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Article 1: Rudman, L.A. and McLean, M.C. (2015) The role of appearance stigma in implicit racial ingroup bias. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2016, Vol. 19(3) 374–393.

Abstract: 

Minority groups who show implicit outgroup preference (African Americans, the elderly, and the overweight) are also likely to suffer from appearance stigma (for deviating from cultural aesthetic norms; Goffman, 1963). Three studies showed that people who automatically preferred Whites using the attitude Implicit Association Test (IAT) also associated Whites more than Blacks with attractiveness using the aesthetic IAT. In Study 1, the aesthetic IAT covaried with Black American’s preference for Black women with chemically treated versus natural hair, and rating products that purchase “racial capital” (e.g., skin whiteners) as important and useful. In Study 2, Black American’s pro-White bias was only eliminated when the attitude IAT represented their group as more attractive than Whites (i.e., when appearance stigma was reversed). Further, the aesthetic IAT predicted the attitude IAT more uniquely than outgroup contact. In concert, the findings suggest that appearance stigma is an overlooked factor influencing racial asymmetries in automatic ingroup esteem.

Summary: 

This article delves into the stigma that results when your appearance does not conform to our cultural norms. The three groups identified as suffering from appearance stigma are African-Americans, the elderly, and those who are overweight. This article focuses on the pervasive influence that pro-White appearance stigma has on the quality of life for African-Americans.

Questions to Consider: 

1. A stigma is considered a mark of disgrace. What other areas of African-American culture are identified in the article as being stigmatizing?
    
2. Can you identify any other areas of our society that support the premise that certain groups suffer from appearance stigma?
    
3. What can society do to diminish appearance stigma?
    

Article 2: Jackson, A., Veneziano, L., and Riggen, K. (2004) Sexual Deviance among Male College Students: Prior Deviance as an Explanation Journal of Interpersonal Violence January 2004 19: 72-89.

Abstract: 

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation and leads to much speculation and conjecture. This article suggests that an alternative explanation is more suitable for explaining such an important and complex problem on college campuses. It argues that prior deviance serves as a more robust predictor variable of sexual deviance. Logistic regression analyses indicate a direct relationship between prior deviance and sexual deviance. The results lend support to the argument that group affiliation is not a suitable explanation for such a complex societal problem—sexual deviance. Limitations of the study and directions for future research on sexual deviance are discussed. 

Summary: 

The researchers submit that the common belief that group affiliation is the primary predictor of male college student deviance is erroneous. In this article they support that premise that prior deviance is the biggest predictor of male college student deviance. The authors note that group affiliation may be a protective rather than a risk factor.  

Questions to Consider: 

1. As a college administrator, how would you apply the results of this research?
    
2. Why has group affiliation been viewed as a contributor to sexual deviance on campus?
    
3. Identify how group affiliation can be a protective factor for male college students.
    

Article 3: Weber, B.R. The Epistemology of the (Televised, Polygamous) Closet Progressive Polygamy, Spiritual Neoliberalism, and the Will to Visibility Television New Media January 19, 2016

Abstract:

This article examines the reality television show Sister Wives (2010–), which focuses on the Kody Brown family, members of a religious group called the Apostolic United Brethren (AUB), in turn part of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). The Browns practice a form of “progressive polygamy” that both they and the show establish as quintessentially egalitarian, American, and normal, though not normative. Sister Wives indicates that the complex structural dynamics of progressive polygamy create individuals who can thrive in a neoliberal milieu where good choices matter more than governments and where being savvy about the image yields currencies that are monetary, cultural, and, ultimately, spiritual. Surprisingly, the kind of flexible labor modeled on Sister Wives and endemic to neoliberalism authorizes itself through the language and idioms of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social justice movement. However, while espousing a gay-friendly social justice agenda, the market logics of Sister Wives appropriate LGBT politics in the service of family commercial enterprises.

Summary: 

In this article the author submits that TV shows such as Sister Wives attempts to normalize polygamous behavior.

Questions to Consider:

1. Define polygamy.
    
2. Define neoliberalism and hegemonic and explain how they relate to polygamy.
    
3. Explain how support for gay marriage bolsters the argument that our society should respect polygamy.