Racializing

In sociology, racialization or ethnicization is the process of ascribing ethnic or racial identities to a relationship, social practice, or group that did not identify itself as such. Racialization or ethnicization is often borne out of the interaction of a group with a group that it dominates and ascribes identity for the purpose of continued domination. While it is often borne out of domination, the racialized and ethnicized group often gradually identifies with and even embraces the ascribed identity and thus becomes a self-ascribed race or ethnicity. These processes have been common across the history of imperialism, nationalism, and racial and ethnic hierarchies.

Racial categories have historically been constructed by whites with significant political influence within a society. They were commonly used as a way to discriminate against groups which were seen as different from that of the elites. In nineteenth and early twentieth century Europe, artwork was a common form of racialization which targeted countries in the Middle East and Asia. The artwork, predominantly paintings, were portrayed in order to instill prejudice in the Western populations through sexualizing and manipulating images. One of the most prominent examples of Orientalist work in art is a piece by Eugène Delacroix titled Women of Algiers in their Apartment. Dating back to 1834, it portrays three women resting in a harem in exotic clothing while an African woman is dressed in plain clothing, depicting her role as a servant. Fine textiles, hookahs, and other paraphernalia adorn the room, which represents a European fantasy of an exotic scene. Attempts to portray these cultures as strange, foreign and exotic through Orientalism led to intolerance towards the Arab and Asian communities in Europe and the United States.

...
Wikipedia