Racism continues to be a reality that is reflected in practically all aspects of society. Virtually all countries suffer from this phenomenon, the result of irrational beliefs rooted for centuries, and fighting this type of discrimination is necessary to be able to socialize well.
On the other hand, racism is not just an adult thing. Its symptoms already appear in childhood, and at this stage of life it can lead to episodes of meaningless cruelty and suffering: bullying, marginalization, ridicule, prejudice, etc. In this article we will see several tips on how to educate boys and girls not to be racist
It must be taken into account that racism, in order to exist, does not need to have previously internalized highly developed concepts about what a race is, or about how the black population, the white population or the like is supposed to behave. It is fundamentally based on prejudices that arise from the interpretation of certain aesthetic features
This means that boys and girls can begin to develop racism almost spontaneously, without having to “memorize” anything, simply by exposing themselves to dynamics of interaction between people that have racist content. Passively, they begin to learn that those who look a certain way, dress a certain way, or talk a certain way behave in a certain way.
Knowing this, let’s see what to do to educate boys and girls away from racism.
1. Don’t pretend that racialized people don’t exist
The first step to fight racism is recognize that there are a series of characteristics by which certain groups of people are discriminated against due to factors linked to their appearance or family origin. It is not feasible to show, for example, that there is no such thing as “black people” or “white people.”
The key is, however, that since the rejection of racism these differences between people are seen as cultural constructs, something that has arisen from how we interpret reality, and not as something that is present in human biology regardless of whether we think in it or not. That is to say, although for biology the concept of human races does not make sense, yes it does for the social sciences
Therefore, expressing without complexes that racialized people exist (that is, those who have historically been discriminated against due to characteristics such as their skin color) is necessary to move towards the next steps to educate in raising awareness of the condemnation of racism.
2. Teaches why there are groups of people with different traits
Obviously, very young girls and boys It is not possible to explain to them the ins and outs of genetics but it is good to make it clear that those traits to which a racial interpretation is attributed are like any other physical trait, such as being taller or shorter, having larger or smaller teeth, etc.
This is important so that they understand that appearance does not tell us anything about someone’s personality, their interests, their language, etc.
3. Explain that there are competing visions
It is useless to talk about racism to children as if there were no social problem linked to it. That is why we must warn them by explaining that some people do believe that the characteristics associated with races add or subtract value to people or even describe their way of thinking and feeling, and at the same time we must show why they are wrong
Fundamentally, the idea that must be defended is that any person, regardless of their appearance or whether they more or less fit racial stereotypes, can be good or bad, shy or sociable, distrustful or warm, or any other way in which It refers to their way of being and behaving. Racism does not arise from people’s bodies, but from situations of injustice that occurred a long time ago (slavery, conquest, etc.) and whose effects are still noticeable in the beliefs of many people.
It is true that racism does not only have an origin based on beliefs and that there are other material factors that feed it (for example, certain types of borders), but it is better to give up such complex explanations so that the main message is better understood.
It is also good to give examples of common arguments used by racist people to try to defend their attitude, so that they know how to recognize some of them in the future and, at that moment, remember the explanation related to why what is said is not TRUE.
It is important that boys and girls are clear that territories do not have races, and races do not have territories For example, a person with slanted eyes is not “Asian”, since many people live in Asia who do not have that characteristic and many people with that trait live outside of there.
Of course, so that he understands that these traits are more common in certain areas, you can teach him some very basic notions about how life does not remain static, but changes over time (evolution) and space (migrations).
