**5. Theoretical outline**

#### **5.1 Everyday racism**

Philomena Essed's [46] theory of everyday racism provides the framework for analysing the care workers' stories on ethnic discrimination and racism. Their experiences are analysed by using Essed's core theory that racism and racial bias are manifested daily. In short, everyday racism refers to the familiar, seemingly minor, but significant ways non-white people encounter racism through regular social interactions. Unlike blatant racism, which is obvious and easily identified, everyday racism is not always immediately visible and often embedded in daily life. Therefore, Essed argues that racism is more than structure and ideology. She emphasises that racism is expressed in everyday routines and behaviours and is transferred to and repeated in different situations. Essed claims that this racial bias and racism experienced by non-whites is theoretically relevant. The term 'experience' is the core of Essed's conceptualisation of everyday racism. It is consequently crucial to emphasise racialised people's specific experiences.

The sharing of experiences in the research circle is the dissemination of knowledge. The personnel can hereby discuss specific aspects of their daily working lives. Sharing these everyday experiences with the other participants underscore oppressive actions that are difficult to cope with at work and often become invisible. Eventually, in a work culture distinguished by subordination and vulnerability, this exchange of experiences may strengthen the care workers. When emotions are a significant part of the professional work, there is a risk of misjudgements and misunderstandings of situations, that might lead to discrimination and racism in the eldercare services [33, 47].

'Race' is a controversial term in Sweden and not necessarily loaded with the same meaning as in other parts of the world. Race relations and the academically developed term race theory are well-adapted academic and societal phenomena in South Africa, South America, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The French philosopher and social scientist Étienne Balibar [48] has argued that racism, from an ideological perspective, is a discursive practice that hides class interests, social privileges and political power. He argues that it is irrelevant to talk about racism, as we should instead focus on the manifestations of racism found at structural, institutional and everyday levels. Altogether, racism constitutes a complex field of social practices and structures, where various types of people are emphasised and hierarchised.

By focusing on the significance of how concepts of race are created and transformed, we can understand what Omi and Winant [49] describe as racial formation. Racial formation or racialisation happens when people are categorised by complexion and viewed as distinctly different or uncharacteristic. Racialisation refers to explicit or unspoken categorisations, perspectives and associations that naturalise a hierarchical ranking of human beings that structure social relationships and positions of power and subordination [50]. Using terms such as 'racialised' and 'ethnicised' emphasises that specific individuals or groups, based on conceptions of race and ethnicity, are attributed behaviour patterns and are expected to stand for specific values [51].

*The Challenge of Migration in Swedish Eldercare: Experiences of Everyday Racism DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.106609*
