Our Colonial Hangover? Blatant Dehumanization Plays a Role in Support for Contested Cultural Traditions

Objectives: Ethnic miming, or impersonating stereotypical caricatures of marginalized groups, remains popular despite years of protests. Previous studies highlight that individual differences in ideological orientations predicting a range of intergroup attitudes—namely, social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA)—also predict support for ethnic miming. We propose that blatant dehumanization of the target groups is an underlying mechanism that helps to further explain why support for ethnic miming is stronger among individuals higher in SDO and RWA. Studies from the Netherlands (Study 1) and the United States (Study 2) provide support for this notion. Method: The samples consisted of participants residing in the Netherlands (N= 142; Study 1) and the United States (N= 298; Study 2), the majority of whom identified as part of the dominant ethnic group (82% ethnically Dutch, Study 1; 76% White American, Study 2). We used both mediation and cluster analyses to test our hypotheses. Results: The mediation analyses reveal indirect effects from each of SDO and RWA to support for ethnic miming via blatant dehumanization. Additionally, the cluster analyses reveal that although some individuals who support ethnic miming have relatively egalitarian attitudes, others have attitudes that arguably reflect a sense of cultural superiority and preference for cultural dominance (i.e., high SDO, RWA, and blatant dehumanization). Conclusion: The findings suggest that a sense of cultural superiority and preference for cultural dominance helps to explain why support for ethnic miming persists in both cultural contexts.