Racism/sexism/ageism are the same things?

Question

How so?

They are all discriminations based on a physical characteristic.

Source- Master's level course
The Implications of Feminism
Dr. Wilma Scott Heide

Dr. Heide composed a riddle for Norman Lear, producer of the tv show "All In the Family" a show popular in the late 60's and early 70's. Do you know what the riddle was?

Antoine, I still go with the theory, no matter how you slice it, when you boil it down, it is still discrimination based on a physical characteristic. How it manifests itself in the "delivery" is not the point and of course there are differences in that aspect.

Peace.

My question stated "discrimination based on a physical characteristic", not an appearance, although it can be argued that we can see another person's age, usually quite readily, therefore we can discriminate based on what we have seen. You can see a person's skin color, their sex and their age. I like the fact that some of you thought about this and also, some of you didn't need to think about it at all, you readily identified the pattern.

Answer 1

They are all types of discrimination. To discriminate socially is to make a distinction between people on the basis of class or category without regard to individual merit.

Examples of social discrimination include racial, religious, sexual, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic, height-related, and age-related discrimination.

Whether a given example of discrimination is positive or negative is a subjective judgement (i.e., in the eye of the beholder).

Answer 2

Ageism is not based on the physical appearance but on the assumption that at different ages your actual ability will be different in terms of experience, maturity or strength. It is worth noting that all these supposedly politically incorrect stances have a valid place in real life. It is natural for one to seek an attractive partner that will produce better stock that is evolution. It is natural for humans to seek partners that have similar features to themselves. Sexuality is based on more than career choice - that's why we have different chromosomes and different brain activity. To be young gives the benefit of health, vitality and ability to adapt and learn. If this were not true the first five years would not be so important. To be old gives the benefit of experience.

Answer 3

it's one thing to say that they have one commong characteristic - being based on the physical - and quite another to state "they're the same thing".

It's as if you said, "trucks, cars, bikes, rollerblades have wheels, therefore they're all the same thing"...

racism is distrust / hate / other towards people we feel are different, at some fundamental level that cannot be changed. We are probably wired for this at some deep down level because at prehistoric times it was a better deal to initially distrust total foreigners and be ready to fight, just in case. But one can hope that intelligent modern human beings can use their brains to combat that wiring.

sexism is directed towards people whom we clearly see as being part of our race, but where we for some reason believe that their sex limits them in some way in some activities. Again, this is probably wired deep down, from times when guys went out to hunt, or fought other groups of guys for life, while girls stayed home and took care of the kids, and there was no other way of doing it. And again, up to a point, modern human beings have managed to develop more creative solutions, which allow both sexes to have access to a broader set of opportunities.

ageism is the distrust of either people we feel are not (yet) able to do what we can do, or on the contrary, the distrust of people we feel are on their way towards not being able to do things properly anymore. Here it looks like some so-called primitive societies were more advanced than we are, in that they had high respect for elders' opinions and knowledge - of course the big difference is that in those days, elders were very rare.

Anyway, this is a very interesting topic - but no, those "things" are not at all "the same".


hope this helps a bit

Answer 4

It's not strange. The worth of a certain currency varies from country to country. And the equivalent to their currency doesn't always equal to the amount of a dollar. Like one British pound sterling is the same as a $1.60

Answer 5

They are not the same each pretains to something of its own but it all falls under the same umbrella of prejudice

Answer 6

Ignorance is the common denominator.

Answer 7

They are all a type of prejudice.

Answer 8

They are all based in ignorance and fear.

Answer 9

religious-isms ? could they all be grouped as prejudices?

Answer 10

Hardly...however did you come to that idea?