Marginalization as a Structural Constraint: How Group Position Shapes Out-Group Hostility

• Author: Andrew Proctor
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10659129211043866
• Published date: 01 December 2022
• Date: 01 December 2022

Article

PoliticalResearchQuarterly

2022,Vol.75(4)1113–1130

©TheAuthor(s)2021

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DOI:10.1177/10659129211043866

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MarginalizationasaStructuralConstraint:

HowGroupPositionShapesOut-Group

Hostility

AndrewProctor

1



Abstract

Theoriesofout-grouphostilityhavelongheldthatattitudesaboutmarginalizedgroupsareimportantpredictorsofpolicy

support.Thesetheories,however,havemostlyexaminedtheattitudesofwhitepeopleandsexualorientationhasrarely

beenacategoryofanalysis.Thus,weknowlessaboutwhetherthesetheoriesareconditionalongrouppositioninracial

andsexualhierarchies.Thispaperarguesthatprocessesofmarginalizationshapeout-grouphostility.Usingcomparative

relationalanalysis,Iexaminesupportforpro-minoritypoliciesamongwhitelesbian,gay,andbisexual(LGB)people,

straightpeopleofcolorandwhites.Ifindthatethnocentrismisnotageneralpredictorofout-grouphostilityamongthe

membersofmarginalizedgroups.Alternatively,group-targetedhomophobia,racism,andnativismpredictoppositionto

pro-minoritypolicies,butthemembersofmarginalizedgroupshavemoreegalitarianattitudesoverall.Thesefindings

challengelong-heldconventionalwisdomsaboutprejudice,underscoringtheimportanceofcenteringonmarginalized

groupsinpublicopinion.

Keywords

race,sexuality,publicopinion,immigrationpolitics

On12December2017,AlabamavoterselectedDemo-

craticcandidateDougJonestotheUnitedStatesSenate.

Leadinguptohiselection,twocivilrightsorganizations,

onerepresentinglesbian,gay,bisexual,andtransgender

(LGBT)peopleandonerepresentingAfricanAmericans,

workedtogethertomobilizevotersforJones.Inasimilar

veininJuly2019,theLambdaIndependentDemocrats

(LID)ofBrooklyn,anorganizationrepresentingLGBT

DemocratsinNewYorkCity,participatedin#Close

TheCampsprotestsagainstpoliciesunderwhichchildren

havebeendetainedbyImmigrationandCustomsEn-

forcement.Theseinstancesofmobilizationonbehalfof

anotherpoliticalout-groupareexamplesinwhichthe

membersofmarginalizedsocialgroupssupportedother

out-groupsandpro-minoritypolicies.

ContemporaryAmericanpolitics,however,alsooffers

examplesofinter-minorityconflict.Oneofthemore

notableexamplesoflatearelawsuitsandpoliticalorga-

nizingagainstaffirmativeactionbysomeAsianAmeri-

cansinstatessuchasWashington,California,andNew

York(McGurn2019).Accordingtotheselawsuits,af-

firmativeactionpolicieshavepreventedAsianAmerican

studentsfrombeingadmittedtouniversities.This

emergingpoliticalconflictpitsAsianAmericansagainst

othermarginalizedgroups,particularlyBlackpeopleand

Latinos.Recentsurveydata,however,showsthatAsian

Americansarebroadlysupportiveofaffirmativeaction,

althoughthereisvariationacrossAsianethnicgroups

(AsianAmericanVoterSurvey2020:20).Thesedy-

namicsraiseunderexploredquestionsabouthowthe

membersofmarginalizedsocialgroupsformattitudes

aboutotherout-groupsandpro-minoritypolicies.

Theoriesofout-grouphostilityhavelongheldthat

psychologicalpredispositionsareimportantdeterminants

ofpro-minoritypolicysupport.Somescholarsarguethat

generalmeasuresofout-grouphostility,suchasethno-

centrism(KinderandKam2009),arethekeydetermi-

nantsofpro-minoritypolicysupport.Others,however,

1

DepartmentofPoliticsandInternationalAffairs,Winston-Salem,NC,

USA

CorrespondingAuthor:

AndrewProctor,DepartmentofPoliticsandInternationalAffairs,

Winston-Salem,NC27109.

Email:research.atp@gmail.com

arguethathostilitytowardthetargetedout-groupisthe

keydeterminantofpolicysupport,meaning,forexample,

thatracismpredictsanti-Blackattitudesandhomophobia

predictsanti-gayattitudes(Gilens1999;Kinderand

Sanders1996;Mendelberg2001).Oneissuewiththese

theories,however,isthattheytypicallyexplaintheatti-

tudesofdominantgroupsaboutpoliciesaffecting

membersofmarginalizedgroups.Agrowingbodyof

research,however,showsthatout-grouphostilitiesvary

acrossgroupandpolicycontexts(HutchingsandWong

2014;KrupnikovandSpencerPiston2016;Seguraand

Valenzuela2010;Strolovitch1998).Likewise,studies

findthatpositioninracialandsexualhierarchiesshapes

identitiesandattitudes(Dawson1994;Grollman2018;

MasoukaandJunn2013).Thus,grouppositioninsexual

andracialhierarchiesmightshapethepoliticalconse-

quencesofout-grouphostilityininter-minoritycontexts.

Thispaperdevelopsatheoryofmarginalizationasaset

ofconstitutingstructuralattributesthataffectout-group

hostilityandpro-minoritypolicysupport.Thecentral

hypothesisisthatethnocentrismismorelikelytovary

acrossdominantandmarginalizedgroupscomparedto

group-targetedhostility.Itestmytheorybyexamining

supportforLGBrights,racialpoliciesthathelpAfrican

Americans,andincreasingimmigration,usingpooled

time-series,crosssectionaldatafromthe2004to2016

AmericanNationalElectionStudies(ANES).Ifindthat

ethnocentrismisnot,infact,ageneralpredictorofout-

grouphostility.Instead,ethnocentrismanditspolitical

consequencesarecontextualtoone’splacewithinsexual

andracialhierarchies.Ialsofindthatgroup-targeted

hostilitiesaremorelikelytopredictoppositiontopro-

minoritypoliciesacrossgroupsandthatthemembersof

marginalizedgroupshavemoreegalitarianattitudes.

Thus,centeringanalysesontheattitudesofmarginalized

groupscallsintoquestionsomefundamentalassumptions

about“universal”explanationsofpublicopinion.

EthnocentrismasaMeasureof

Out-GroupHostility

Existingresearchonethnocentrismdefinesitasapsy-

chologicalpredispositioninwhichpeopledividethe

worldintoin-groupsandout-groups,whichdevelops

throughsocialprocessessuchassociallearninganded-

ucation(KinderandKam2009:31–33).In-groupsand

out-groupsforminrelationtosocialcategoriesthatbe-

cometheobjectsofattitudesandaffect(Adornoetal.

1950).Thus,anethnocentricframeworkconstructs

groupsaseither“friend”or“foe”andisageneraloutlook

onsocialdifferenceorprejudice,broadlydefined(Kinder

andKam2009:42).BrewerandCampbell(1976)show

thatin-groupfavoritismor“pride”ispervasiveamong

socialgroups,butothersfindin-groupprideiscompatible

witharangeofattitudesaboutout-groups(Brewer1999;

2007;KinderandKam2009).KinderandKam(2009)

showthatethnocentrismpredictsnegativeattitudesabout

out-groupsacrossdifferentpolicycontexts,including

LGBrights,socialassistance,andimmigration.

Althoughwehavelearnedagreatdealaboutout-group

hostilityandethnocentrism,existingstudiesdonotoften

theorizeabouttheroleofpowerandmarginalization.

Marginalization,however,mightbeconsequentialfor

ethnocentrismbecausemembershipinamarginalized

groupis“notsimplyademographiccharacteristicora

productofpersonalpreferencebutastructuralattribute

imposedonanindividualwithimportantconsequences

forindividuallifechancesandpoliticalexperiences”

(MasuokaandJaneJunn2013:5).Thus,thelivedand

politicalexperiencesofmembersofmarginalizedgroups

mightaffectthepsychologicalprocessesthroughwhich

theydividetheworldintoin-groupsandout-groupsand

formsupportforpro-minoritypolicies.KinderandKam

(2009),forexample,findthatAfricanAmericansand

Latinos,butnotAsianAmericansandwhites,weremore

likelytoviewothergroupsashardworkingintheirste-

reotypeconstructionofethnocentrism.Theyacknowledge

thatthesedifferencesacrossgroupsmightberelatedto

theirpositioninAmericansocietybutdonotincorporate

thispossibilityintotheirtheoryoranalysis(seealso

Brewer2007).

2

Likewise,Tajfel(1982)arguesthateth-

nocentrismmightappearmostconsistentlyamong

dominantgroups.Scholarsofsocialdominancetheory

similarlyfindthatout-grouphostilityandin-group

identificationcanbepositivelycorrelatedamongdomi-

nantsocialgroupsandnegativelycorrelatedamong

marginalizedgroups(LevinandSidanius1999;Levin,

Sidanius,Rabinowitz,Federico1998).Thesestudiesall

suggestthatethnocentrismmightbeconditionaltoone’s

positioninsocialhierarchies,suchasthoseconstitutedby

raceandsexuality,ratherthanuniversalacrossgroups.

Group-TargetedHostility

Othertheoriesarguethatgroup-targetedhostilitiesarethe

primarydeterminantsofattitudesaboutLGBpeople,

AfricanAmericans,andimmigrantsandarerootedinthe

internalizationofculturalstigmasaboutthem(Herek

2009;KinderandSanders1996;Hainmuellerand

Hopkins2014).Inthisperspective,scholarsarguethat

out-grouphostilities,suchashomophobia,racism,and

nativism,arespecifictothepolicycontextsthatconstitute

in-groupsandout-groups.Thereisagrowingliteratureon

whetherexplanationsofpublicopinionareuniversal

acrossgroupsorcontextualtopositioninracialandsexual

hierarchies.

1114PoliticalResearchQuarterly75(4)