Foci of categorism

A "focus of categorism" is when categorism is based on a certain categorization of people or targeting a certain category of people. Categorism is called "racism" or "homophobia" when the categorization it is based on is race or the targeted category is homosexuals. But there are also many other such foci. Note that categorism operates on at least six levels, including the individual level and the structural level. It is not a matter of either bigoted individuals or discriminatory social structures - it is both, and more.

List of 30 foci

This list is available at page 99 of the thesis. The list is not intended to be conclusive, as there are endless possibilities to categorize people and then be categorist against them based on this categorization. Note that the list has two levels. The first level is the categorization foci - those foci that are about a categorization rather than a specific category. The second level is targeting foci, focusing on specific categories within the categorizations.

• 1. Racism: Based on race, skin-color or ethnicity.
  • 2. Antiromanism: Targeting people who are self-identified Romani, or are seen as Romani/Gypsies by others. Also known as Antiziganism, although this version of the word is more problematic.
  • 3. Orientalism: Targeting “Orientals” - People living in countries categorized as “eastern”, such as Egypt and Japan, defining these very different populations as being one unified category.
  • 4. Occidentalism: Targeting “Occidentals” - People who live in cities, people who are secular and highly educated, as well as people who are born in western countries, defining these three categories as being one unified category.
  • 5. Gingerism: Targeting people with red hair.
  • 6. Afrophobia: Targeting Afro-Americans, Afro-Europeans and other people of African ancestry living in other parts of the world.
• 7. Sexism: Based on gender. Targeting women to a larger extent than targeting men, as many cultures has traditionally regarded women as being “the second sex”.
  • 8. Misogyny: Targeting women.
  • 9. Misandry: Targeting men.
  • 10. Transphobia: Targeting trans people, or anyone who is not a cis-person.
• 11. Paraphobia: Targeting sexual minorities, such as fetishists and sadomasochists.
  • 12. Homophobia: Targeting people for being perceived as homosexual, including self-identified homosexuals and bisexuals.
  • 13. Pedoparanoia: Targeting innocent people through frivolously accusing them of being pedophiles, child-molesters or some kind of unspecified-yet-serious danger to children.
• 14. Religism: Based on religion, faith or other belief.
  • 15. Antisemitism: Targeting people who are self-identified Jews or are seen as Jewish by others.
  • 16. Antimuslimism: Targeting people who are self-identified Muslims, or are seen as Muslims by others. Also known as Islamophobia, although this version of the word is more problematic.
  • 17. Christianophobia: Targeting people who are self-identified Christians, or are seen as Christians by others.
  • 18. Atheophobia: Targeting people who are self-identified Atheists, or are seen as Atheists by others.
  • 19. Witchparanoia: Targeting people by accusing them of being evil witches with dangerous and destructive supernatural powers. Although this may target anyone, including self-identified witches, the most common targets seem to be African children.
• 20. Ableism: Based on functionality, usually targeting people who have a specific disability.
• 21. Ageism: Based on age, often in the form of needlessly and arbitrarily judging people to be “to young” or “too old”.
• 22. Classism: Based on direct or indirect perception of social class. Direct such as condemning people for their real or perceived social class. “Class” refers to socioeconomic position, social status, or both.
• 23. Heightism: Targeting people who are longer or shorter than those doing the categorism consider normal.
• 24. Linguicism: Targeting people who speak a certain language or people who have limited or no skill in a certain language.
• 25. Intersectional Foci: An intersectional Focus is when the focus is not on a single categorization, but on the combination of two or more categorizations.
  • 26. Racist Sexism: Targeting a combination of race & gender, for example Asian Men or Caucasian women. Racist sexism against black women is sometimes called misogynoir, a word derived from “misogyny” and “noir”.
  • 27. Whorephobia or Slut-Shaming: A combination of sexism and paraphobia, targeting women with accusations of being sex-workers or other supposed sexual transgressions.
  • 28. Transmisogyny: Targeting trans-women with mixed misogyny and misandry.
  • 29. Paraphobic Misandry/Misogyny: Categorism against based on sexuality and gender, Constructing sexuality in men/women as perverted and dirty.
  • 30. Heterosexism & cis-sexism: Sexist and homophobic/transphobic notions of what a “real man” or “real woman is”.

Other foci

There are an infinite number of potential foci of categorism. Ones that didn't make it into the thesis are added here.

• Alterophobia: Based on a distinction between mainstream and alternative lifestyles, targeting the later.
• Other foci in examples: Various foci from the examples. As these examples are fictional, some of them may contain foci that does not exist in the real world.