The White Right: A Gendered Look at the Links Between “Victim” Ideology and Anti-Black Lives Matter Sentiments in the Era of Trump

Abstract

Employing a racialized gendered lens, we explore the perceptions of status threat and victimhood among a sample of White Americans following the 2016 presidential election. Specifically, we draw upon such theoretical and empirical work to frame our analyses of the associations between perceptions of a white “victim” ideology and anti-Black Lives Matter (BLM) sentiments and how such associations may be conditioned by support for Trump and holding patriarchal gender normative beliefs. We propose that the BLM movement may be perceived as a “threat” to many White Americans. Furthermore, we believe Whites’ anti-BLM sentiments will be enhanced by support for Trump, given his racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and oppressive tendencies. Moreover, we believe that these associations will differ based on gender and beliefs in patriarchal gender norms, as White men and women are likely to feel status threat in varied ways. Mix support for our propositions and complex gendered differences are revealed. Implications are discussed.

Far-Right Misogynoir: A Critical Thematic Analysis of Black College Women's Experiences With White Male Supremacist Influences

“…Nine Black women participants discussed examples of violent social interpersonal experiences they associated with far-right misogynoir. In the quote in Table 1, Camille associates a coach's expression of far-right views (active opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement; Isom et al, 2022; Solomon et al, 2021) with a team environment in which white women players harassed a mixed-race woman teammate. According to Camille, the coach did not intervene in or create consequences for the white women who harassed their mixed-race teammate.…”

“…Results indicated that Trump-related distress was higher among participants holding two or more marginalized identities (e.g., Black women) than among those who held no or one marginalized identity and that Trump-related distress was related to negative mental health symptoms such as anxiety. Trump's rhetoric, campaigns, and actions reflect far-right ideologies (Giroux, 2021; Isom et al, 2022; Saramo, 2017). Overall, the findings from these two studies demonstrate the need to investigate how far-right ideologies and actions inform college students’ sense of safety and well-being.…”

Dynamics of an American countermovement: Blue Lives Matter

“…Trump's support appears to fall somewhere between the third and fourth categories. He espoused anti‐immigrant, misogynistic and racist dogma early in his campaign and throughout his presidency (Isom et al., 2021). While Trump certainly is not the cause of the formation of Blue Lives Matter, his inflammatory rhetoric mirrors and energizes the countermovement.…”

“…On numerous occasions, he has demonized Black Lives Matter in much the same vein as Blue Lives Matter. Trump has vilified Black Lives Matter as looters, hate mongers, thugs, terrorists, anarchists, and troublemakers (Drakulich et al, 2020;Isom et al, 2021;McCoy, 2020). Perhaps most concerning, is Trump's willingness to use his presidential platform to condone police violence (McManus et al, 2019).…”

Reframing leadership for a more just society

“…We are at a pivotal moment in U.S. history. In recent decades, social justice movements have raised questions regarding whether and how leaders are equipped to address some of society's most pressing challenges (Isom et al., 2022). At the same time, movements to eradicate U.S. democratic institutions have made it clear that morally just leadership is sorely needed throughout the nation.…”