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Originally Posted by Hugh
Of course they can - anyone can be racist and/or sexist.
Being a member of a minority does not give anyone a free pass on being an ass.
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The thing is, there you go introducing facts into an argument.
People are people, and regardless of their colour, gender or any other physical descriptor you care to mention, they can be offensive to other people.
Regarding this lady. I do not know what it's like, but I have a friend who was born in Belgium to a Pakistani father and Belgian mother, is a lady and is therefore arguably an ethnic minority. She also used to work for Goldsmiths and reckons that Goldsmiths is an awful place to work because of things like this.
---------- Post added at 16:56 ---------- Previous post was at 16:40 ----------
From the article:
Quote:
She said: "I, an ethnic minority woman, cannot be racist or sexist towards white men because racism and sexism describes structures of privilege based on race and gender.
"Therefore women of colour and minority genders cannot be racist or sexist since we do not stand to benefit from such a system.
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From the OED:
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racism |ˈreɪsɪz(ə)m|
noun [ mass noun ]
the belief that all members of each race possess characteristics, abilities, or qualities specific to that race, especially so as to distinguish it as inferior or superior to another race or races. theories of racism.
• prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior: a programme to combat racism.
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No mention of privilege there. It just mentions the idea of belief that either your race is superior or others inferior to yours.
Quote:
sexism |ˈsɛksɪz(ə)m|
noun [ mass noun ]
prejudice, stereotyping, or discrimination, typically against women, on the basis of sex. sexism in language is an offensive reminder of the way the culture sees women.
DERIVATIVES
sexist adjective& noun
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Again, no mention of privilege, just discrimination based on gender.
No, going on those ACTUAL DEFINITIONS, I would argue she is racist because she is making assumptions about white people based purely on the fact they are white. I would argue that she is sexist because she is making assumptions about men based purely on the fact they are men. Who benefits (assuming anyone does) is irrelevant.
Personally, I try and avoid making judgments on people based purely on their race or gender. I make judgements on people based on how they act toward me.