In addition to replicating broad findings from the collective action literature among Asian Americans, this research highlights the importance of contextualized group-based beliefs about inequality (model minority beliefs) for understanding engagement among racial minority groups. (PsycINFO Database Record
Most identity-based models of activism assume that action is motivated either by a disadvantaged identity (predicting own-group activism), or a feeling of solidarity with disadvantaged groups (predicting ally activism). They do not account for advantaged and disadvantaged identifications within the same person. Yet many activists have both advantaged and disadvantaged identities. Two interview studies from Hungary and the United States (N = 47) were used to examine how both disadvantaged and advantaged identities influence politicization and activism (both own-group and ally), via both direct and indirect experiences of marginalization and privilege. We also discuss the emergence of new identities from activist engagements and how such new activist identities recursively influence activism and politicization. We conclude our analysis by arguing that identity-based organizations may be more successful emphasizing multiple and intersecting identities and the structural aspects of disadvantages rather than singular disadvantaged identities.Every activist has a personal story about becoming an activist and what their activism means to them. These stories may capture important common themes that allow us to better understand the development of political identities, as well as
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.