Shared Identities: Intersectionality, Linked Fate, and Perceptions of Political Candidates

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292095164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Bejarano ◽  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Sarah Allen Gershon ◽  
Celeste Montoya
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Political Candidates ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Linked Fate ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
And Gender

Scholars of gender and race have long acknowledged the importance that descriptive representation plays for marginalized groups, if not substantively than symbolically. Yet, as candidate pools diversify to better reflect the population, it becomes less clear which among intersecting and overlapping identities will matter and how. Employing data from the 2016 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, we explore the association between minority voters’ sense of linked fate and their beliefs about candidates who share (or do not share) their gender and racial identities. Using this timely and unique data, collected immediately after the 2016 election when race and gender were of particular salience, we examine whether shared racial and gender identity is associated with Black and Latina/o voters’ beliefs about how well different candidates will represent their interests. We conclude by discussing the implications of our research for the changing face of American political candidates and voters.

Wanting, and Weighting: White Women and Descriptive Representation in the 2016 Presidential Election

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
White Women ◽  
Vote Choice ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Group Identities ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Voting Decisions ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractThis paper demonstrates that the relationship between wanting a descriptive representative based on gender, and giving that attitude weight in voting decisions, is weakest among White women voters. Among under-represented groups of voters, White women were uniquely positioned going into the 2016 presidential election—they had the option to choose “one of their own” in terms of race and gender. Yet, the majority did not vote for the White woman on the ballot, Hillary Rodham Clinton. This outcome is an opportunity to interrogate how descriptive representation functions in different ways across groups with distinct socio-political positions in American politics. I argue that the relationship between desiring descriptive representation, and giving it weight when deciding for whom to vote for, is different across groups. Using American National Election Survey (ANES) data, I show that this is the case in the 2016 election. Nearly two-thirds of White women who said that electing more women is important, voted for Trump. Moreover, White women's espoused belief in the necessity of electing more women had no significant effect on their ultimate vote choice. In contrast, the same desire for increased descriptive representation based on gender had large, positive, and significant effects on women of color's vote choice. This study bears on extant research considering descriptive representation's importance to voters based only on race, or gender, and on the broader literature linking group identities and voter behavior.

Autochthonomous Transfigurations of Race and Gender in Twenty-First-Century Transnational Genocide Testimonial Narratives

2020 ◽  
pp. 76-106
Author(s):  
Myriam J. A. Chancy
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
First Century ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Modes Of Representation ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
And Gender

This chapter explores depictions and representations of the genocide of Rwanda in order to examine how “autochthonomy” and “lakou consciousness” make themselves manifest in global/transnational contexts. What each of the representations reveals is a partial exposure of a silence that appears to be symptomatic of trauma. The chapter relies on Pierre Bourdieu’s twin-concepts of the “unthinkable” and “unnameable” and how these concepts might be of further use in understanding the representation of the implicit “silence” of trauma. The chapter ultimately argues that artists who consciously emulate African Diasporic aesthetics in their representations of genocide also engage counter-hegemonic modes of representation that are explicitly and increasingly feminist regardless of the producer’s gender identity.

Against “Transracialism”: Revisiting the Debate

Hypatia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-735
Author(s):  
Jana Cattien
Keyword(s):  
Critical Race Theory ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Racial Difference ◽  
Single Variable ◽  
Race Theory ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
Variable Definition ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Definition Of

This article critically reflects on some of the themes and assumptions at stake in the “transracialism” controversy, and connects them to important works in critical race theory: namely Rey Chow's notion of “coercive mimeticism” and Sara Ahmed's critique of white liberal multiculturalism. It argues that the analytic account of “race” that Tuvel draws upon in her article—Sally Haslanger's—is politically problematic, both on its own terms and in light of broader reflections on racialized and gendered power relations. In particular, I critique Haslanger's assumption that all racial identities exist on the same conceptual plane: that a single variable definition of “race” can be applied to any particular racialized group—including white and nonwhite racial identities. This erases racialized power relations, especially where, in liberal “multicultural” nations, whiteness constitutes the implied standard against which an appearance of “racial difference” is conjured. Finally, I extend my argument to the issue of treating “race” and gender analogously. Rejecting this move, I propose an alternative way of conceptualizing these as analytically distinct, yet constitutively interdependent, phenomena. In order to situate the debate historically, I consider an example of “racial transgression” from twentieth‐century China.

Gender and Race in Congressional National News Media Appearances in 2008

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (04) ◽  
pp. 569-596 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer C. Lucas
Keyword(s):  
Black Women ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Presidential Candidates ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
National Media ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Nonwhite Male

Media coverage of women and black members of Congress and presidential candidates often relies on gender and racial stereotypes, providing distorted coverage of these members and their agendas. This study analyzes national news media appearances of House members discussing the 2008 presidential election to examine whether the increased salience of race and gender due to the presence of nonwhite male presidential and vice presidential candidates resulted in greater media visibility for female and black representatives. Female and black House members, particularly those Democrats who endorsed a candidate, appeared in the media more often in 2008, driven by the media's interest in connecting their gender and racial identities to evaluations of Clinton, Palin, and Obama. With the national media's attention drawn to conflict, members with perceived conflicts among their intersectional identities drew greater media attention, especially Republican and black women. Overall, the media rendered black and female members as mainly surrogate representatives for black and women voters. The results suggest that black and female sources may secure national media exposure through the strategic use of their perceived raced-gendered expertise but at the risk of reinforcing stereotypes, and female or minority presidential candidates may influence the visibility of these members to voters.

Identity in Campaign Finance and Elections: The Impact of Gender and Race on Money Raised in 2010–2018 U.S. House Elections

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110228
Author(s):  
Ashley Sorensen ◽  
Philip Chen
Keyword(s):  
Campaign Finance ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
Unequal Access ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Impact

Disproportionate rates of congressional representation based on gender and race are especially stark considering the symbolic and substantive meaning derived from descriptive representation (Mansbridge 1999). Using an original data set consisting of candidate demographics, district characteristics, and campaign finance reports, we analyze an understudied barrier to representation: unequal access to campaign receipts. We argue that it is the simultaneous gendering and racialization of the campaign finance system that produces gaps in campaign fundraising and representation (Crenshaw 1989). Our results underscore the limitations of unitary approaches which conclude that women no longer face a disadvantage in campaign fundraising. Unequal access to campaign receipts serve as a barrier to the descriptive representation of women of color. By analyzing the interaction of both race and gender on campaign receipt totals in U.S. House elections from 2010 to 2018, we assert the path to representation is not equal for all.

scholarly journals Is there Bias in Alternatives to Standardized Tests? An Investigation into Content Differences in Letters of Recommendation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dev K. Dalal ◽  
Jason Randall ◽  
Ho Kwan Cheung ◽  
Brandon Gorman ◽  
Sylvia G. Roch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Appreciable Amount ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Subgroup Differences ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Letters Of Recommendation

Individuals concerned with subgroup differences on standardized tests suggest replacing these tests with holistic evaluations of unstructured application materials, such as letters of recommendation (LORs), which they posit show less bias. We empirically investigate this proposition that LORs are bias-free, and argue that LORs might actually invite systematic, race and gender subgroup differences in the content and evaluation of LORs. We text analyzed over 37,000 LORs submitted on behalf of over 10,000 graduate school applicants. Results showed that LOR content does differ across applicants. Furthermore, we see some systematic gender, race, and gender-race intersection differences in LOR content. Content of LORs also systematically differed between degree programs (S.T.E.M. vs. non-S.T.E.M.) and degree sought (doctoral vs. masters). Finally, LOR content alone did not predict an appreciable amount of variance in offers of admission (the first barrier to increasing diversity and inclusion in graduate programs). Our results, combined with past research on LOR content bias, highlight concerns that LORs can be biased against marginalized groups. We conclude with suggestions for reducing potential bias in LOR and for increasing diversity in graduate programs.

Do Women Seek “Women of Color” for Public Office? Exploring Women’s Support for Electing Women of Color

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292097179
Author(s):  
Yalidy Matos ◽  
Stacey Greene ◽  
Kira Sanbonmatsu
Keyword(s):  
Women Of Color ◽  
White Women ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Descriptive Representation ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Black And White ◽  
The Media ◽  
And Gender

Scholars frequently invoke the term “women of color” (WOC) in their research, and, increasingly, the media make reference to WOC in news stories. Despite this common usage, researchers have failed to investigate whether the phrase WOC is politically advantageous. That is, do all women, black, Latina, Asian, white, and mixed-race women, support WOC candidates? This omission is unfortunate considering the large body of literature about race and gender politics concerned with descriptive representation and the extent of coethnic voting and gender affinity effects. Using original public opinion data, we draw on theories of intersectionality and social identity to hypothesize about how different subgroups of women respond to the prospect of electing more WOC to Congress. Consistent with group differences in the historic processes of racialization, our findings reveal considerable complexity within the WOC umbrella. Even within this complexity, we found that black and white women are the most distinctive in their preference for electing WOC. We contribute to the gender and race fields by identifying WOC as a politicized identity, and thus complicate and expand the study of descriptive representation.

INTERSECTIONAL PRESENTATIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia E. Brown ◽  
Sarah Allen Gershon
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Minority Women ◽  
Presentation Of Self ◽  
Public Office ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Race And Gender ◽  
Racial Identities ◽  
And Gender

AbstractIn recent decades the number of women and minorities elected to public office has increased significantly, prompting a wealth of studies examining the ways these different gender and racial identities shape elected officials’ appeals to constituents. However, much previous research focuses on representational differences among either men and women or Anglos and minorities, neglecting the intersection of race and gender. We seek to fill this void by examining differences in presentation styles among Latina and African American congresswomen, their Anglo female counterparts, and minority male peers. Relying on a detailed content analysis of the biographical pages available on U.S. Representatives’ websites, we conduct an exploratory examination of the differences in representatives’ presentation of self. Utilizing both quantitative and qualitative analysis, this paper identifies the unique ways minority congresswomen present themselves and issue positions to constituents. We conclude by considering the implications of our results for minority women holding and seeking public office.

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