Economic Disadvantage at the Intersections: Contemporary Stereotypes in the Headlines

Abstract

Effective multiculturally competent treatment of economically disadvantaged clients requires an awareness of the stereotypes and biases that these clients and their families face in contemporary culture—stereotypes that are so pervasive that they can subtly influence counselors’ thinking about poor and working‐class individuals. In this article, the authors apply an intersectional perspective to profile current stereotypes and biases that exist regarding low‐income groups at the intersections of race, religion, and immigration status. Implications for educators and counselors are suggested. Un tratamiento efectivo y multiculturalmente competente de clientes e conómicamente desfavorecidos requiere una conciencia de los estereotipos y prejuicios que estos clientes y sus familias enfrentan en la cultura contemporánea; estereotipos tan arraigados que pueden influir sutilmente en la forma de pensar de los consejeros sobre las personas pobres y de clase trabajadora. En este artículo, los autores aplican una perspectiva interseccional para perfilar estereotipos y prejuicios actuales que existen acerca de grupos de bajo nivel económico en las intersecciones entre raza, religión y estatus migratorio. Se sugieren implicaciones para educadores y consejeros.

Recognizing and disrupting stigma in implementation of HIV prevention and care: a call to research and action

“…Additionally, there is often an emphasis on identifying clients who are likely to miss clinic visits and to consider placing additional restrictions on their access to medications [66]. Clients who are already marginalized on the basis of race, class or other experiences, such as substance use, are most likely to be labelled, stereotyped, denied services or blamed for their "failure" to sustain care, which can reinforce negative racial and class-based stereotypes [67][68][69].…”

The hidden cues of social class: What do people rely on when determining someone else's social class?

“…Social exclusion of the poor by those from higher social classes based on such stereotypes functions to exclude them from domains of life that would provide them greater access to material needs (e.g., work and school) and thus perpetuates income inequality (Smith & Ali, 2014;Smith et al, 2016;Walker & Smith, 2018). Specifically, the belief that one's social class standing in the U.S. is based solely on individual merit and hard work allows for the use of individual level stereotypes about the poor as lazy to justify their poverty rather than critically analyzing the structural level inequality inherent in class distinction (Rank et al, 2003;Smith et al, 2019). The idea that individual control rules one's outcome in life is widespread and persistent in the U.S. despite research discounting the legitimacy of this claim (Case & Deaton, 2020;Mitnik et al, 2016;PEW, 2011).…”