Discrimination refers to any disadvantage or degradation of groups and can take many different forms and relate to a wide variety of individual or group-specific characteristics. The following list is therefore necessarily only exemplary and incomplete.
Sexual harassment
The basic characteristic of harassment is crossing a line that another person experiences against his will. Processes that were not intended can also be perceived as harassment It is therefore not appropriate to go beyond the personal sphere of others, among other things by:
- the forcing of sexual acts (also trying to) by means of violence or threats of violence
- direct/indirect threat of disadvantage for refusing advances
- promise of benefits for sexual concessions
- showing or disseminating pornography
- suggestive and sexualised comments, jokes and gestures
- derogatory remarks about the body, sexuality, or sexual orientation of others
- physical contact that is not consensual
- desire for sexual attention.
Racist acts
Any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, skin colour, descent, national origin or ethnicity, which aims or results in an equal recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms in political, economic, social, cultural or any other area of public life is thwarted or impaired.
A statement within the meaning of this code of conduct is considered racist if the person concerned feels discriminated or offended by it and a reference can be made between the statement and the definition mentioned.
We recognise that racism is not only reflected in explicit statements and actions, but is also anchored in social structures and acts in the subconscious – factors that influence each other. Representations of these structures in the theatre are also rated as racist.
Anti-Semitism
An international working definition of anti-Semitism is: "Anti-Semitism is a certain perception of Jews, which can be expressed as hatred towards Jews. Anti-Semitism is directed in word or deed against Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property as well as against Jewish community institutions or religious establishments." The State of Israel, which is understood as a Jewish collective, can also be the target of such attacks. This does not mean that a critical discourse on specific political decisions by the Israeli government is inadmissible.
Anti-Muslim racism
Anti-Muslim racism follows thought patterns that are also inherent in other forms of racism:
- Muslim people and people identified as Muslim are constructed into a uniform group to which mostly negative characteristics are generally attributed, which almost naturally distinguish them from their own group.
- The devaluation of the "others" is accompanied by an appreciation of the equally constructed in-group, which is designed as a positive counter-image (civilized, enlightened, emancipated, etc.).
- The construction of a binary order (us vs. Muslims) simultaneously serves to justify the privileges of the dominant society (i.e. the non-Muslim white majority society).
It is important that this is not about the actual behavior and realities of life of Muslims, but that this image is a construction, i.e. it is only created by the dominant society. This means: Muslims are "made" into others ("othering"). Classism Classism refers to discrimination based on social background and/or social and economic position. Classism is therefore not just about how much money someone has at their disposal, but also what status they have and what financial and social circumstances they grew up in. Classism manifests itself at a wide variety of social levels. Discrimination can manifest itself in individual behavior and attitudes, but also in structural conditions and political decisions. For example, when management reacts more quickly to the problems of academic employees than to the problems of other employees, or when academic working methods are defined as an overarching norm.
Dealing with people with disabilities
Ableism is the unjustified unequal treatment (“discrimination”) due to a physical or psychological impairment or because of learning difficulties. It is an “ableism” when a person is judged on the basis of a certain, often externally perceptible quality or ability – his or her “handicap”.
Body shaming
Body shaming is any kind of denigration of a person because of their body. Very often overweight people (fat shaming) are affected, but also other people whose appearance does not correspond to the current ideal of beauty. The form of body shaming that is most easily noticed, however, is the public denigration of bodies (negative comments about the other person's body). But body shaming can also take place behind closed doors (gossip). Body shaming works because adjectives that actually describe our bodies have been reinterpreted as descriptions of character traits. For example, the word "fat" is no longer just a description of the condition of the body, but is associated with terms such as lazy, unkempt, sick, undisciplined or ugly. This can also lead to professional discrimination and exclusion.
Queerphobia
Homophobia, also known as homophobia, is defined as negative attitudes, prejudices and rejection towards homosexual people. Depending on the severity, homophobia ranges from prejudice and fear of contact to pronounced aversion and support for discrimination or state repression against homosexuals to extreme hatred and physical violence against homosexuals.
Transphobia (rejection of trans* people) is expressed through questioning or denying gender identity, linguistic invisibility, psychological and physical violence. Likewise, the rejection of non-binary people and others who do not fit into the pattern of "the gender assigned to you at birth is your gender forever" is a form of queerphobia. Structures that are cisnormative and do not allow for a diverse gender identity are also queerphobic.
