dehumanisation
Treating people as things
Dehumanisation is the process of stripping people of their human qualities, dignity, or individuality—treating them as objects, animals, or abstractions rather than persons.
It operates through propaganda, slurs, and bureaucratic language that distances perpetrators from victims: The dehumanisation of prisoners made atrocities easier to commit.
The British spelling; Americans write dehumanization.
Prejudice based on ethnicity
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- stereotypingOversimplified group-based judgments
scapegoating · othering · intolerance · bias · supremacism · antisemitism · classism · casteism
Decline in condition
- subjugationForcing into submission
- objectificationReducing humans to things
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
brutalization · enslavement · tyranny · cruelty · atrocity · genocide · torture · ethnic cleansing
Reducing humans to things
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- numbnessLoss of sensation
- dissociationMental separation from surroundings
estrangement · indifference · apathy · commodification · anonymity · mechanization · automation · bureaucracy
Painful awareness of failure
- disgraceLoss of honor
- brandingCreating distinctive identity
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- humiliationLoss of dignity
contempt · scorn · degradation · denigration · derogation · inferiority · exclusion · marginalization
racism
Prejudice based on ethnicity
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- discriminationUnjust differential treatment
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
stereotyping · scapegoating · othering · intolerance · bias · supremacism · antisemitism · classism · casteism · ableism
degradation
Decline in condition
- subjugationForcing into submission
- objectificationReducing humans to things
- exploitationSelfish use of others
persecution · brutalization · enslavement · tyranny · cruelty · atrocity · genocide · torture · ethnic cleansing · apartheid
objectification
Reducing humans to things
- depersonalizationDetachment from one's identity
- detachmentSeparation or emotional uninvolvement
- numbnessLoss of sensation
dissociation · estrangement · indifference · apathy · commodification · anonymity · mechanization · automation · bureaucracy · facelessness
shame
Painful awareness of failure
humiliation · contempt · scorn · degradation · denigration · derogation · inferiority · exclusion · marginalization · labeling
dehumanisationhumanisation
Bestowing human characteristics
recognition · personhood · acknowledgment · individuation · dignity
dehumanisationcompassion
Concern for others' distress
empathy · reverence · humane treatment · care · ethical treatment
dehumanisationhumanisation
Bestowing human characteristics
inclusion · acceptance · enfranchisement · empowerment · integration
human, humane, humanity, inhuman, humanitarian, inhumane, inhumanity, humanism, humanist