What is Racism? Your Questions Answered Professor Shane Houston from the University of Sydney. In the wake of Eddie McGuire's comments about Adam Goodes, Fairfax Media had a huge response on Thursday to its story 'Are you a casual racist?'. A number of readers had questions or comments about what they did and didn't see as racism. Professor Shane Houston, who was quoted in the story, has responded to some of these questions and comments below. Professor Houston is the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Indigenous Strategy and Services) of the University of Sydney. Is it racist if someone uses a derogatory term about their own race? An action or comment that assigns derogatory attributes to group of people based on race is racist. It is equally possible, for example, for an Aboriginal person to make racist statements about Aboriginal people as it is for a non-Aboriginal Australian. Would it be racist if Adam Goodes had called Eddie McGuire an ape? The term 'ape' has been used in the past in a way that recalled the historic view that Aboriginal people were lesser human beings. It recalls the notions of the superiority of one race over another, a concept that Australians have discarded as totally inappropriate. I would have to say, ask Eddie. We are all cultural beings and I don't know enough about Eddie's cultural heritage and identity to comment. I should say, however, that the potential for Eddie and Adam to be equally offended by the same comment for it to be racist is not relevant. Is it racist to use terms like: Pom, Yank, Kiwi, Paki? And how are those terms different? It's the context that is important. If, for example, a person from Pakistan takes offence at the term 'Paki', then its use should be eliminated. Whether terms cause offence is a decision of the Pakistani not the person making the comment. Labelling of the other in ways unacceptable to them is not appropriate. Are jokes that make Irish people out to be stupid, racist? Or jokes about New Zealanders and sheep? It is just wrong and racist. For example Ireland has produced seven Nobel Laureates - clearly not all Irish people are stupid. In both cases there is a derogatory attribution to a group of people based on stereotypes or other equally inappropriate assumptions. If a comedian makes jokes about their race - for example Woody Allen about Jewish people or Chris Rock about African-Americans - is it racist for a non-Jewish or non-African-American person to laugh? The judgement about whether people should laugh is one for each member of the audience. They may not see the implications of laughing at racist stereotypes (if that is the device the jokes employed). People may laugh because they have not thought through the issues. Greater cultural competence and knowledge might enable people to recognise the harm that informal racism causes. The other point is that we are all imperfect but if we think more about and use more of the tools associated with cultural competence we will get better at it. What is the difference between making fun of someone based on their nationality, and making fun of someone based on their race? Nationality is not - in many, many ways - the same as race. Not all countries are populated by one race and in an increasingly mobile world this is less and less so. Many nations have citizens from many places. We need also to be careful of terms like 'making fun', sometimes 'making fun of someone' can be a veil used to mask or normalise what is really a racist remark. Is it racist to repeat a positive stereotype about people from a race, for example, 'All African-Americans are athletic' or 'Asian people are more intelligent'? The first question I would ask and I think a culturally competent person should ask is, "Are all African Americans good athletes or are all Asian people more intelligent, how do I know that?" What assumptions are my statement based on? Individuals should assess where their views are coming from and try and make sure their comments and behaviours are framed appropriately. Being able to engage in honest self reflection is one of the key tools of a culturally competent person or organisation. Is it racist to talk about skin colour but not in a way that's necessarily derogatory, for example, 'His skin is so black you can barely see him in the dark'. Statements like this may not be racist, if you were making a statement that you knew to be true. Skin colour is a hot area thought. Again, context from the perspective of the person about whom you are speaking is important. Something to consider, for example, is that skin colour has been used in Australia to try and make out that lighter skinned Aboriginal people are somehow less Aboriginal than those with darker colour. What if a member of a minority made a joke about members of a different minority? Racism occurs when a person of any race assigns detrimental attributes to another based on race. If a person praises another person for speaking good English, knowing it's not their native tongue, is it racist? Or just patronising? Praise of an individual for an accomplishment is not racist, you are not attributing a detrimental quality or feature to a group or individual based on race, you are praising a person. Is it patronising? Context is important.