Structural Solidarity: Lay Theories of Discrimination and Coalitional Attitudes among Stigmatized Groups
How do people’s beliefs about what drives discrimination against their group (structural factors or interpersonal biases) affect their support for coalescing with and improving stigmatized outgroups’ positions? Analyses of nationally-representative datasets reveal that Hispanics, Black Americans, and White women who held more structural (vs. interpersonal) understandings of ingroup discrimination (racism, sexism) were more likely to express support and attend to issues affecting other stigmatized groups (Study 1). Among White women and non-Black LGBTQ individuals, beliefs that structural factors drive the ingroup’s discrimination predicted support for intra-minority coalitions and intentions and behavior supporting Black Americans (Study 2). Finally, several experiments (Studies 3-4) revealed that White women for whom structural forms of sexism (vs. interpersonally-driven sexism or control information) were made salient expressed more support for coalescing with and acting to support racial minority groups. Overall, considering structural factors contributing to discrimination against one’s own group’s facilitates seeking and supporting intra-minority coalitions.