Abstract
We present psychological entitlement as a compelling lens with which to understand the dynamics of power, privilege, and resistance to progressive change. Feminist psychologists have rightly incorporated the role of power and privilege into discussions of sexism and other forms of inequality. We argue that entitlement should sit alongside power and privilege as an outcome of inequality and a mechanism for perpetuating it. Power is based on position in a hierarchy; privilege refers to the unearned advantages given to dominant groups, and entitlement captures the expectations associated with power and privilege. We examine various manifestations of entitlement and its role in backlash against progress toward equality. We also offer sites of intersectional feminist resistance as a counterweight to backlash.
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Notes
- 1.
Sociologist Patricia Hill Collins and other women of color feminists have identified how we all occupy multiple locations in the matrix of domination. Being targeted in some ways does not negate the privileges one receives for their location in any dominant groups. This idea is key to the notion of intersectionality. See Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. Routledge.
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Anderson, K.J., Accomando, C.H. (2023). Entitlement, Backlash, and Feminist Resistance. In: Zurbriggen, E.L., Capdevila, R. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Power, Gender, and Psychology . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-41531-9_30
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