convenient -ism. Racism = prejudice based on race, such as I’m just curious how this formula works compared to the meaning of racism I’d personally grew up understanding:
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