Why work it when you can dodge it? Identity responses to ethnic stigma among professionals

Date published

2020-01-21

Free to read from

Supervisor/s

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Sage

Department

Type

Article

ISSN

0018-7267

Format

Citation

Doldor E, Atewologun D. (2020) Why work it when you can dodge it? Identity responses to ethnic stigma among professionals. Human Relations, Volume 74, Issue 6, June 2021, pp. 892-921

Abstract

Professionals commonly seek to repair stigmatized identities by constructing more positive and relatively coherent self-views. This study draws on interview, observation and diary data from Romanian professionals in the UK, in order to understand how they construct their identities when faced with ethno-cultural stigma. We find that these professionals engage in counterintuitive identity responses which consist of simultaneously denying and acknowledging personal stigmatization (doublethink), and evading engagement with the stigmatized identity (dodging). Unlike the restorative identity work highlighted by previous studies, these atypical responses require less effort, provide less coherence and do not attempt to restore the blemished ethnocultural identity. Our analyses further indicate that being professional and being White confer individuals privileges that sustain doublethink and dodging. We contribute to scholarship by underscoring the need to consider both stigmatized and privileged identities, when investigating reactions to stigma. We also reflect on the practical implications for organizations of what it means for stigmatized individuals to deny stigmatization or to dodge engagement with stigma

Description

Software Description

Software Language

Github

Keywords

Stigma, Identity, Identity work, identity doublethink, Identity dodging, Professionals, Migrants

DOI

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International

Relationships

Relationships

Supplements

Funder/s