Summary Race and Social Inequality

Race and Social Inequality

Forms of racial discrimination




Language




Genoicde Exclusion

Racial
discrimination




Physical
Institutional
aggression




- Language: Racist terms, jokes, insults
- Exclusion: People excluded from clubs/social groups and limited opportunities at
work
- Institutional: Social organisations work to disadvantage groups of people
- Physical aggression: Attacks, violence, turning areas into ‘no-go’ zones
- Genocide: Systematic killing of an ethnic groups



Biological and religious theories of race
- Early scientific theories attempted to classify humans on the basis of physical
appearance, assuming that physical difference also implied intellectual and moral
differences
- There has been a legacy of stereotyping races well into contemporary society which
can still be seen in the media and daily life
- Often there is a religious justification used for racist behaviour- e.g. belief that Jews
‘killed Christ’
- Biological theories are generally disregarded by most academics but it is more
difficult to challenge religious belief as it does not require the benefit of scientific
proof