Race and Ideology in a Pandemic: White Privilege and Patterns of Risk Perception during COVID-19.

Drawing on a unique survey dataset of Californians collected during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article examines how race and ideology shape perceptions of risk. Specifically, we position the pandemic as an "unsettled time" (Swidler 1986) and examine how different racialized grou...

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Publicado en:Social Problems Vol. 70; no. 1; pp. 219 - 238
Autores principales: Vargas, Nicholas, Mora, G Cristina, Gleeson, Shannon
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Oxford University Press / USA Feb2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        10.1093/socpro/spab037
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        atl: Race and Ideology in a Pandemic: White Privilege and Patterns of Risk Perception during COVID-19.
      aug:
        au:
          Vargas, Nicholas
          Mora, G Cristina
          Gleeson, Shannon
        affil:
          University of Florida
          University of California , Berkeley
          Cornell University
      su:
        COVID-19 pandemic
        Race
        White privilege
        Social status
        Risk perception
      sug:
        subj:
          COVID-19 pandemic
          Race
          White privilege
          Social status
          Risk perception
      keyword:
        COVID-19
        ideology
        political ideology
        race
        risk perceptions
        COVID-19
        ideology
        political ideology
        race
        risk perceptions
      ab: Drawing on a unique survey dataset of Californians collected during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, this article examines how race and ideology shape perceptions of risk. Specifically, we position the pandemic as an "unsettled time" (Swidler 1986) and examine how different racialized groups made sense of the economic and health risks posed during this unprecedented period. We find that even when accounting for economic precarity and potential exposure to COVID-19, as well as for various other measures of social status, racialized minorities felt significantly more threatened by COVID-19 than did whites. Religion and political ideology mediated this relationship to some degree, but the racialized differences were substantial. Indeed, we find that even the most liberal whites reported being significantly less concerned about some COVID-19 risks than the most politically conservative of our Latinx and Black respondents. By linking the literature on race and racial stratification with research on risk and culture, we argue that whiteness facilitates a cognitive insulating effect vis-à-vis COVID-19 risks. We discuss the theoretical implications of our findings and conclude by highlighting the enduring importance of racialization, including various manifestations of white privilege, when assessing the social and cultural realities of crises on the ground.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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