Stigma-Based Solidarity

Abstract

With growing diversity and increased media attention to inequality, it is likely that stigmatized-group members will have increased political influence on social issues affecting other stigmatized groups. When might members of different stigmatized groups see commonality in their experiences or disadvantaged status, and when might another stigmatized group be treated solely as an out-group? This article provides an overview of new and important lines of research examining how perceived discrimination may shape intergroup relations among members of different stigmatized groups. Specifically, perceived discrimination is highlighted as a potentially common experience for members of different stigmatized groups that at times elicits coalitional attitudes, but is often solely experienced as a threat to social identity and thus elicits intergroup derogation. The dimensions on which individuals are stigmatized, aspects of their discrimination experiences, and contextual factors are important for predicting whether perceiving discrimination will spur coalition or derogation. This topic is vital for understanding intergroup relations and political behavior in the 21st century.