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
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
