Racialize
What does it mean to say that someone or something is ‘racialized’?
The Canadian Encyclopedia states,
“People seen as belonging to racialized minorities are people who could be perceived as being socially different from, for example, the racial or ethnic majority. In Canada, the term “racialized minority” usually refers to non-white people. The word “racialized” stresses the fact that race is neither biological nor objective but is a concept which is societal in origin. Categorizations other than “racialized” include “people of colour” or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour)” [Italics mine].
“While the term “racialized minority” is increasingly being used, there is no consensus in this regard. It is used by some anti-racist groups to denounce the systematic racism experienced by non-whites. However, others find that being described as racialized automatically depicts them as victims. Still others go so far as to say that the term “racialized” shows an exaggerated political correctness which limits debate, and that using the term “racialized” stifles discussion by taking an ideological shortcut that appeals to a specific group”
Generally speaking, the terms ‘racialized minority’ and ‘visible minority’ are considered synonyms. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racialized-minorities
The word racialization, meaning the act of being seen as someone belonging to a particular race, suggests that all people could be considered racialized regardless of their particular race. https://www.aclrc.com/racialization
What do words such as race, racial, racialization, racialist, racialism, and racist mean? When did such words appear in English?
To begin, the origins of the word race are uncertain. However, the Online Etymological Dictionary suggests that the word may derive from Arabic ra’s (head, beginning, origin) and Hebrew rosh.
The original uses of the word race in English include meanings such as a group of people with common occupation (~1500), wines with a characteristic flavor (1520), and a generation of people (1540s). The use of the word race referring to a ‘tribe, nation, or people regarded as of common stock’ or to ‘an ethnical stock, one of the great divisions of mankind having in common certain physical peculiarities’ is from 1774; however, “even among anthropologists there never has been an accepted classification of these [definitions]” (Online Etymological Dictionary).
The adjective racial, meaning relating or pertaining to characteristics of an ethnic race or race generally, is from 1862.
Racialization as the process of making or becoming a racialist is from 1874. The use of the term racialist to describe a person who is a racist, an advocate of racial theory, or a believer in the superiority of a particular race is from 1910. Racialist as an adjective is from 1917.
The word racialism, meaning a political system advocating superiority and exclusive rights based on race, is from 1890.
The words racism and racist, relatively recent terms, appear respectively in 1928 and 1932. These words replaced the earlier terms racialism and racialist.
So, what does it mean today to ‘racialize’ something or someone? Why have these terms re-appeared after one hundred years?
The first known use of the verb ‘to racialize’ as used in such ways is from around 1900. Merriam-Webster defines the verb ‘to racialize’ as “giving a racial character to, or to categorize, marginalize, or regard according to race … [for example] racializing poverty helps distract from the systematic factors at the foundation of both racial and economic inequality” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racialize).
In brief, race is not simply an inherent characteristic of an individual. Racialization is the social construction of the various ways in which relationships among people of different ‘races’ are described.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/inclusive-antiracist-writing/bipoc#overview-
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racialized-minorities
The Canadian Encyclopedia states,
“People seen as belonging to racialized minorities are people who could be perceived as being socially different from, for example, the racial or ethnic majority. In Canada, the term “racialized minority” usually refers to non-white people. The word “racialized” stresses the fact that race is neither biological nor objective but is a concept which is societal in origin. Categorizations other than “racialized” include “people of colour” or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour)” [Italics mine].
“While the term “racialized minority” is increasingly being used, there is no consensus in this regard. It is used by some anti-racist groups to denounce the systematic racism experienced by non-whites. However, others find that being described as racialized automatically depicts them as victims. Still others go so far as to say that the term “racialized” shows an exaggerated political correctness which limits debate, and that using the term “racialized” stifles discussion by taking an ideological shortcut that appeals to a specific group”
Generally speaking, the terms ‘racialized minority’ and ‘visible minority’ are considered synonyms. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racialized-minorities
The word racialization, meaning the act of being seen as someone belonging to a particular race, suggests that all people could be considered racialized regardless of their particular race. https://www.aclrc.com/racialization
What do words such as race, racial, racialization, racialist, racialism, and racist mean? When did such words appear in English?
To begin, the origins of the word race are uncertain. However, the Online Etymological Dictionary suggests that the word may derive from Arabic ra’s (head, beginning, origin) and Hebrew rosh.
The original uses of the word race in English include meanings such as a group of people with common occupation (~1500), wines with a characteristic flavor (1520), and a generation of people (1540s). The use of the word race referring to a ‘tribe, nation, or people regarded as of common stock’ or to ‘an ethnical stock, one of the great divisions of mankind having in common certain physical peculiarities’ is from 1774; however, “even among anthropologists there never has been an accepted classification of these [definitions]” (Online Etymological Dictionary).
The adjective racial, meaning relating or pertaining to characteristics of an ethnic race or race generally, is from 1862.
Racialization as the process of making or becoming a racialist is from 1874. The use of the term racialist to describe a person who is a racist, an advocate of racial theory, or a believer in the superiority of a particular race is from 1910. Racialist as an adjective is from 1917.
The word racialism, meaning a political system advocating superiority and exclusive rights based on race, is from 1890.
The words racism and racist, relatively recent terms, appear respectively in 1928 and 1932. These words replaced the earlier terms racialism and racialist.
So, what does it mean today to ‘racialize’ something or someone? Why have these terms re-appeared after one hundred years?
The first known use of the verb ‘to racialize’ as used in such ways is from around 1900. Merriam-Webster defines the verb ‘to racialize’ as “giving a racial character to, or to categorize, marginalize, or regard according to race … [for example] racializing poverty helps distract from the systematic factors at the foundation of both racial and economic inequality” (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/racialize).
In brief, race is not simply an inherent characteristic of an individual. Racialization is the social construction of the various ways in which relationships among people of different ‘races’ are described.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://www.lib.sfu.ca/about/branches-depts/slc/writing/inclusive-antiracist-writing/bipoc#overview-
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/racialized-minorities
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