Stigma by Prejudice

In this paper we will get acquainted with such concepts as prejudice, racism and sexism as well as they are related to each other and try to draw a parallel between those concepts. Also, we will analyze and compare two different articles regarding this topic and try to understand their influence on the behavior patterns of people of different races.

Racism – discrimination based on race, includes ideas about the initial division of races into higher and lower levels, where the former dominate the latter. One of the beliefs of racism is that race affects the character, thinking and mental abilities of an individual. The psyche is arranged in such a way that in order to respect themselves, to feel calm and dignified, most people are forced to overlook some of their properties that they actually possess.

Sexism is an ideology that affirms the unequal status and different rights of men and women. If men rule, this is patriarchy, and if women, matriarchy. Currently, all known societies in the world are patriarchal, therefore sexist. Researchers usually consider the problem of sexism by analogy with the problem of racism, but the similarities here are very distant. First, if the history of the relations of racial groups is relatively short, then the relationship of genders naturally lasts as long as the human race exists. Secondly, racial groups can exist independently of each other and be self-sufficient.

The terms as prejudice, racism, sexism – these terms are often used to refer to the same phenomena. Prejudice is an installation. It is a certain combination of feelings, inclinations to certain actions and beliefs. Consequently, prejudice is a combination of feelings, behavioral tendencies (tendencies to certain actions) and cognition (beliefs). A person who has prejudice may not like those who are different from him and discriminate them with their actions, believing that they are dangerous and ignorant.

Like many attitudes, prejudices have a complex structure; they may even include an element such as sympathy, expressed in the form of patronage, which, however, only worsens the position of the person to whom it is directed. Negative assessments as an indicator of prejudice may be associated with emotional associations, the need to justify their own behavior or negative beliefs, which are called stereotypes. To think stereotypically is to generalize.

Prejudice is a negative attitude; discrimination – negative behavior. Often discriminatory behaviors are attitudes based on prejudice. Racism and sexism are institutionalized discriminatory practices, and they remain so even when they are not associated with prejudice. Prejudice is a biased negative attitude. Discrimination is called unjustifiably negative behavior. The terms racism and sexism designate manifestations of the biased attitudes of the individual.

In Article 1, we can observed stigma transmission effect of prejudice where white women are threatens by prejudice which is directed against a group of African Americans and Latinos. In 4 studies out of 5, we observed that white women can be affirmed by racism because of assumption that they are afraid of African Americans and Latinos because of stereotypes that they are associated with aggression and African Americans and Latinos seen as less intelligent and competent individuals.

Therefore there was the effect of stigma transmission by transmitting prejudice whereas there was no such effect for white women. Moreover, if the subjects are asked about their racial prejudices, most disagree with the fact that they have racial prejudices. However, the true feelings of the respondents towards members of a different race may be somewhat different. That is, in essence, forms of racial rejection, hard forms of racial discrimination weaken over time, but do not completely disappear.

According to the Article 2, the concept of stigma is seen as a sign of shame, as a sign of serious condemnation. In our society, people lack compassion that they cannot accept people who are different from them. Consequently stigma and prejudice can lead to discrimination, prejudice discrimination as a sexism, racism are more familiar and recognizable as discrimination than discrimination due to stigma. Doing research between prejudice and discrimination, we can say that racism was associated with discrimination, but sexism is not. We know that the propensity for sexism, racism lies within us all, and that we must fight these prejudices.

As can be seen from the above materials, the problem of racism is more complex and goes beyond political or economic factors. Despite the fact that the scientific attempt to justify racism showed its complete inconsistency, racism did not cease to exist. The reason for this is in the social and psychological properties of both the individual and the groups that are affected by the mechanisms that promote competition and then hostility between different groups.

The emergence of racism in society is based on a number of reasons, one of which is the mentality of this ethnic group, others – economic factors and the standard of living in the state. Also of great importance are the social factors of a low level of culture and awareness of citizens of the country, which are additional catalysts of racism.

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