Application Paper #7

Social Identity Theory: Bill de Blasio

Erika M. Saca CSUF Comm. 518 Dr. Doug Swanson November 13, 2013

Bill de Blasios victory at New York Citys mayoral elections has ignited the conversation about social identity in politics. The de Blasios are by no means a conventional, preppy, first family. For starters the family is interracial, Bill is white, , his wife, Chirlane McCray, is black, and they have two interracial children. They dont live in Park Avenue where billionaire mayor Bloomberg resides; theyve lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn, for years. Clearly his voters were not won over by his demographic characteristics alone, but the issues that he campaigned for during the race were directly tied to who he is and where he comes from.

Social Identity Theory Social Identity Theory can help us better understand the de Blasio electoral win. The theory traces back to studies in the late 1970s by Tajnel and Turner and was later complimented, in the 1980s, by Turner and colleagues who contributed to the theory the idea of self-categorization (Huddy, 2001, p. 132).

According to Tajfel, a need for positive distinctiveness drives social identity. This means that group identity is likely to emerge among members of a high-status group because membership positively distinguishes group members from outsiders; in contrast, the development of group identity is less certain among members of lowstatus groups who need to addition- ally develop an identity around alternative, positively valued group attributes (social creativity) or fight to change the group's negative image (social change) before membership can enhance their status (Huddy, 2001, p. 134-135).

3 Huddys article (2001) exemplifies the importance of identity in politics. He argues that if Tony Blair represents the Labor Party in Britain, they will likely lose votes from bluecollar party supporters. The image of a leader in a tailored suit, in elegant settings, surrounded by royalty and celebrities does not resonate with the working class people of Britain. The same is true with the current mayor of New York, one of the richest people in the world. Bloomberg is the leader of a city that is greatly divided by income inequality. De Blasio has used this to his favor. His appeal is due largely in part to the separation from Bloombergs world.

The news media are an especially good place to begin the search for the characteristics of prototypes that exemplify social and political groups, given the narrow range of people who appear in the news (Huddy, 2001, p. 144). de Blasio positioned himself as Progressive throughout the campaign, a message that was reinforced not only by his speeches but by the visuals of his life. His son, Dante appeared in ads, with his afro hairstyle and casual clothes, supporting his father. His black wife, who walked beside him during the campaign, attending gay pride walks, was open about her lesbian orientation in the 1970s, "In the 1970s, I identified as a lesbian and wrote about it. In 1991, I met the love of my life, married him (Belonsky, A., 2013).

The de Blasio family has been a favorite for national media because they are an unexpected new image. They are fresh and genuine. A recent article in the Washington Post Style section pointed out the importance of the hair aesthetics of the de Blasio family for this moment in New York politics and culture. It reflects t he multicultural nature of the city. The family could have made more conservative choices for its appearance at Tuesday nights victory party. Dante, 16, could have cut down his Afro. Chiara, 18, could have nixed the crown of flowers. But the

4 family is self-expressive, and that comes across (Thomson K., ONeal L.., 2013).

But a more conservative choice of appearance would be dissonant with de Blasios progressive message. The de Blasios have gained a lot of credibility and affinity with voters because they are down-to-earth and more approachable than the current mayor, a billionaire that is completely foreign to the reality of a large part of the citys voters. Bill de Blasio has used this to his favor, campaigning on the differences between Bloomberg and himself. This has in turn, reinforced his identity with voters. Outgroups do more than signal group boundaries; they also communicate information about what the group is not (Huddy, 2001, p. 145). During the campaign, de Blasio repeatedly reinforced the concept that New York has been divided, like in Tale of Two Cities, between the extremely rich New York, and the extremely poor New York. He has made his own position and identity stronger by contrasting his plans for the city with those of the elite.

Reference

Belonsky, A. (2013, September 3). When Bill de Blasios Wife Was a Lesbian. Retrieved from: http://www.out.com/news-opinion/2013/09/03/when-bill-de-blasioswife-was-lesbian

Hicks, J. (2013, November 12). A New York Mayor Who Catured Almost All Black Votes. Retreived from http://www.bet.com/news/national/2013/11/12/a-new-yorkmayor-who-captured-almost-all-black-votes.html

Hogg, M. , Terry, D. , & White, K. (1995). A Tale of Two Theories: A Critical Comparison of Identity Theory with Social Identity Theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 58(4), 255-269.

Huddy, L. (2001). From Social to Political Identity: A Critical Examination of Social Identity Theory. Political Psychology, 22(1), 127-156.

Roscoe, D. , & Christiansen, N. (2010). Exploring The Attitudinal Structure of Partisanship. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 40(9), 2232-2266.

Thomson K., ONeal L. (2013, November 6). New Yorks incoming first family says it all

6 with their hair. Retrieved from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/new-yorks-incoming-first-family-saysit-all-with-their-hair/2013/11/06/e01ab558-4702-11e3-a196-3544a03c2351_story.html