The Stigma of Race: Who Now Bears the Mark of Cain?*

Abstract

Instances are cited from the U.S. and India in which individual whites and Brahmans were attacked as being guilty of prejudice and discrimination simply on the basis of their hereditary group membership. These are characterized as involving “stigma reversal,” defined as the imputation of guilt and moral inferority to the members of a dominant group on the basis of descent when the moral justification of the group's position of advantage is being redefined. Evidence of the use of stigma reversal as an argument in support of protective discrimination or preferential treatment of minority group members is presented. It is postulated that stigma reversal is related to changes in self‐conception which accompany minority protest movements and redefinition of the sense of group position even by members of the dominant group. Dominant group members whose definition of the situation is that they are becoming victims themselves may lead to defensive reactions similar to those previously observed among traditional minorities. The negative consequences which stigma reversal may have for public policies designed to help disadvantaged minorities are discussed.