Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism

Development of Subtle Racism

PSYC 4P71

Professor: Dr. Peter Sacco

T.A: Megan Earle

Seminar #1

Submitted by: Brendan Langelaan

6095806

Due: November 20, 2019, at 1500

Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 1

Development to Subtle Racism

Society today has developed in ways that would have been completely unimaginable to

those from previous centuries. There have been developments in the technology that people

possess and the manner in which people live their lives. Many aspects of people’s lives have

changed and developed as time goes on including how people interact with each other. There is

the concept that the forms of racism that are seen in society have changed and developed along

with the development of society. Some research says that gone are the days of slavery and public

racial discrimination as society moves into an age of subtle racism where people’s ideas and

beliefs about people of other races and ethnicities are displayed in a more subtle and discrete

manor. Through this paper it will be demonstrated that in western cultures there has been a

massive shift from the contemporary forms of racism seen throughout history into a more subtle

context where often times people do not even consider what they are doing to be racist.

This can be seen throughout the world especially ibn the United States of America. There

are new forms of racism that show themselves as quite different from the cross burnings of the

Ku Klux Clan. An example of this is a denial of the hardships of groups of people. Specifically,

this is when an individual denies, minimizes, tries to justify, or just fails to remark on the

injustices that have occurred in the past that is in reality a clear mark of hardship for groups of

people (Perlmutter, 2009, p. 520). This is a significant change from the concept of racism in the

past when these hardships were not just denied but where physically inflicted onto individuals

from these different groups. An example in the United States is slavery which people have been

attempting to minimize for years in order to minimize the struggles of the African American

Community in the United States. This form of racism is not something that people may express

in their everyday life, it may even be something that they do not notice they are doing showing
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 2

that in examples such as this, the expression of ones racist ideologies and beliefs has changed to

be more subtle and less noticed. Technological advances have also aided in this transition to

more subtle forms of racism. It is possible for people to hide behind the concealment provided by

the internet to view and enjoy subject material that can be considered racist (Perlmutter, 2009, p.

520). This is not something just seen in the internet, people will make jokes about another group

of people with not malice intent but still directing the joke at their ethnicity or race which is

viewed as racist (Perlmutter, 2009, p. 520). These are means of justifying one’s actions towards

another group of people, stating that it was just a joke or that an event really did not happen,

which is the foundation for new forms of subtle racism (Ikuenobe, 2011, p. 171). People

justifying their actions allows them to express these forms of racism that are often times accepted

by today’s society because people deem racist jokes to be “just a joke” which individuals who

are offended by it are taking it to seriously and need to realize that is was only a joke. In reality,

these jokes and comments are extremely racist and pose a large threat to a group’s ideology and

beliefs because the jokes devalue their ideas, hardships and beliefs. People often do not

understand how degrating situations like these are, but these jokes can be seen as an attack on

certain racial groups that can in extreme situations dehumanize them or paint them as the others.

The last point in this section to be touched on is the racial wage gap. This is an issue of subtle

racism because it demonstrates the inequality that people who are not white face in their daily

lives that influences factors including how much they are getting paid. It was found that much of

the racial wage gap can be accounted for by factors that are experienced before the individual

joins the work force (O’Gorman, 2010, p. 539). People of other racial groups have been shown to

have a greater amount of student debt that is unpaid due to inequality in wage and the different

financial backgrounds of their families (Castanyer, 2019, p. 6).These are factors such as the
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 3

quality of schooling received which can be impacted by their families’ financial stability and

socio-economic status which the individuals have no control over at the time when it is affecting

them (O’Gorman, 2010, p. 539). These are factors that demonstrate a social difference that has

been developed by those in the upper class. Those who are not able to attend the better

educational institutions are often seen as lazy or that they do not care about their education when,

they were in no control over which school they attended. This demonstrates racist beliefs in view

people of different races as having less of a work ethic than people of the individuals own race

group (Perlmutter, 2009, p. 520). This belief is often times unfounded and based of previous

notions and beliefs about the racial group and does not reflect their actual attitudes and actions.

These beliefs are not expressed in one’s day to day life but have a massive impact of the

economic status of entire groups of people and gives justification for the feelings or ideals that

they hold. The situation creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where people believe another group of

people to be inferior at specific jobs, do not provide the options for these groups to learn and

attempt these jobs and then the jobs are dominated by one race. These are examples of how the

racial climate in the United States has moved to a more subtle concept of racism where it may

not seem like what is occurring is due to race but research shows that it is and is affecting the

racial groups. The United States is not the only country going through these changes, many

others are as well.

Canada often prides itself on being a completely inclusive country, but it is facing the

same challenges as the United States where forms of racism have moved from being blatantly

obvious to factors and actions that are more difficult to recognize. Due to Canada’s close

proximity to the United States the majority of the points mentioned in the previous section are

still applicable in the context of Canadian society. A study was done examining students in
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 4

medical school in Canada in an attempt to demonstrate the factors, in general, that people from

other races face in their pursuit of higher education. What they found is that people of racial

minorities were subject to discrimination in the form of micro aggressions which convey

disregard, disrespect, marginality or contempt (Beagan, 2003, p. 858). These micro aggressions

were presented in the form of jokes and other off hand comments that made individuals feel

discriminated against without the perpetrator even understanding that they did something wrong

(Beagan, 2003, p. 858). These jokes demonstrate that even in Canadian society where people

pride themselves on being inclusive there is still a clear divide between racial groups that is

created by a misunderstanding of the other group and prejudices held by the group that effects

how they interact with one another. Even the justification that is used shows that people are

being discriminatory towards people of other religions when they state that it is just a joke and

that they should just get over it. In the same study it was also found that white students were

more likely to be granted student-doctor status then people of other races or ethnicities, which

demonstrates a significant educational advantage given to these students (Beagan, 2003, p. 856).

This creates competition between people of different races allowing for an environment of

racism to foster under the disguise of job competition (Perlmutter, 2009, p. 520).This again

demonstrated that through the opportunities given people are being discriminated against in the

Canadian education system at very high levels. This type of action has the potential to discourage

people who are not white from seeking a career in the medical sciences which severely limits the

population of doctors and the variety of knowledge and experience that doctors in Canada would

have. Another key topic in regards to the evolution of racism within Canada is looking at the

relationship between the Canadian Government and the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. The

government of Canada has acknowledged the racial atrocities that occurred into the 20th century
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 5

with regards to residential schools but Indigenous Peoples are still facing more discrete forms of

discrimination in their daily lives. An example of this is the discrimination that they face in the

education system in Canada. It was found that in Canada people with an Indigenous background

felt underrepresented in the school and felt as though their voices were not being heard (Bailey,

2016, p. 1274). This under representation of Indigenous Peoples makes them feel less welcome

in post secondary education and prevents many from going to schools with a higher academic

reputation (Bailey, 2016, p. 1274). This is not something that anybody necessarily tried to

accomplish but due to the fact that no Indigenous Peoples are represented it inadvertently paints

the image of the school to be for people who are white to succeed because non of the

accomplishments of any other race are publicly celebrated. Again, this ties back to the transition

of subtle racism because there is no longer legislation from the government or the church

preventing people from pursuing an education but due to the actions of these institutions people

from other races do not feel comfortable or welcome. As was previously mentioned Canada

faces many of the same situation in regards to racism as described in the first section but also

faces many unique situations especially in regards to the education system. This has the potential

to severely damage society because people who could be incredible in the field of academia do

not pursue an education because subtle racism makes them feel unwelcome.

There are many people that believe that how racism is expressed has not changed to more

subtle forms or that it has gone back to contemporary forms of racism. Examples of this would

be the violence that African American people face at the hands of the police force, which has

been widely televised and recorded, as well as recent public displays of racism by people in high

positions in government. One key example of this is the development of Islamophobia in western

society. This phobia was present in the past but on can argue that it was, along with many other
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 6

forms of racism more subtle (Sheridan, 2006, p. 330). After the terrorist attacks of September

11th, 2001 that changed and the racism that Muslim people faced seemed to devolve back into a

more contemporary form of racism (Sheridan, 2006, p. 330). What this shows is that in the

United Kingdom, a country that was not directly targeted by the attacks people who were

Muslim saw an increase in both subtle racism and overt racism in their daily lives which the

researchers theorize is due to a pre-existing prejudice that now was acceptable to express

(Sheridan, 2006, p. 330). This brings forward an interesting issue in today’s society. With the

political climate the way that it is, racial outburst and racist actions have become the norm for

what the public is expecting of their political leaders. /if this type of action was seen in the

United Kingdom it is possible that the normalization of these actions could allow people to

express their racial biases in their day to day life more overtly in the United States and Canada.

In order to prevent this we must be able to hold people accountable for what they say and with

the current climate that is not occurring. If this pattern continues it is quite possible that Canada

will follow the pattern of the United Kingdom and as soon as there is a socially justifiable

justification for their biases, people will start to express more overt, or contemporary forms of

racism. Based on this evidence it is clear that society is not simply moving on one direction,

people are shifting back and forth as to whether their biases are socially acceptable creating a

shift between subtle and contemporary forms of racism.

As one can see, this topic is still a debate in the field of social psychology. There is

evidence suggesting that public displays of racism are not accepted but that often times subtle

forms go unnoticed. On the other side of the argument there are still occasions and instances

where contemporary racism is still alive and well, being demonstrated by people in a variety of

different situations. This paper shows that while it appears that the majority of people’s racist
Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 7

beliefs and ideologies have taken a more subtle form it is clear that multiple different forms of

racism are still apparent in society. In order to grow as a society people, need to be able to accept

the contributions of people from a variety of different backgrounds so that society can reflect the

concepts learned from the experiences of different individual groups. Until society is able to

unbiasedly accept the contributions of people from other races, the progress of the human race

and technology is slowed to a fraction of what it potentially could be.

Running Head: Change from Contemporary to Subtle Racism Langelaan 8

References
Bailey, K. A. (2016). Racism within the canadian university: Indigenous students’ experiences.
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 39(7), 1261-1279. doi:10.1080/01419870.2015.1081961
Beagan, B. L. (2003). ‘Is this worth getting into a big fuss over?’ Everyday racism in medical
school. Medical Education, 37(10), 852–860. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-
2923.2003.01622.x
Castanyer, P. (2019). Notes on race and gender in the USA: Poverty and intersectionality.
Papeles De Europa, 32(1), 1-12. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/pade.64468
IKUENOBE, P. (2011). Conceptualizing Racism and Its Subtle Forms. Journal for the Theory of
Social Behaviour, 41(2), 161–181.
O’Gorman, M. (2010). Educational disparity and the persistence of the black–white wage gap in
the U.S. Economics of Education Review, 29(4), 526-542. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.
2009.11.003
Perlmutter, P. (2009). The Decline of Bigotry in America. Society, 46(6), 517–521.
Sheridan, L. (2006). Islamophobia pre– and Post–September 11th, 2001. Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, 21(3), 317-336. doi:10.1177/0886260505282885