Discuss How the Concepts of ‘Race’ and ‘Ethnicity’ Perpetuate Inequality in Australia Essay

As concepts, passage and nation argon largely clear receptacles through and in the names of which creation groups may be invented, interpreted and imagined as communities or societies (Goldberg, 1993 79). Race and heathenity argon accept contri b arelying factors of racialism in Australia today, and the proceed racist precepts of m each Australians are the driving force forces of distinction in forward-looking Australian bon ton. To truly understand how this occurs one root needs to understand the forms and effects of racism.The modern history of Australia begins with British colonisation in 1788, and reveals many racist practises towards both immigrants and the subjective community. Until newly, many blood little Australians shared the belief that civilisation did non begin in Australia until the last quarter of the eighteenth degree centigrade (Manning Clarke, 1962 3). Through the spread of disease, killings and sexual exploitation, the central population was dr astically reduced and did non begin to recover until the late 1940s.To submit insult to injury, organisation insurance policy in the 1960s produced the stolen generation, where, for the common comfortably, Aboriginal children were re go from their families and fixed with lily-white foster families. This racist ideology was formalistic in 1901 with the introduction of the immigration confinement Act 1901, to a greater extent commonly cognize as the White Australia policy, which excluded Asians and coloureds from Australian immigration. From the starting line of modern Australia, ideals of racial and heathen transcendency have work outd laws and popular opinions, as well as media authority of migrants and Australians. proceed division between white Australians and Aboriginals, Muslim-Australians and Non- slope verbalize Background (NESB) Australians stem from early misconceptions and go on misinformation in a so-called multicultural Australia. Races are said to be h omeifiable because members of those races allegedly share certain immanent or biologic characteristics. Racists believe that these biological characteristics explain why some races are naturally superior to early(a)s (Bessant J, 2002 220).racialism itself is a constantly evolving entity, and is both individual and collective. In modern Australia, the most common forms of racism are New racialism, Biological Racism and line Exploitation. New Racism, although not rattling new, is more(prenominal) commonly accepted. By not claiming any biological superiority, new racists can, with reliable conscience, claim that they are not racist, but are simply trying to shelter subject field identity operator which could be compromised when unified with other cultures. New Racism has been an entire part of Australia for more than 200 years.Australia moved through three distinct phases of policy on immigration. 1947-65 was all some absorption migrants were carryed to move to Australi a and become Australians, to leave everything else behind. During this eon, high levels of immigration were encouraged, with the majority world British, and only 1 in 10 non-British immigrants were allowed. 1965-72 spawned the idea of integration. It became apparent that assimilation was not working and commandment projects were put in place to assist migrants especially those from non English oral presentation backgrounds.Finally, in 1973, the Whitlam Government abolished the Immigration Restriction Act 1901 and declared Australia to be a Multicultural society. Immigration slowed and the government began to recognise the special needs of ethnical Australians. It was during this period of acceptance that, a original referendum gave Aboriginal slew citizenship status in 1967 (Bessant 2002 p225) and allowed Aboriginal plurality to vote about 60 years after women. notwithstanding the move towards multiculturalism, race and ethnicity are even so determining factors of inequalit y in Australia, seen broadly through Biological racism and, stemming from this, fellowship exploitation. Biological racism, by definition, is the assumption that our canonic biological differences define us in a specific role, or pip one group superior to other by a simple motion of genetics. The relationship between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians is a hot topic for debate today, and a perfect example of how biological preferences shape prejudice.Stemming from the historic view of immigration, a recent two year study delved into the issues face Muslim-Australians and their non-Muslim counterparts. Throughout the study, information was gathered from computer address with religious, academic, community and political leaders, a case random survey of 1,401 Australian voters, concenter group deliberations with Muslim Australians throughout the coarse and a Deliberative Poll assemblage 47 Muslim Australians, 329 of those surveyed in the national random survey and a chemica l chain of competing experts.Concluding a weekend of deliberations, held in Canberra, Australia on March 2-4, 2007, there was covenant between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians that misperceptions and lack of soul by both parties (many encouraged by the media) are the motivating factors in reinforcing a banish spiral of fear and ravening behaviour. Young Australian Muslims (mostly born in Australia) are world increasingly disoriented and are therefore gravitating away from mainstream Australia the biggest risk of infection being they may turn to more radical sects of Islam. some(prenominal) non-Muslim Australians perceive a threat to national warrantor and affable harmony by the presence of Muslims in Australia, and 69% of Australians agreed that the media was the biggest factor in straining relations between Muslims and non-Muslims (Issues Deliberations Australia, 2007 4-5). To best demonstrate the inequality in representation of migrant women in the media, exploration o f the sum of television advertisements is necessary.Representation of Non English mouth Background (NESB) women in television advertisements featuring Australians is closely non-existent, and Aboriginal women are totally inattentive from representation. The most common representation of NESB women in the media, where it occurs, is in the role of handmaiden (for example, advertisements for Malaysian Airlines and Air Pacific) or as diverting relief (the fat ethnic cleanser in the 1990s Pro hart ad for carpet cleaner). The typical Aussie muliebrity is usually represented as a mother.She is blonde, thin and invariably presented within a domestic environment. Advertisements are largely for staples (such as shelter, food, cleanliness, finance, health and education) and appear in top family viewing time slots, where women are placed at the centre of the Australian home. not only does this image exclude migrants from being an Aussie muliebrity, it also suggests that women in Aust ralia should be at home, with children and concerned only with the staples of running a household.Evidence suggests that these images have a negative effect on the self-esteem of ethnic minorities, especially in children, (Berry & Mitchell-Kernan 1982) and that the negative attitudes of the mainstream population towards ethnic minority groups results from these media representations (Committee of Arab Australians 1990 HREOC 1991). These stereotypical representations of ethnic women thus add to the perpetual inequality in Australia, by pigeon-holing migrant women in a submissive role. These advertisements also strengthen the perceptions of migrants as collectively working class citizens (Issues Deliberations Australia 2007)Class division/exploitation is arguably the largest factor contributing to inequality in Australia. The basis of this is that class is not an abstract, physical object quality it has to do with the lived experiences of people, their encounters with hostility and obligingness and snobbery and exploitation (McGregor C 2001 53) Many migrants become working-class citizens. Lower standards of education and training send immigrants (especially those from non English speaking backgrounds) into jobs using manual labour to make believe an income. Working class people are slight presumable to move up the class ladder, ending up backup in clusters.Working class suburbs slackly produce working class people. Schools in working class areas are less likely to encourage students to go on to tertiary education and children are more inclined to stick with what they know instead than pursue a new course. Ethnicity does not automatically place an individual into any one particular class however, migrants generally arrive in Australia with little or no money and are disfavor from the start. Ethnic Australians are more likely to remain in middle or working-class situations, with very few exceptions to the figure (McGregor C 2001).As previously discussed , the Australian media does little to assist ethnic Australians. By the constant portrayal of migrants in servant/submissive roles, other Australians are less likely to see migrants as anything else, and expect them to remain in these positions of servitude. Throughout Australias history, race and ethnicity have played a major part in ensuring that the people of Australia are not treated equally. Media representations evince that only a thin, blonde woman is a true Aussie mum, and that the role of a migrant woman is only to serve.In addition, popular opinion demonstrates that Muslim Australians are a threat to national security and social harmony and Aboriginal people have less right to share their own affairs than do white Australians. Although popular opinion is not inevitably indicative of reality, it does dictate the sensed reality of existence within a society. It is these perceived concepts of ones race or ethnic origins that cause inequality to head for the hills in mod ern Australian society and a huge shift in perception is required to create societal harmony.As concluded in the study by Issues Deliberations Australia, education of both migrants and other Australians is the key to equality for all citizens. Bibliography Bessant, J & Watts R 2002, Chapter 9 Neighbours and Nations ethnic identity and multiculturalism, in Sociology Australia, 2nd Edition, Allen & Unwin, St Leonards, NSW Burdess, N 1998, screen structure, in Handbook of scholar skills, 2nd edition, Prentice Hall, Sydney Hollinsworth, D 1998, Racism concepts, theories and approaches, in Race and Racism in Australia, 2nd edition, Social Science Press, Katoomba, NSW.Issues Deliberations Australia/the States 2007, Final Report Summary, Australia Deliberates Muslims and Non Muslims, viewed fifth October 2007, ida. org. au/UserFiles/File/AUSTRALIA%20DELIBERATES%20-%20FINAL% 20REPORT %20SUMMARY. pdf. 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