Cultural racism

Cultural racism describes the use of “culture” as a substitute for “biology” in racist ideologies. In this context, culture is viewed as an unchangeable explanation for individual actions, attitudes, behaviors, and conflicts. The concept of culture is associated with ethnicity, meaning supposedly set cultural characteristics are linked to supposedly fixed ethnicities or nationalities. For example, this occurs when people are reduced to their “culture” or similar categories. This approach disregards the heterogeneity and complexity of cultural groups, leading to the propagation of stereotypes. Cultural racism arguments aim to divide societies into two categories, “belonging” and “non-belonging”, thereby perpetuating the process of othering.