Unmasking Normalized Violence: Pākehā Culture, Settler Colonialism, and the Epidemic of Bullying and Sexual Violence in Aotearoa New Zealand Schools
The culture-centered approach (CCA) interrogates the entanglements of whiteness, power, and violence within settler colonial frameworks in Aotearoa New Zealand. This lens prioritizes the voices of marginalized communities, such as Māori, Pasifika, and brown migrants, to expose how dominant structures obscure oppression. In this blog post, I expand on my analyses to examine how violence—including physical, cultural, and sexual—is normalized in Pākehā culture as a cornerstone of the settler colonial project. I'll link these patterns to micro-level school dynamics, where bullying and sexual violence flourish under excuses like "boys will be boys." These cultures reward aggression while sustaining white mediocrity, fueling white backlash against brown excellence—particularly that of high-performing brown girls, including migrants. Critically, I'll trace how sexual violence and rape culture must be understood in continuity with colonial roots, perpetuating harm against marginalized bodies, especially brown migrant students. Finally, I'll discuss how this culture perpetuates under normative codes of white fragility, where naming whiteness and racism is deemed uncivil or impolite, while the acts of racism themselves are normalized through strategies of politeness embedded in white culture, and how ignorance serves as a key trope in upholding this violence.
The Roots: Violence Normalized in Pākehā Culture as Settler Colonial Legacy
Settler colonialism in Aotearoa is an enduring structure that embeds violence into cultural norms, rendering it invisible to the dominant group. Pākehā culture, as the settler norm, individualizes racism and violence, evading accountability for colonial legacies like displacement and erasure. This "common sense" discourse persists, normalizing violence that mirrors initial colonial acts. In my culture-centered research, marginalized voices reveal how this violence spreads structurally, akin to a virus, infecting institutions and sustaining inequities. Even in disability contexts, participants underscore settler colonial roots in perpetuating harm, challenging state complicity. Sexual violence is integral to this legacy. Colonialism weaponized rape and assault as tools of domination, with historical cases in Aotearoa showing how sexual violence enforced control over indigenous and marginalized bodies. This isn't historical residue; it continues in modern rape culture, where sexual coercion, harassment, and assault are normalized, disproportionately affecting Māori and other brown communities. Pākehā reluctance to confront this—through uneven remembrance of colonial atrocities—entrenches sexual violence as normative, linking past invasions to present harms.
Perpetuation Through White Fragility and Norms of Politeness
This normalized violence is sustained by white fragility, a defensive response where Pākehā individuals and institutions react with discomfort, denial, or anger when confronted with discussions of racism or whiteness. In Aotearoa's settler colonial context, white fragility manifests in educational settings and broader society, where naming whiteness or racism is framed as uncivil or impolite, disrupting the racial comfort of the dominant group. Strategies of politeness, deeply embedded in Pākehā culture, prioritize maintaining harmony and avoiding conflict, but this "politeness" serves to silence critiques of racism while allowing vile acts of racism to persist unchallenged. For instance, polite racism in New Zealand operates through subtle exclusion, plausible deniability, and smiles that mask systemic harm, making direct confrontation appear rude or aggressive. This dynamic upholds colonial power structures by normalizing racism as everyday "common sense" while deeming anti-racist discourse as the true breach of civility. In schools, this fragility leads to resistance against addressing racism, as teachers and administrators deflect or deny reports to preserve their comfort, further entrenching violence against brown students.
Ignorance as a Trope: Sustaining Violence Through 'I Didn't Know' and Requests for Education
Closely intertwined with white fragility is the trope of ignorance, where claims like "I didn't know about this" or "can you educate me?" function as mechanisms to sustain and uphold the culture of violence in settler colonial societies like Aotearoa. Far from being innocent oversights, this "white ignorance" is an active, socially constructed epistemology that protects the settler colonial status quo by suppressing knowledge of historical and ongoing harms. In Pākehā narratives, ignorance of colonial history—such as land dispossession, cultural erasure, and violence—allows for the evasion of responsibility, framing racism as individual rather than structural. Requests for education from marginalized communities shift the burden onto those already oppressed, exploiting their labor while refusing to engage in self-reflection or systemic change, thus perpetuating epistemic exploitation. In schools, this trope manifests in institutional silencing, where teachers and administrators claim ignorance of racism to deflect accountability, legitimizing colorblind approaches that sustain violence and bullying against brown students. This not only upholds white mediocrity but also normalizes the culture of violence by ensuring that colonial legacies remain unexamined and unchallenged.
The Micro Context: Bullying and Sexual Violence in Schools as Extensions of Colonial Violence
Schools mirror these colonial dynamics, normalizing violence through bullying and sexual harm. High bullying rates persist, with 42% of Māori and 40% of Pākehā students affected, often extending beyond school walls but rooted in societal norms. Narratives like "boys will be boys" excuse aggression, flipping it from critique to justification in education and media. Teachers perpetuate this, viewing boys' violence as innate, intersecting with colonial legacies that dismiss harm to marginalized students.
This extends to sexual violence and rape culture in schools, where attitudes normalize harassment and assault, leading to epidemic levels. Surveys reveal young women facing rape and harassment, with schools often denying or deflecting reports. These must be read in continuity with settler colonialism: sexual violence as a conquest tool persists, targeting brown bodies in educational spaces. Schools' infrastructures uphold this, with verbal and racist bullying compounding sexual harm, especially for brown migrant students.
Brown migrant students—often from Asian, South Asian, or other ethnic backgrounds—face acute discrimination. Reports show 20% experiencing race-based bullying monthly, with schools failing to address it seriously. Asian migrants report high racism, including from teachers, echoing colonial hierarchies that devalue non-Pākehā excellence. This intersects with sexual violence, where migrant girls navigate misogynistic and racialized harm, rooted in colonial domination.
Rewarding Aggression: Upholding White Mediocrity Over True Merit
These systems frame bullying and sexual aggression as merit, yet they erode genuine achievement, propping up white mediocrity through biases. Teachers resist acknowledging racism post-events like Christchurch, sustaining Pākehā dominance. This mediocrity denies colonial violence, rewarding aggression antithetical to equity.
White Backlash: Targeting Brown Excellence, Especially Brown Girls and Migrants
Brown excellence triggers backlash. Māori, Pasifika, and brown migrant students face higher teacher discrimination, with success attributed to ethnicity, not merit. High-performing brown girls, including migrants, endure devaluation and bullying from peers and educators. Pasifika and migrant girls resist regimes prioritizing "safety" over empowerment, facing intersecting racial and sexual violence. White supremacist school structures normalize this, with "Maorification" complaints resisting cultural competency.
Toward Disruption: Centering Marginalized Voices for Change
Disrupting requires amplifying Māori, Pasifika, and brown migrant narratives to dismantle normalized violence, including sexual harm. Schools must reject colonial excuses, value brown excellence, and foster anti-colonial education. My work advocates this; let's build equitable futures.
The Roots: Violence Normalized in Pākehā Culture as Settler Colonial Legacy
Settler colonialism in Aotearoa is an enduring structure that embeds violence into cultural norms, rendering it invisible to the dominant group. Pākehā culture, as the settler norm, individualizes racism and violence, evading accountability for colonial legacies like displacement and erasure. This "common sense" discourse persists, normalizing violence that mirrors initial colonial acts. In my culture-centered research, marginalized voices reveal how this violence spreads structurally, akin to a virus, infecting institutions and sustaining inequities. Even in disability contexts, participants underscore settler colonial roots in perpetuating harm, challenging state complicity. Sexual violence is integral to this legacy. Colonialism weaponized rape and assault as tools of domination, with historical cases in Aotearoa showing how sexual violence enforced control over indigenous and marginalized bodies. This isn't historical residue; it continues in modern rape culture, where sexual coercion, harassment, and assault are normalized, disproportionately affecting Māori and other brown communities. Pākehā reluctance to confront this—through uneven remembrance of colonial atrocities—entrenches sexual violence as normative, linking past invasions to present harms.
Perpetuation Through White Fragility and Norms of Politeness
This normalized violence is sustained by white fragility, a defensive response where Pākehā individuals and institutions react with discomfort, denial, or anger when confronted with discussions of racism or whiteness. In Aotearoa's settler colonial context, white fragility manifests in educational settings and broader society, where naming whiteness or racism is framed as uncivil or impolite, disrupting the racial comfort of the dominant group. Strategies of politeness, deeply embedded in Pākehā culture, prioritize maintaining harmony and avoiding conflict, but this "politeness" serves to silence critiques of racism while allowing vile acts of racism to persist unchallenged. For instance, polite racism in New Zealand operates through subtle exclusion, plausible deniability, and smiles that mask systemic harm, making direct confrontation appear rude or aggressive. This dynamic upholds colonial power structures by normalizing racism as everyday "common sense" while deeming anti-racist discourse as the true breach of civility. In schools, this fragility leads to resistance against addressing racism, as teachers and administrators deflect or deny reports to preserve their comfort, further entrenching violence against brown students.
Ignorance as a Trope: Sustaining Violence Through 'I Didn't Know' and Requests for Education
Closely intertwined with white fragility is the trope of ignorance, where claims like "I didn't know about this" or "can you educate me?" function as mechanisms to sustain and uphold the culture of violence in settler colonial societies like Aotearoa. Far from being innocent oversights, this "white ignorance" is an active, socially constructed epistemology that protects the settler colonial status quo by suppressing knowledge of historical and ongoing harms. In Pākehā narratives, ignorance of colonial history—such as land dispossession, cultural erasure, and violence—allows for the evasion of responsibility, framing racism as individual rather than structural. Requests for education from marginalized communities shift the burden onto those already oppressed, exploiting their labor while refusing to engage in self-reflection or systemic change, thus perpetuating epistemic exploitation. In schools, this trope manifests in institutional silencing, where teachers and administrators claim ignorance of racism to deflect accountability, legitimizing colorblind approaches that sustain violence and bullying against brown students. This not only upholds white mediocrity but also normalizes the culture of violence by ensuring that colonial legacies remain unexamined and unchallenged.
The Micro Context: Bullying and Sexual Violence in Schools as Extensions of Colonial Violence
Schools mirror these colonial dynamics, normalizing violence through bullying and sexual harm. High bullying rates persist, with 42% of Māori and 40% of Pākehā students affected, often extending beyond school walls but rooted in societal norms. Narratives like "boys will be boys" excuse aggression, flipping it from critique to justification in education and media. Teachers perpetuate this, viewing boys' violence as innate, intersecting with colonial legacies that dismiss harm to marginalized students.
This extends to sexual violence and rape culture in schools, where attitudes normalize harassment and assault, leading to epidemic levels. Surveys reveal young women facing rape and harassment, with schools often denying or deflecting reports. These must be read in continuity with settler colonialism: sexual violence as a conquest tool persists, targeting brown bodies in educational spaces. Schools' infrastructures uphold this, with verbal and racist bullying compounding sexual harm, especially for brown migrant students.
Brown migrant students—often from Asian, South Asian, or other ethnic backgrounds—face acute discrimination. Reports show 20% experiencing race-based bullying monthly, with schools failing to address it seriously. Asian migrants report high racism, including from teachers, echoing colonial hierarchies that devalue non-Pākehā excellence. This intersects with sexual violence, where migrant girls navigate misogynistic and racialized harm, rooted in colonial domination.
Rewarding Aggression: Upholding White Mediocrity Over True Merit
These systems frame bullying and sexual aggression as merit, yet they erode genuine achievement, propping up white mediocrity through biases. Teachers resist acknowledging racism post-events like Christchurch, sustaining Pākehā dominance. This mediocrity denies colonial violence, rewarding aggression antithetical to equity.
White Backlash: Targeting Brown Excellence, Especially Brown Girls and Migrants
Brown excellence triggers backlash. Māori, Pasifika, and brown migrant students face higher teacher discrimination, with success attributed to ethnicity, not merit. High-performing brown girls, including migrants, endure devaluation and bullying from peers and educators. Pasifika and migrant girls resist regimes prioritizing "safety" over empowerment, facing intersecting racial and sexual violence. White supremacist school structures normalize this, with "Maorification" complaints resisting cultural competency.
Toward Disruption: Centering Marginalized Voices for Change
Disrupting requires amplifying Māori, Pasifika, and brown migrant narratives to dismantle normalized violence, including sexual harm. Schools must reject colonial excuses, value brown excellence, and foster anti-colonial education. My work advocates this; let's build equitable futures.