11.2. Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination

Stereotype

Oversimplified ideas about groups of people, which can be based on various characteristics like race, ethnicity, age, gender, or sexual orientation.

Prejudice

Refers to beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and attitudes held about a group, originating outside of actual experience.

Discrimination

Consists of actions against a group of people, based on various indicators like age, religion, health, or race.

Racism

A type of prejudice involving set beliefs about a specific racial group, often used to justify the belief in racial superiority or inferiority.

Racial steering

Real estate agents directing prospective homeowners towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race.

Unprejudiced nondiscriminators

Individuals who are open-minded, tolerant, and accepting, not holding biases and treating everyone fairly regardless of differences.

Unprejudiced discriminators

People who, without realizing it, engage in discriminatory behavior, like practicing sexism by excluding certain groups from opportunities based on traditional norms.

Prejudiced nondiscriminators

Those who harbor prejudiced beliefs but do not act upon them, such as individuals who hold racist views but do not discriminate in their actions.

Prejudiced discriminators

Individuals who actively express prejudice through actions like making derogatory comments or committing hate crimes.

White privilege

Refers to the advantages and benefits that white people receive simply by being white, often without realizing or acknowledging them.

Feminist sociologist who described examples of white privilege, like finding makeup matching skin tone easily and dealing with authority figures of the same race.

Peggy McIntosh

Residential School System

A system established in the 19th century to educate and assimilate Aboriginal children into European culture.