Essentialización

Essentialización refers to the process of reducing complex individuals or groups to a set of perceived essential characteristics. This often involves attributing inherent, immutable qualities to a person or group based on a particular identity marker, such as race, gender, nationality, or religion. The assumption is that these characteristics are fundamental and define the essence of the individual or group, overriding their individuality and diversity.

This concept is frequently discussed in sociology, anthropology, and critical theory. Essentialization can lead to stereotyping and prejudice, as it simplifies complex realities into rigid categories. It can also contribute to essentialist thinking, which posits that categories of things have a set of necessary and sufficient properties that determine their identity. For example, essentializing a particular ethnicity might involve claiming all members of that group share the same temperament or cultural practices, ignoring the vast differences that exist within any population group. While seemingly offering a straightforward understanding, essentialization often oversimplifies and can be a basis for discrimination.