25 Jun 05
Sexuality and race are both controversial subjects, so it is little wonder that discussing one in reference to the other often causes heated reactions. In both cases there is a tendency for people to make comparisons between different groups, often seeking to attribute positive/negative or superior/inferior characteristics; this is often founded upon fundamental misunderstandings of the basic facts of human biology.

The greatest mistake many people make is in believing that there is such a thing as a clearly defined 'race'. It is obvious to most people that, with increasing international travel and migration, interbreeding between people from different parts of the world is a continuous process that started centuries ago and is making the human race increasingly homogenous. What is not so obvious is that the 'races' were never really that different in the first place. Every human being is 99% genetically identical to every other, and the greatest physical differences between different populations are not the most conspicuous ones. Superficial characteristics such as skin colour vary between, and within, different populations much more than factors such as blood grouping.

Most people attribute racial differences to environmental adaptation, but this is not a definite biological fact. What is more significant is the fact that a group of people living largely within one geographical area (as was the case everywhere on Earth prior to the 15th century AD) are guaranteed to share similar characteristics with each other, which will, over time, be markedly different from another population which has also developed in relative isolation.

Names

Despite this, people like to categorise and generalise for the sake of convenience. The German anthropologist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach concluded that humanity had five races: Caucasians ('white'), Mongolians ('oriental'), Ethiopians ('black'), Americans (native American tribes) and Malayans (peoples of the Pacific islands). These classifications are not used by social scientists today, though the terms persist in popular use. In Britain today, most dark-skinned people of Caribbean or African descent refer to themselves as black or Afro Caribbean. The term 'Negro', which is Spanish and Portuguese for black, was used since the 16th century (by traders of African slaves) but is now considered derogatory (in the US this is the reverse of the situation in the 1960s, when 'Negro' was polite and 'black' was rude).

Britons descended from peoples of the Indian subcontinent (who come under the old classification of 'Caucasian', the same as Anglo-Saxons) refer to themselves as Asian. People of 'oriental' descent (Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc.) also refer to themselves as Asian; a distinction is made by referring to the former group as 'south Asian' and the latter as 'south east Asian' (Mongoloid, oriental and 'yellow' being unacceptable).

Racism

Racism is a common phenomenon throughout the world and throughout history. In ancient times, war pretty much equalled genocide or slavery. The traditional caste system in India places darker-skinned Dravidian races towards the bottom of the social ladder. Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jewish people) has existed for centuries, perpetrated by Romans, Christians, Russian czarists and German Nazis among others. In more recent times the causes of racial discrimination and crime are more complex, often related to the 'scapegoat theory' of prejudice (a conspicuous minority makes a convenient target to redirect social unrest in times of national stress). The term 'ethnic cleansing' was coined in the 1990s to describe the pogroms in the former Soviet states and in the African state of Rwanda. Often the basis for discrimination is not physical but cultural (religion, language, etc.), though in Britain, 'racism' usually refers to discrimination based largely on skin colour.

British racism has been blamed on, among other things, the 'island' mentality of the British Isles; the relative provincialism of the UK compared to the rest of Europe (and most of the world) that fosters xenophobia; this is seen amongst white Britons not only in regard to foreigners but also in regard to the different nationalities that make up the UK. There is also the tendency for certain (mostly English) elements to cling doggedly to the old ideals of the British Empire, which includes a naïve and simplistic world-view: white Europeans achieved technological mastery over black Africans and are therefore superior because they are white rather than because of any environmental or historical/geographical factors. The attitude of traders of African slaves was that Africans were uncivilised (specifically, not Christian) and that their ownership by white people was sanctioned by God as well as the state. By bringing the heathens into Christian society, even as property, they were following a divine plan that conveniently justified their economic motives.

The prevailing Christian/European view of African history and culture ignores the achievements of African peoples, including the archaeological remains of the earliest known human civilisation (2 million years old) in the Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, predating European settlements by more than a million years. There is also evidence that the Egyptian Dynasties were founded by black Africans 3,000 years ago (and ruled by Nubians - of what is modern Sudan - during the 8th century BC). Egyptian culture greatly influenced the Mediterranean (regarded as the cradle of Western civilisation). The Bantu peoples (linguistic group) established many thriving cities in central and southern Africa, most notably Mwene Mutapa Empire in modern Zimbabwe (7th-15th century AD). The Oyo (Yoruba) state flourished in West Africa until colonisation in the 19th century.

Britain traded in African slaves from 1713 to 1807, using them mostly in their colonies in America and the West Indies (Caribbean). The majority of black people in Britain are the result of immigration from the Caribbean during the 1940s-1960s, at the invitation of the British Government, to fill a labour shortage following World War II. The majority of white Britons were not welcoming to the immigrants, whose difference in skin colour marked them out as conspicuous targets for mistrust, paranoia, hatred and outright violence. British racism seems to be founded on the belief that black people are inferior both mentally (less intelligent/civilised) and physically (comparisons being made with apes, implying that they are somewhat less than human). There may even be elements of folklore involved; in pre-industrial times superstition was rife and Britain did its share of witch-burning; the colour black was associated with evil and the devil.

Actual theories of white supremacy were put forward in Europe by Joseph Arthur Gobineau and Houston Stewart Chamberlain, whose beliefs in the superior nature of the Aryan (Germanic) race greatly influenced Hitler (The Germanic tribes of western Europe fought back Roman domination during the 3rd-5th centuries AD and are the forerunners of the German, English and Scandinavian peoples).

Even religion has been used to justify racism; In Genesis 9:18-27 Noah is drunk and naked in his tent; his youngest son Ham sees him in this state and Noah curses his son Canaan: "He will be a slave to his brothers". Ham's son Canaan was the progenitor of the African nations (10:6-8).

Progress

The battle against racism has been a long struggle and is far from over, but many advancements have been made in the past century. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) established the principles of equality for all people. In 1963 the United Nations General Assembly approved a part of the supplementary section on economic, social, and cultural rights that prohibited discrimination on grounds of race, color, or creed. The Race Relations Act in Britain (197?) made employment discrimination illegal. Racism itself persists, of course, and injustices against people of colour are still a major concern (the rise of Neo-Nazi political organisations in Britain and Europe is the most recent development) but as society becomes more cosmopolitan so ethnic prejudice becomes more and more a relic of the past.

Gay people of colour in white society generally have a greater deal of prejudice to contend with than their white counterparts, for two main reasons. It is unfortunately the case that, for most people, the experience of oppression is not transferable; gay people can be racist and non-white people can be homophobic. Gay people of colour can therefore find themselves caught between worlds, uncomfortable on the predominantly white gay scene and closeted within their racial community. They may find themselves shunned by white gay people or treated as exotic sex objects. Their own families may be particularly homophobic for cultural reasons (due to religion and/or lingering colonial attitudes). The problem is compounded by a relative lack of good role models, though this has also improved greatly in recent times.

The gay community prides itself on its inclusiveness; although there will always be ignorant elements, the majority of gay social organisations are opposed to racism. Gay people of colour have also founded their own organisations to support each other, raise awareness and create a positive space.

Racial history

Britain became a separate land mass from Europe at the end of the Ice Age, when rising sea levels created the English Channel (8000 BC). It was inhabited at various times by various migrants from Europe, most notably the Iberians (c.3000 BC, originally from Spain) and the Beaker folk (c. 2500 BC) who built Stonehenge. It was overrun and dominated by the Celts (2000 BC), originally from western Europe. In 55 BC the Romans invaded any made the land (Britannia) part of their empire until 410 AD, bringing the benefits of their culture (engineering, political) with them, as well as Christianity. They were unable to conquer the Celtic tribes (Picts and Scots) of what is now Scotland.

In the 5th and 6th centuries AD Britain was invaded by tribes from Germany, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes; England is named after the Angles. Celtic tribes held onto their lands in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms ruled throughout England until Egbert of Wessex unified England in 825 AD. During the 8th century England was beset by Viking raiders from Denmark, and although they were resisted Danes began to settle there. In 1014 Canute II of Denmark defeated Edmund II of and made England part of the Danish empire (which included Norway). In 1066 William of Normandy (France) conquered England, becoming its king.

Tha Act of Union 1536 united England and Wales under Henry Viii, English king of Welsh descent. Elizabeth I conquered Ireland in 1603. The accession that year of James I, the son of Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, queen of Scots, united the crowns of England and Scotland. The Act of Union passed in 1707 by the parliaments of England and Scotland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

The Act of Union 1801 made Ireland part of Great Britain, but Irish nationalism led to many conflicts in opposition to British rule. In 1920 the British Parliament enacted the Government of Ireland Bill, providing one parliament for the 6 counties of the Protestant north (Northern Ireland) and another for the remaining 26 counties. In 1937 the Republic of Ireland (Eire), consisting of the 26 southern (Catholic) Irish counties, achieved independence; the six northern (Protestant) counties remained British and became known as Northern Ireland.

Mass immigration from Africa, the West Indies and Asia dates from the late 1940s. There was a labour shortage following the end of World War II and many people from the British colonies were encouraged to immigrate. In 1948 the steamship Empire Windrush brough nearly 500 Caribbeans to England.

As of the year 2000, non-white races made up about 7% of the British population, about half of which were born in the UK.