Racialization

In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization is often borne out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes identity for the purpose of continued domination. While it is often borne out of domination, the racialized and ethnicized group often gradually identifies with and even embraces the ascribed identity and thus becomes a self-ascribed race or ethnicity. These processes have been common across the history of imperialism, nationalism, and racial and ethnic hierarchies. In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization is often borne out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes identity for the purpose of continued domination. While it is often borne out of domination, the racialized and ethnicized group often gradually identifies with and even embraces the ascribed identity and thus becomes a self-ascribed race or ethnicity. These processes have been common across the history of imperialism, nationalism, and racial and ethnic hierarchies. Racial categories have historically been used as a way to allow an oppressive figure or group discriminate against other groups or individuals which were seen as different from that of the oppressor. In nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe, artwork was a common form of racialization which targeted countries in the Middle East and Asia. The artwork, predominantly paintings, were portrayed in order to instill prejudice in the Western populations through sexualizing and manipulating images. One of the most prominent examples of Orientalist work in art is a piece by Eugène Delacroix titled Women of Algiers in their Apartment. Dating back to 1834, it portrays three women resting in a harem in exotic clothing while an African woman is dressed in plain clothing, depicting her role as a servant. Fine textiles, hookahs, and other paraphernalia adorn the room, which represents a European fantasy of an exotic scene. Attempts to portray these cultures as strange, foreign and exotic through Orientalism led to intolerance towards the Arab and Asian communities in Europe and the United States. Many North African and Middle Eastern countries, such as Tunisia, Algeria, and Syria, were colonized by European nations. These countries were not fully independent until the mid-twentieth century, a time in which globalization began to rise both economically and politically. With the rise of globalization came an expanding cultural influence and an increase in immigration to Western nations. New cultures, ethnic groups, and ideals have contributed to the process of racialization which is familiar in modern society. Racialization is a long process, and members of each group are categorized based on their perceived differences relative to those who are considered elite within a society. Another major contributor to the process of racialization is the media. News outlets, films, television shows, and other forms of public communication portray racial groups to often reflect stereotypes which contribute to the public’s opinion of certain cultural groups. These opinions and stereotypes may become institutionalized and racial groups must then encounter the institutionalized racism that is a result. Dominant groups in a society tend to racialize others because new cultural and racial groups are seen as threatening to their society. These threats instill fear into the dominant members of the society due to the possibility of downward mobility or perceived loss of national security. While threats can be imagined or real, they are most prominent when there is some other issue in the nation, such as a poorly performing economy. The effects of racialization are often more harmful to racial and ethnic groups than the actual racialization itself, a few examples being systemic and structural racism. Further significant research in this area is aiding politicians and policy makers in creating a more equal society that embraces and supports different racial and ethnic groups. The process of racialization can affect newly arriving immigrants as well as their second-generation children in the United States. The concept of racialized incorporation bridges the idea of assimilation with critical race studies in general and the concept of racialization in particular. While immigrants may possess specific ethnic and cultural identities associated with their countries of origin, once they arrive in the U.S., they are incorporated into a society that is largely organized along the lines of race. The racial hierarchy in the United States is pervasive in many aspects of life including housing, education, and employment. The racialized incorporation perspective argues that regardless of the ethnic and cultural differences across immigrant groups, racial identification is the ultimate and primary principle of social organization in the United States. So an immigrant from Sweden and his/her U.S. born second-generation children are likely to be incorporated into the White mainstream, while an immigrant from Ghana and his/her U.S. born second-generation children are likely to be incorporated into the Black community. Because the lived experiences of Whites and Blacks in U.S. society diverge in most areas of social life, the racialized category that immigrants and their children are incorporated into will largely determine their experiences and opportunities in the United States. The concept of racialized incorporation is relatively new and was recently applied in a study of self-employment in the United States. An ongoing scholarly debate covers the racialization of religious communities. Adherents to Judaism and Islam can be racialized when they are portrayed as possessing certain physical characteristics, despite many individual adherents to those religions not visibly sharing in those characteristics. This racialization extends to the descendants of the adherents, even though those descendants may often convert away from active observance of the religion of their forebears but also retain the lingering cultural aspects of the religion for familial and community purposes. The most immediate effect of the racialization of religion is said to be the internalization of such racialization by the descendants of adherents, whereby the descendants of adherents accept and internalize their religiously-influenced familial culture as an ethnoracial distinction and identity. One of the applications of this racialization is nationalism, whereby the created race seeks to assert cultural and national aspirations which are compatible and accommodating to other groups. Another one of the applications of this racialization is racism and discrimination, whereby those who are racialized are barred from participation in any public or private function of society due to the negative 'attributes' of the race assigned to them. The racialization of labor is said to involve the segregation and appointment of workers based on perceived ethnic differences. This racialization of labor is said to produce a hierarchical arrangement which limits employee agency and mobility based on their race. The process of racialization is reinforced through presupposed, stereotypical qualities which are imposed upon the racialized person by the racializer. Racialization is then normalized by the promotion of 'colorblindness' through the use of 'soft' language which avoids highlighting ethnic differences. The racialization of labor specially limits labor mobilization up the workforce ladder based on race. Dominant racialized labor groups, mainly White/European workers, are generally presented more privileges than subordinate labor groups, mainly Black or Hispanic workers. The subordinate labor groups face the denial of basic citizenship rights, more exploitation, and inferior working conditions. Furthermore, they are less likely to move up in rank within a company or advance to a higher job position. Members of the dominant race (e.g., whites) benefit from the privileges of whiteness, whether these are material or psychological, and are maintained and reproduced within social systems As a result, immigrant workers, especially Latino and Black workers, experience poor working conditions in day labor work. Day laborers experience 'race' and this has impacted their integration into the labor market.