Understanding Everyday Racism: An Interdisciplinary Theory

“Essed (1991) links inter-sectionality to what she calls ‘gendered racism’.”

“Also, one’s racial identity is experienced in relation to his or her gender, ethnicity, social status, religion, age, and other factors (Essed, 1991).”

“It can take the form of both blatant(eg, being called a derogatory name) and subtle(eg, being stared at by security guards whileshopping) behaviors that permeate the daily lives of individuals(Essed, 1991; Feagin, 1991; Feagin & Sikes, 1994; Swim et al,, 1998).”

“We returned to our data, mindful of the students’ descriptions of the types and contexts of everyday incidents of racism (Essed, 1991) and of their remarks suggesting the effects of and responses to these subtle, pervasive forms of discrimination.”

“At the same time, new forms of ethnic stereotypes and racialistic practices have emerged (Chun, 1995; Demo and Hughes, 1990, Essed, 1991; Gaertner and Dovidio, 1986).”

“…and irritations, unfair treatment, stigmatization, hypersurveillance, and contentious classrooms to personal threats or attacks on one’s wellbeing (also see Bobo & Smith, 1998; Clark, Anderson, Clark, & Williams, 1999; Essed & Stanfield, 1991; Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997; Wilson, 1990).”

“Stressors that may be unique to, or more prevalent among, African-Americans have not been incorporated into the assessment of stress (Pearlin, 1989; Essed, 1991; Feagin, 1991; McLean and Link, 1994).”

“This is consistent with findings in adult investigations of racial discrimination and contemporary theories of racial discrimination, which suggest covert forms of racism are more prevalent than overt racist events (Essed, 1991; Harrell, 2000; Sellers & Shelton 2003).”

“Similarly, their own knowledge of racism will be based on anti-racist ideologies, for example featuring general axioms about the equality of different 'racial' groups ( Essed, 1991 ).”

“Olu had to struggle against everyday racism (Essed, 1991), which he understood as ‘‘What the hell are you doing here?’’ Olu described his experience when first entering an upper-level mathematics classroom as a dichotomy between invisibility and the ‘‘hyper-visibility’’ demonstrated by at first shocked looks from his…”

“For instance, Essed (1991) developed the concept of everyday”

“Essed (1991) and others (Feagin, 1991; Jones, 1981; Kuo, 1995; McNeilly et al., 1996; Outlaw, 1993) predict that victims of discrimination use adaptational and coping strategies to reduce the stress of unfair treatment.”

“Our expectation that racism would be a major and mundane stressor among participants was consistent with theory and research documenting the pervasive and deleterious effects of race-related stress for African Americans (e.g., Clark et al., 1999; Essed, 1991; Harrell, 2000; Jackson et al., 1996; Thompson, 1996).”

“... treated with less courtesy than other people,” (2) “You are treated with less respect than other people,” (3) “You receive poorer service than other people at restaurants or stores,” (4) “People act as if they think you are not smart,” (5) “People act as if they are afraid of you,” (6) “People act as if they think…”

“The everyday experience of oppression is a process of margin­ alization (Collins, 1991; Essed, 1991).”

“…encounters with another’s prejudice (negative affect and beliefs based upon racial group membership) and discriminatory behavior (differential treatment based upon racial group membership) that pervade people’s daily social interactions (Essed, 1991; Feagin & Sikes, 1994; Swim et al., 1998).”

“In sum, it is important to note that the responsibility for racism is not limited to individuals who are overtly and consciously racist but also extends to individuals who are unaware of the effects of their discriminatory behaviors (Essed, 1991).”

“Visible minorities are exposed to ‘everyday racism’ (Essed, 1991) and ‘street racism’ (Parekh, 2000).”

“More specifically, racism refers to institutional and individual practices that create and reinforce oppressive systems of race relations whereby people and institutions engaging in discrimination adversely restrict, by judgment and action, the lives of those against whom they discriminate.(8,15) Race/ethnicity, in tu…”

“In addition to these more overt forms, there are subtle, nuanced slights and insults based on phenotypic traits and/or racial group identification referred to as daily racial hassles (Pierce, 1970) or everyday racism (Essed, 1991).”

“Building on the theory of Sue (2010) of racial microaggressions and the theory of Essed (1991) of gendered racism, we defined gendered racial microaggressions as subtle and everyday verbal, behavioral, and environmental expressions of oppression based on the intersection of one’s race and gender…”

“Feagin and Sikes (1994) talk briefly about the importance of buttressing one’s self-image (similar to valuing oneself) and being exposed to Black literature (perhaps one element of standing on shoulders).”

“Essed (1991) coined the term, “gendered racism” to describe how sexism and racism “narrowly intertwine and combine under certain conditions into one, hybrid phenomenon” (p.”

“Whites who actively or passively participate in the continuance of racial stratification are acting in what they perceive as their own best interests (Essed 1991; Feagin and Vera 1995; McIntosh 1992).”

“Based on the construct defined by Essed (17,18), this 10-item scale asked participants to indicate the frequency with”

“Based on a construct originally defined by Essed (Essed, 1990, 1991), this 9-item scale asks participants to indicate the frequency with which they experience various forms of interpersonal mistreatment in their dayto-day lives.”

“Drawing on the theoretical framework of Essed (1991) who highlights ‘everyday racisms’, and on education policy frameworks from Sweden, we argue that since racism is a barrier to participation, antiracism needs to be seen as an essential feature of democracy (Osler & Starkey, 2002).”

“Although increases in during interactions with Whites (Essed, 1991; Feagin, 1992), and, consequently, some Blacks feel anxious about and during interactions with Whites (Clark, Anderson, Clark, & Williams, 1999; Crocker et al., 1998; Major, Quinton, & McCoy, 2002; MendozaDenton, Downey, Purdie,…”

“…of the subjective realm of oppression to gain a better understanding of the personal impact of structural relations of domination (Crow, 1996; Essed, 1991; Mama, 1995; Marks, 1999; Millar, 1998; Morris, 1996; Shakespeare, 1996; Smith, 1987) to get at the lived experiences of “the relations…”

“…unfair treatments, stigmatization, hypersurveillance, low expectations, and personal threats or attacks on one’s well-being (Clark, Anderson, Clark, & Williams, 1999; Essed & Stanfield, 1991; Sue, 2010; Sue, Capodilupo, & holder, 2008; Williams, Yu, Jackson, & Anderson, 1997; Wilson, 1990).”

“Essed (1991) , in her interview study of black women in California and the Netherlands, concluded that everyday racism is a process of problematization, marginalization, and containment.”

“Gendered racism refers to the simultaneous experience of both racism and sexism (Essed, 1991).”

“Or, they may find it upsetting to acknowledge the experience, or entertain the possibility that poor treatment was deserved.(36,69,70) Some may mistakenly attribute discrimination to other characteristics (e.”

“, redlining of neighborhoods) (Essed 1991; Harrell 2000), as well as daily slights (e.”

“In this context, Othering is associated with the notion of Eurocentrism, with Said’s (1995) concept of orientalism, and with everyday racism (Essed, 1991).”

“Recognising this interpenetration and support, allows us to avoid the detachment of institutional practices from the actions of individuals ‘as if it concerned qualitatively different racism rather than different positions and relations through which racism operates’ (Essed 1991).”

“In critiquing the acceptance of tolerance as a quality of European societies, Essed ( 1991 , p.”

“To this end, some social scientists have developed terms such as ethgender (Johnson-Bailey & Cervero, 1996) and gendered racism (Essed, 1991; St. Jean & Feagin, 1997) to reflect fusion of race and gender in African American women’s identities and experiences.”

“In the Netherlands, the term race is not used very often (Essed, 1991).”

“…Rosenthal et al. 2014), the dynamics of intersectionality and gendered racism as experienced by Black and Latina women in the U.S. (e.g. Crenshaw 1989; Collins 1990; Essed 1991), and consequences of gendered racism for well-being (e.g. Lewis and Neville 2015; Thomas, Witherspoon, and Speight 2008).”

“Collective racism occurs when dominant group members work to restrict or deny minority group members their basic rights and privileges (Essed 1991).”

“As several scholars (Essed, 1991; Sigelman & Welch, 1991) have noted, members of the dominant group in a society are often reluctant to grant legitimacy to claims of discrimination by members of subordinate groups.”

“Just as we need to ask what is it that people do when they draw lines of racial exclusion (Essed 1991), we need to think about what it is people do when they build connections.”

“Increased levels of discrimination being related to increased depressive symptomatology is consistent with previous literature (Comas-Diaz & Greene, 1995; Essed, 1991; Fernando, 1984; Kessler et al., 1999; Noh et al., 1999; Ren et al., 1999; Salgado de Snyder, 1987).”

“Several scholars since Fanon have acknowledged the emotional investments and implications of racial oppression (e.g. Essed, 1991; Roediger, 1991, 1994; Stoler, 1995) and the “deep emotional undercurrents and foundations of racial conflict” (Srivastava, 2006, p. 61).”

“Parents completed a nine-item scale developed by Taylor and Turner (2002), based on the work of Williams, Yu, Jackson, and Anderson (1997), Essed (1991), and Feagin (1991), to assess discrimination toward family members.”

“Researchers in history, law, philosophy, psychology, public health, sociology, and women’s studies (e.g., Cole, 2009; Collins, 2000; Crenshaw, 1993; Davis, 1981; Essed, 1991; Thomas et al., 2004; Thomas, Witherspoon, & Speight, 2008; Townsend, 2008) have drawn on intersectionality theory to focus on the intersection o…”

“…of power that maintains a strong positive orientation to white superiority based on arbitrary classifications, reinforcing white power and privilege through everyday and institutional racism (Bonilla-Silva, 2006; Deitch et al., 2003; Essed, 1991; Feagin, 2013; Hill, 2009; Nkomo and Al Ariss, 2014).”

“The homogeneity of the sample in terms of three key social position indicators: race, neighborhood SES, and gender allows us to test the moderating hypothesis within an exceptionally stressed population.”

“The combination of sexism and racism is referred to as “gendered racism” (Essed, 1991), and theoretical frameworks of intersectionality describe how this intersectional experience of both forms of oppression is greater than their sum (Crenshaw, 1989).”

“However, despite the inclusion of Black women in leadership positions in professional settings, many still have to contend with “gendered racism” (Essed, 1991), the double jeopardy of being Black and female.”

“Targets’ perspective studies focus on the “lived” experience of prejudice as experienced in targets’ lives rather than as measured in perpetrators’ attitudes (Branscombe & Ellemers, 1998; Essed, 1991; Feagin, 1991; Feagin & Sikes, 1994; Lalonde & Cameron, 1994; Landrine & Klonoff, 1997; Swim et al., 1998, 2003).”

“Then I look more broadly at how these types of stories function on a cultural level to explain, reinforce or challenge popular notions about racism and its operations in our culture (van Djik, 1984; Essed, 1991; Wetherell & Potter, 1992).”

“As part of this effort, Essed (1991, 1997) describes a range of racist experiences and events in which targets are constructedas Other and are made to feel inferior.”