A discrimination is a serious societal concern that manifests itself through differential treatment of individuals based on characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, social status or deficiency. When motivated by prejudice, discrimination results in exclusion, offensive jokes, stereotypes and even violence, perpetuating a pernicious cycle of inequality in society.
Brazil, despite its rich cultural diversity, faces significant problems of discrimination, notably in relation to race, sexual orientation and gender identity. However, it is worth noting that discrimination can take a positive form when measures are taken. adopted to help socially disadvantaged groups, aiming to reduce economic inequalities and social.
Prejudice is associated with opinions formed without prior knowledge, while discrimination occurs when these prejudices are translated into unfair actions and unequal treatment. The consequences of discrimination are vast, including emotional and psychological violations for victims, as well as the loss of education and employment opportunities, restricting society's development potential as a all.
Read too: Religious intolerance — discrimination motivated by religion
Summary on Discrimination
- Discrimination is the social attitude that treats a person differently and unfairly because of their personal characteristics.
- positive discrimination occurs when an action aims to create unequal conditions to favor victims of inequality, for example.
- The most frequent forms of discrimination in Brazil are those based on race, sexual orientation or gender identity.
- The difference between discrimination and prejudice lies in the fact that, while prejudice brings together unfavorable thoughts about certain social categories, discrimination places these thoughts in action.
- The consequences of discrimination involve psychological harm to victims, social exclusion and, at the limit, acts of violence committed against minorities.
What is Discrimination?
Discrimination is the social attitude of granting differential treatment to someone due to personal characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, age, social status or disability.
A discrimination is serious when it is motivated by prejudice, which may result in offensive jokes, stereotypes, harassment and even the social exclusion of certain groups. And all of this fuels more prejudice and drives the pernicious cycle of inequality and violence in society.
Unfortunately, the negative aspect of discrimination is a serious problem worldwide and particularly in Brazil, which was the last country in the West to abolish slavery after more than three centuries of use of forced labor by black and indigenous people.
However, discrimination does not always designate the fact that, in society, some groups are more mistreated than others. It can be positive discrimination when it designates measures taken to help those who have a social, economic or physical disadvantage.
Types and examples of discrimination
positive discrimination
There are different types of discrimination that can affect individuals and groups in different spheres of society. Positive discrimination means actions that consist of helping those who are hampered by inequalities economic, social, racial, physical, etc.
O racial quota system or social studies in Brazilian public colleges is a case of positive discrimination. The first initiatives of this type appeared in India and the United States, around 1950, and were called affirmative action.
Granting preferential treatment in education, housing, or income to some of the poorest minorities is an entirely different matter. to discriminate against a person because of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion and/or status physical.
gender discrimination
Another very recurrent type of discrimination is that which occurs due to gender identity. Gender discrimination involves treating someone unfairly based on socially constructed norms, roles and expectations associated with gender.
This affects not only men and women, but also people of diverse gender identities. This is the case of people known as transvestites, or transsexuals, who are treated, collectively, as part of the group that some people call transgender, or more popularly, trans.
For example, when a man is ridiculed by other men for showing emotions considered feminine, such as crying in public, it is a gender discrimination due to societal pressure to adhere to traditional norms of masculinity, which may restrict men's emotional expression men.
Therefore, gender identity can agree or disagree with what one would expect of someone of a given gender (biological). The important thing is to highlight that, in any case, gender is always linked to the social construction of an identity, and never to any kind of health disorder or anything like that.
sexual discrimination
Discrimination based on sexual orientation, when a person is treated unfairly or unequally because of their biological sex, includes the prejudices and stereotypes we share about the LGBTQIA+ population and can lead to unequal treatment in areas such as employment, education, access to resources and opportunities.
An example of sex discrimination is when a woman is denied a job promotion simply because it is considered that women do not are suited to leadership positions, thus reflecting a stereotypical belief about the capabilities of women in leadership positions. authority.
Racial discrimination
Racial discrimination is the practice of treat people unequally or unfairly based on their race or ethnic origin. This form of discrimination is rooted in stereotypes, prejudices and negative attitudes towards specific ethnic groups. There are many examples of racial discrimination in everyday life in a country like Brazil.
One notorious example is the racial profiling targeted by police approaches, in which people are stopped, tackled, or detained by police based on their racial appearance rather than concrete evidence of criminal activity. This can lead to unfair treatment and even unnecessary violence against Black or Indigenous people.
Another example is the discriminatory attitudes that can manifest themselves in prejudiced comments, insults or hostile acts directed at people of different ethnic origins. This can occur in public environments, online or even in work environments.
Read too: After all, what is a stereotype?
Differences between discrimination and prejudice
Prejudice is an opinion formed without prior knowledge or without a rational argument, usually based on stereotypes and generalizations. Discrimination, on the other hand, occurs when someone is treated unfairly because of characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, socioeconomic status or deficiency.
O Prejudice is more associated with predisposition towards members of a specific social category. It arises from a stereotype that, after being combined with an individual's beliefs and values, receives a positive or negative emotional charge. It is important to be careful in dealing with prejudice, even when it stems from a positive emotion.
For example, the idea that women are more empathetic and caring than men may seem positive, but it is still based on generalizations and gender stereotypes. Likewise, the belief that all people of a nationality are excellent in a certain field may seem positive, but it is also not. smart, as it can lead to unfair generalizations and the exclusion of others of the same nationality who do not fit this idea preconceived.
An example of negative prejudice is what can lead to social exclusion, violence, harassment and systematic discrimination against black and LGBTQIA+ people. Racial prejudice can lead someone to assume that all people from a certain ethnic group are lazy or criminal.
Homophobia can result in acts of discrimination, for example when a person is rejected from a job interview because of their sexual orientation. It is important to remember that prejudice can lead to discrimination, but not all discrimination is a result of prejudice. Discrimination can sometimes be caused by lack of information or harmful institutional policies and practices.
In summary, the difference between discrimination and prejudice lies in the fact that, while prejudice brings together unfavorable thoughts and negative (or positive) beliefs, respect of certain social categories, without prior knowledge, discrimination puts these thoughts into action and offers unfair treatment based on characteristics personal. The result of discrimination is unequal access to the scarcest and most valuable resources. To learn more about prejudice and its consequences, click here.
Discrimination in Brazil
In Brazil, discrimination appears in very concrete situations in everyday life, especially those that occur due to race, sexual orientation or gender identity. On February 10, 2014, in Rio de Janeiro, a woman had her purse stolen, which contained R$10, a cell phone and a bus card.
She asked for help from a plainclothes civil policeman, who gave the victim a ride and heard from her that the assailant would be a black boy, with high hair, in the style black power and a black T-shirt. Then, the police arrested Vinicius Romão de Souza, 27 years old, a psychologist, soap opera actor and who worked as a salesman in a clothing store.
Vinicius was arrested in the act, through face-to-face recognition, despite not having the victim's belongings. Victim of discrimination, he spent more than 15 days in jail while his relatives and friends denounced that his imprisonment was unfair and the result of racism. |1|
![Protesters wielding a sign reading “Black Lives Matter”, protesting against racial discrimination.[1]](/f/43f3d8b1571673e64590b9a252be1270.jpg)
Discrimination in Brazil even causes other acts of violence because of gender or sexual orientation. In a report released by the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (Antra), Brazil continues to be champion of disrespect and violence towards trans people — for the fourteenth consecutive year, we are the country that kills the most people of these genders in the world.|2|
In 2022, Brazil broke the record of femicides, with one woman killed every six hours, adding up to a total of 1,400 deaths motivated by the fact that the victims were women. Discrimination against women, trans or black people is very frequent in Brazil, because inequalities reach alarming levels in the country.
Consequences of discrimination
Positive discrimination occurs when an action aims to create unequal conditions to favor the victims of inequality. For example: racial and social quotas in public colleges. Despite the controversy and intense debate generated around quota policies, there is a growing number of countries and colleges that contemplate them. This is because they result in a more equal sharing of income, wealth and educational opportunities.
On the other hand, the consequences of negative discrimination have been a recurring problem throughout history. They are evident in different spheres of society because they cause emotional and psychological harm to victims, whose effects can last throughout life.
In addition, discrimination can lead to the loss of opportunities for education, employment and personal development, impairing the quality of life of those affected and limiting the development potential of a society as a whole.
To the The most extreme consequences of discrimination are violence. Violence is the various types of impositions on the life of civil society, which can also occur in the symbolic field. There is also violence practiced by the State, which may be linked to social and also racial discrimination.
This type of discrimination and its consequences produce many harms for society. It is important that effective measures are taken to combat discrimination and ensure equality of rights and opportunities for all individuals, regardless of their characteristics personal.
image credits
[1]Felipe Manorov Gomes / Shutterstock
Grades
|1| CURVELLO, André. Police investigate whether actor was mistakenly arrested in Rio de Janeiro. G1. Available in: https://g1.globo.com/jornal-hoje/noticia/2014/02/policia-investiga-se-ator-foi-preso-por-engano-no-rio-de-janeiro.html.
|2| BRAZIL AGENCY. Brazil is the country that kills the most transsexuals in the world. Available in: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/radioagencia-nacional/direitos-humanos/audio/2023-01/brasil-e-o-pais-que-mais-mata-transexuais-no-mundo.
Sources
RENAULT, Luiz Otavio Linhares; VIANA, Márcio Túlio (coordinators). Breakdown: studies. Sao Paulo: LTr, 2000.
SANTOS, Ynaê Lopes dos. Brazilian racism: a history of the formation of the country. São Paulo: However, 2022.
THEODORO, Mario. Unequal society: racism and whiteness in the formation of Brazil. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar, 2022.
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/sociologia/discriminacao.htm
