Racism

Posted: November 27th, 2013

Racism

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Racism

Introduction

            Racism can be defined as the process of mistreating an individual either directly or indirectly due to his or her race, skin color, or ethnic background. It is worth noting that racism is different from sexism, because racism is based on color while sexism is based on the sex or gender of the person. In America, racism is believed to have started centuries ago. In the colonial era, the colored or black people were mistreated and they had to work as slaves for the whites. For women it was worse than for the men. Women were seen to be inferior to the men in all the cultures. This was particularly bad for the black women. This has been transferred even into the recent times that we are living in. Therefore, racial discrimination is more prominent on black women as compared to white women when the two races are compared and contrasted since time immemorial.

Discussion

            In general, whites were seen to be superior to the blacks. This notion was transferred to all corners of the world making the blacks seem inferior. Additionally, the white women were seen to be superior to the black men. However, after many years, men in general irrespective of their color are seen to be more superior to the women. However, among the women, the white women are seen to be more superior to the black women (Thistle, 2011). This means that there is racism among the women and yet when it comes to sexism they come together to fight for their rights. Therefore, the way black women are treated is very different from the way white women are treated. This shows that there is discrimination across the racial divide. However, both black and white women posses some similarities in the way they are treated.

Women in general, black or white, have been receiving discrimination on a similar level for many years. For instance, women have gone a long way to fight for their civil rights. Both black and white women were not allowed to vote in the past. In addition, they were not allowed to be leaders to represent there people. This shows that they were oppressed and that they were not given their civil rights. Additionally, they were not allowed to practice their civil duty. This fact shows that women were generally oppressed the same way. Additionally, it shows that there was racism directed towards the woman.

Another similarity in the treatment given to both the white and black women is noticeable in how they were denied the freedom of speech. In the past, women were not allowed to say anything or even contribute their ideas that could have been productive to the society. They were seen as inferior to the men. Additionally, the black men got the freedom of speech to contribute in the process of creating the constitution before the women did. This shows that the women were oppressed. Therefore, it is all the women who were sidelined and not a specific group of women.

In relation to the employment opportunities, the women do not have high chances of getting the prestigious jobs. For instance, in the government, not very many women are employed in those jobs involving leadership roles. The society believes that a woman is inferior or she is weak, thus she cannot become a leader. In addition, many communities consider the role of the women to be that of doing regular chores in the house while their male counterparts earn their living. This shows that there is a similarity in how both the white women and the black women are treated when they seek opportunities in the employment market.

Still in the employment market, women in the same level as the men in a company are poorly paid as compared to their male counterparts. For example, in a company, a male manager may get a higher salary than a female manager may and yet they are performing similar duties in the company. It does not matter whether it is a black woman or a white woman the payment is usually lower than that of the men. This is an indication of women being oppressed in the same way despite their color of the skin.

On a social level, women are seen to be inferior and their place in the society is at home. Women are considered as having to rear their children and look after their husbands and this is their only role. When a woman tries to stand up among the men, she faces many hurdles before becoming successful in the field of men. This is true because the society tends to discourage those women who try to become professional women. In this case, it can be seen that the women are given the same treatment whether black or white when they are trying to strive and excel in the society.

On the other hand, black women are not accorded the same treatment as white women. The first difference in racism among women can be noted in the workplace. The white women are more likely to get higher position than the black women are in the same company. For instance, a white woman will be promoted quickly to higher position than the black women who are even more educated than the white women are. Additionally, surveys shows that a large percentage of the black women hold subordinate positions as compared to white women (Back & Solomos, 2000). This shows that white women are seen to be more superior to their black counterparts. Therefore, this means racism is directed more towards the black women. This shows that the black women are treated differently than the white women.

When it comes to those people who are affected by unemployment among the women, the black women are the majority. Statistics indicate that in 1997, the number of unemployed black women was twice the number of employed white women (Back & Solomos, 2000). This is because not many companies were willing to employ black women, but they were willing to employ the white women. Additionally, majority of the black women who are suffering from unemployment do not have husbands to help them even in the additionally tough times of they economy. Therefore, they end up taking prostitution as there means of survival and they are mistreated when they are on the streets. Therefore, black women are not accorded with the same treatment as the white women because of their race.

In the same aspect of differences in the workforce, the black women are usually surveyed as the candidates who are likely to take odd jobs in a company. On the other hand, white women are not likely to take odd jobs in a company irrespective of their educational background (Back & Solomos, 2000). In this case, many companies have been employing black women to positions in which they are overqualified. Additionally, black women who are in the same level with the white women are poorly paid. This is because they are viewed as inferior due to their color.

In the society, the black women are likely to engage themselves in social evils due to the status they have acquired in the society. Different surveys show that black women are more likely to engage themselves in prostitution as compared to the white women (Back & Solomos, 2000). In America, the black women are seen as inferior and the only job that they can do in order to survive in a society is to be come prostitutes. On the other hand, the white women are supposed to marry or become professional women in a society. Therefore, according to racism, the black women are treated differently as compared to the white women.

In the past, black women were seen as an invisible group where their needs and rights were ignored completely. When they were compared to the white women, they were seen as people who did not have rights of their own. What they said meant nothing in a society. They had to fight for both equality between the men and the women, and at the same time, they had to fight for their rights. On the other hand, the white women only had to fight for their rights. This shows that there was an amount of racism directed towards the black women. Additionally, it shows that the black women were treated different as compared to the white women in relation to racism.

In addition, white women were mistreating the black women in the different organizations that they had formed to fight for their rights. All the women in American had come together to fight for their overall rights. For them to be able to fight for their rights they had to form groups that were going to spearhead their grievances. However, in these groups the white women saw themselves to be superior to the black women. They did not give the black women a chance to air out their views. On top of this, they were only fighting for their rights living the black women in the dark.

When it comes to the judicial system, the black woman is not treated equally as compared to the white woman. For instance, when a crime is committed against a white women, rape or murder, it bores more weight than when a crime is committed against a black woman. The gravity of the crime, the harm or personal damage caused to the white woman contains more weight as compared to the black woman and yet the crime committed is the same (Thistle, 2011). Racial discrimination is therefore apparent as black women are considered as not having opinions or feelings. Therefore, this shows that there is a big difference between the black women and the white women in relation to how they are treated.

Still in the judicial system, when a white man rapes a white woman, the case is taken seriously and the white man is likely to be jailed for rape. Additionally, the case has more weight because the society treats the white woman special. On the other hand, if a white man rapes a black woman the case is will not be taken seriously. It will be seen as if the black woman is lying and she wants something from the white man. This is because the black woman is believed to be socially evil and she does not possess the correct morals standards as expected by the society. This situation shows that the black women are not given the same treatment as the white women due to their race. Therefore, the black women are treated different from the white women because of their race.

When the black women formed their own groups to fight for their rights, they were being sidelined. When the government of the US held a conference for the different organizations, the black women organizations were not invited. On the contrary, the white women were often invited to these conferences (Thistle, 2011). This shows that when it came to representation in the government activities or any other activity the white women were more represented as compared to the black women. In this situation, there is an amount of racism directed towards the black women. Therefore, the black women were treated differently as compared to the white women due to their race in the society.
Another difference among the black women and the white women is slavery. In the time of slavery, the blacks were the one who were used as slaves. They used to work for the white in the odd jobs. The black women used to work mostly in the houses as house help for the white women. On the contrary, the white women were not taken as slaves. They used to live in the houses as queens and order around the black as they were working for them (Thistle, 2011). Clearly, this shows that the black women were more oppressed due to their race as compared to the white women. For this reason, black women were treated different from the white women.

Currently the white women are seen as women of noble character. In a situation where the truth is required, a white woman is likely to be believed than a black woman. This is because black women and the black race in general are seen to be of people who are not of sound character. On the other hand, the white women are believed to people of high integrity. This form of treatment shows that black women are usually sideline in a case where there is a crime committed by the white women. Therefore, the black women are totally treated different from the white women.

Lastly, the black women have been recently discriminated due to their race. There was an article, which indicted that white women are more beautiful than the black women are. It created a lot of tension and it had to be removed (Jos, 2011). Although the article was a first, the issue has been there in the society. Many men view the white women to be beautiful and to posses good morals as compared to the black women. Men believe that the black women are not beautiful and they do not posses the moral values that are acceptable in the society. This is form of treatment is very disturbing for the black women because they are seen as the black sheep of the society.

The most surprising thing is that the white women still believe that there is no racism between them and the back women. The white women strongly object to that fact and they indicate that there is no way somebody who is oppressed can oppress another person. Additionally, they indicate that when they are fighting for their rights, they not only fight for the white women rights but for the women in general. In contrast with the white women, the black women do not feel the same. They feel sidelined by all the parties even the white women. They believe that the white women are accorded with special treatment in all the social and economical aspects.

Conclusion

            Racism is described as the mistreatment of somebody based on his or her race. This is where people perceive to be inferior to the others because of their race. Since the colonial America, the time of slavery the black race has been seen to be inferior to the rest of the races. However, the black men have been able to fight for their rights even they have not fully achieved they are better of than the black women are. Among the women, the black women have been discriminated against racially because of their skin even by the other white women. However, there have been similarities in treatment given to the women in general but the fact remains that the black women do not get the same treatment as the white women. In the employment market, the judicial system and even in the society the black women do not get the same treatment as compared to the white women. Therefore, the black women are racially discriminated by every body in the society and before they achieve the correct reputation as the rest of the people in the society, it will take along time.

References

Back, L., & Solomos, J. (2000). Theories of race and racism: a reader. New York, NY: Routledge.

Jos, (2011). Racist Psychology today article claims black women are objectively less attractive than the other women are. Feministing. Retrieved from http://feministing.com/2011/05/16/racist-psychology-today-article-claims-black-women-are-objectively-less-attractive-than-other-women/

Thistle, (2011). But Some of Us Are Brave: A History of Black Feminism in the United States. Thistle. Retrieved from: http://www.mit.edu/~thistle/v9/9.01/6blackf.html