What are the types of racism?

Individual or interpersonal racism involves the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours of individuals. While this type of racism is sometimes overt it also includes ‘casual' or ‘every day' racism, incidents that aren't necessarily violent or consciously malicious but perpetuate negative stereotypes about different groups through jokes and offhand remarks.

Examples include:

Avoiding contact with members of a target group

Ignoring, silencing, and belittling individuals who are experiencing prejudice and racism

Offensive jokes, graffiti, emails, and posters

Insults, name-calling, verbal abuse and threats

Hate crimes or violence directed at a person based on skin colour, cultural group, national or ethnic origin

Comments which perpetuate negative stereotypes about particular groups

Institutional or systemic racism refers to the laws, policies, practices, rules and procedures that operate within organisations, societal structures and the broader community to the advantage of the dominant group or groups and to the detriment and disadvantage of other groups. Institutional racism may be intentional or unintentional.

Examples include:

Stereotyping all members of a particular group as being a particular way

Failing or refusing to provide services to a particular group or providing culturally inappropriate services

Assuming that members of particular groups would not be interested in particular positions based on stereotypes and therefore failing to offer them promotion, mentoring and professional development opportunities

Ignoring important cultural differences which may impact on students' learning

Cultural racism is the social production and reproduction of values and standards which privilege one group's cultural heritage and identity over those of another. Cultural racism includes viewing conformity to the dominant culture as normal and desirable. This bias results in the people from non-dominant cultures and their customs and practices being viewed as unimportant, inferior, or simply invisible.

Examples include:

Advertising which represents only white people as the standard for beauty

Omitting different cultural perspectives and contributions such as those of Indigenous Australians' from academic fields of study

Media such as television and film portraying only white characters

Lack of availability of beauty or health products appropriate for groups of people other than the dominant group (i.e. make up for darker skin tones, ‘skin colour' band aids for those with non-white skin)

Expectation for the use of the dominant culture's language

Expectation to dress similarly to the dominant culture

Internalised racism occurs when people targeted by racism come to believe that the stereotypes and prejudices of racism are valid. They may act out this belief by oppressing others of their own group, or by devaluing themselves through feelings of shame, self-hatred, isolation, powerlessness, self-doubt and despair.

Examples include:

Expressing rage, hatred, indignation, and powerlessness at one's own group

Criticising and invalidating one's own group leading to divisiveness and disunity

Attacking, criticising or maligning a member of one's own group who takes on a leadership role

Feeling ashamed of anything about their group that differs too much from white middle class standards of skin colour, dress, music, language, etc.

Sorry for the long text!