Dr Zuleyka Zevallos

Whiteness is the process by which White people's race is both normalised and "invisible" - White people don't question how race benefits them Like when WP liken any form of inequality (gender/ disability/ sexuality) to racism This erases #POC from the issue WP are elevating

Racism is systemic oppression based on race that affects life chances. It is embedded in institutions, evidenced in the low number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other #POC who are in positions of power, how racial minorities have poorer health outcomes, etc

Institutional racism is reproduced in everyday interactions, such as when White women say an incident of sexism is "like" racism. Or when WP say ableism is "worse" than racism. When White queer ppl compared marriage equality to racial segregation. All this erases race AND racism

Whiteness means White people use racism to virtue signal 1) racism is both a yardstick for "the worst" discrimination, but also whatever White people care about is even WORSE than racism 2) their opponents are like "racists" ie the "worst." But they as individual WP are "good"

White people who use this strategy ("racism is Bad. But THIS is Worse") are part of the institutional cogs that keep racism ticking along 1) they haven't educated themselves on racism 2) think they're exempt 3) hurt racial minorities within their communities by erasing race