The positive side of negative identity: Stigma and deviance in backlash movements
| Author | Rochelle Terman |
| DOI | 10.1177/1369148120948485 |
| Published date | 01 November 2020 |
| Date | 01 November 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Symposium on Backlash Politics in Comparison |
https://doi.org/10.1177/1369148120948485
The British Journal of Politics and
International Relations
2020, Vol. 22(4) 619 –630
© The Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1369148120948485
journals.sagepub.com/home/bpi
The positive side of negative
identity: Stigma and deviance
in backlash movements
Rochelle Terman
Abstract
Backlash movements often engage in extraordinary acts of deviance and taboo-breaking. Yet
violating mainstream norms is costly, as it provokes public condemnation and stigma. Why do
backlash movements transgress mainstream norms? In this essay, I argue that deviance and stigma
are central elements of backlash politics and serve important functions for backlash movements.
Building off insights from Sociology, I show how ‘secondary deviance’ is commonly embraced in
groups that experience status deprivation. I apply these insights to backlash movements in order to
illuminate why transgression is so often a part of their repertoire. Violating dominant norms – and
provoking mainstream stigma and rebuke – advances the goals of backlash movements by allowing
them to cultivate a distinct group identity, instil collective sentiments of status deprivation, and
validate the movement’s political claims in popular discourse. In brief, backlash movements engage
in certain behaviours not in spite of their deviant status, but because of this status.
Keywords
backlash, deviance, social movements, social norms, stigma, subcultures
In their introduction to this symposium, Alter and Zürn (this issue) observe that backlash
movements engage in ‘extraordinary’ tactics such as taboo-breaking that challenge domi-
nant political scripts. For example, Donald Trump famously violated a number of hal-
lowed norms during his presidential campaign: ridiculing John McCain’s experience as a
prisoner of war, taunting a reporter’s disability, and insulting the parents of a slain war
hero, among others. Beyond Trump, a number of political movements – from Brexit to
the Alt-Right – frequently defy rules and institutions once thought to be sacrosanct. And
yet violating norms imposes significant costs by inviting public rebuke, condemnation,
and stigma, which could in turn sabotage political goals. Why, then, do backlash move-
ments so often appeal to transgression of mainstream norms?
In this essay, I argue that deviance and stigma are central elements of backlash politics
and serve important social and strategic functions for backlash movements. Building off
insights from the sociology of deviance, I explain how stigmatised people can find
Department of Political Science, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Corresponding author:
Rochelle Terman, The University of Chicago, Pick Hall 411, 5828 S. University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Email: rterman@uchicago.edu
948485BPI0010.1177/1369148120948485The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsTerman
research-article2020
Special Issue Article
To continue reading
Request your trial