Respectability politics
Respectability politics or the politics of respectability is a form of moralistic discourse used by some prominent figures, leaders or academics who are members of various marginalized groups. When these figures promote respectability politics, this may serve as an attempt to police some of their fellow group members. Proponents of respectability politics may be attempting to portray their personal social values as being continuous and compatible with dominant values. They may prefer not to challenge the mainstream for its failure to accept the marginalized group into the mainstream and that diversity also exists within the group.
The concept was first articulated in 1993 by Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham in her book Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880–1920. In the context of black American history, respectability politics was practiced as a way of attempting to consciously set aside and undermine cultural and moral practices thought to be disrespected by wider society, especially in the context of the family and good manners. The development of African-American politics of respectability has been traced to writers and activists including W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, and has been used as a way of understanding the election and political trajectory of Barack Obama. The former president has also been criticized for his use of respectability politics during his presidency. For example, he brought up issues of black criminality during his speech following the November 24th grand jury decision regarding the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. One of the most open proponents of respectability politics is former basketball player Charles Barkley.
Black respectability politics
The term 'politics of respectability' was first used in the context of black women and their efforts to distance themselves from the stereotypical and disrespected aspects of their communities. Respectability politics continues to influence the behaviour of racially marginalized black individuals today who gain status and rights by "adhering to hegemonic standards of what it means to be respectable". Black individuals practicing respectability politics are stereotyped as being most concerned with laziness, intellectual inferiority, violence, and immorality. While respectability politics has been an important way for black citizens of the United States to integrate into their free lives post-emancipation, today there are many examples of black individuals arguing that "a deliberate concession to mainstream societal values" does not promote respect, but is instead a defence mechanism of minority communities. Also, some research studies associate part of the high burden of mental health problems with black Americans on assimilationist behaviours. Researchers, Hedwig Lee & Margaret Takako Hicken argue that further conversations about respectability politics should always consider the challenges black Americans negotiate in everyday social spaces and establish how they impacts black American mental health.Origin
In her 1993 book Righteous Discontent: The Women's Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880–1920, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham coined the term 'the politics of respectability' to describe social and political changes in the black community during this time. She particularly focused on the revitalization of the black Baptist Church and how it became a location of self-help for black individuals. This was particularly true for black women, who used the church as a location of resistance against racism and dehumanization. These women built schools and provided social welfare services to enhance their respectability and promote their communities.This type of mobilization continued and infiltrated the methodology of teachers in black communities in the Jim Crow South. Teachers encouraged their students to integrate themselves into white, middle class communities in the hopes of motivating and inspiring students to escape racial injustice. These teachers viewed their profession as a political act, helping young black students disassociate from negative stereotypes. Black communities were also expected to integrate themselves into being more white in order to gain access to political benefits.
In the book Black Power: The Politics of Liberation, Kwame Ture, formerly known as Stokely Carmichael, and Charles V. Hamilton, illustrate how the town of Tuskegee, Alabama is not recognized in politics by white politicians. The population of Tuskegee is 95% black, yet those numbers do not represent the people in politics. Ture and Hamilton go on to discuss how black people constantly have to prove themselves to white people. It is a never-ending cycle because once one aspect of being white is achieved, another obstacle is placed in their way.
Black Lives Matter
The Black Lives Matter movement is an example of a movement against respectability politics. The movement was motivated by the shooting and death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was killed by a neighbourhood watch member. The number of subsequent police killings of unarmed black men that gained broad national attention motivated a conversation about racial stereotypes and why certain racial stereotypes came to imply black men are "dangerous". The Black Lives Matter movement argues that people are deserving of rights regardless of "any ostensibly non-respectable behaviour." Instead of acknowledging and shying away from negative black stereotypes, the Black Lives Matter movement works to expand the concept of what it means to be "respectable" and argue that negatively stereotyped behaviour should not be met with deadly force.In line with the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, some celebrities who have typically shied away from conversations about race have begun to engage with the topic. For example, at the beginning of her career, popular television producer and creator Shonda Rhimes aired shows that had colourblind scripts, despite having diverse casts. This was consistent with modern respectability politics in what is sometimes argued to be a post-racial era. Today, Rhimes engages in conversations about racial inequality in the media and addresses racially charged topics on her show, pushing against respectability politics and affirming the rights of all people regardless of their 'respectability'.
Rebranding 'ratchet' and anti-respectability politics
One way to challenge respectability politics is to reclaim negative stereotypes associated with minority communities, rather than disassociate from them. This can take place in the form of rebranding words that have been used as insults towards communities.Rebranding of the derogatory term "ratchet" has been one way black women specifically have pushed back against respectability politics. Black women who identify as ratchet reclaim the negative stereotypes associated with black culture, such as hyper-sexuality, and instead embrace individualism. The strategy of reclaiming negative stereotypes has been acknowledged as having potential for black feminine liberation, but has also been criticized for its limitations contained within the confines of the terms that are being reconceptualized. For example, ratchet is associated with heterosexuality, which confines potential to liberate in the context of being 'ratchet'.
LGBT respectability politics
Respectability politics in the context of the LGBT community is the assimilation of LGBT or otherwise marginalized people based on sexuality and/or transgender status into a hegemonic and heteronormative society. This can be achieved by downplaying stereotypes or behaviors associated with homosexuality or participating in cisgender heterosexual institutions. There are many perspectives on whether engaging in respectability politics is the best way for LGBT people to gain acceptance. One perspective is that assimilation is an important and necessary way for the LGBT community to gain rights, and once they are integrated into society they will have more space to challenge mainstream institutions to make them more inclusive. Another perspective is that assimilation only reinforces cisheteronormative institutions and makes diversity invisible. Some LGBT people, for instance, choose to identify themselves as straight-acting, creating controversy within the community.Campaigners for LGBT rights have also struggled with the issue of respectability politics. A distinction has been drawn between an attitude that celebrated and affirmed sexual difference in 1960s gay rights campaigns and contemporary approaches that seek to reduce and underplay sexual differences. Gay people are portrayed as having similar values to the wider cisheteronormative society which is "a pride... premised on a nonconscious agreement with dominant views about what is shameful". J. Bryan Lowder, writer for Slate, named Caitlyn Jenner as an advocate of respectability politics in the transgender community. "Since the beginning of the civil rights movement for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals," she writes, "there have been individuals who attempted to gain straight society's approval by distancing themselves from—or stepping over the bodies of—more 'radical' elements of the community.... Respectability politics in the trans community, at least on the public stage, is a newer phenomenon, but it appears that Jenner is positioning herself to lead the way."