Minority group

"Minorities" redirects here. For the term used in Lebanese politics, see Minorities (Lebanon). For other uses, see Minority (disambiguation).

The term "minority group" has different usages, depending on the context. According to its common usage, the term minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number of individuals, or less than half, is a "minority". Usually a minority group is disempowered relative to the majority, and that characteristic lends itself to different applications of the term minority.

In terms of sociology, economics, and politics, a demographic that takes up the smallest fraction of the population is not necessarily labelled the "minority" if it wields dominant power. In the academic context, the terms "minority" and "majority" are used in terms of hierarchical power structures. For example, in South Africa, during Apartheid, white Europeans held virtually all social, economic, and political power over black Africans. For this reason, black Africans are the "minority group", despite the fact that they outnumber white Europeans in South Africa. This is why academics more frequently use the term "minority group" to refer to a category of people that experience relative disadvantage, as compared to members of a dominant social group.[1] To address this ambiguity, Harris Mylonas has proposed the term "non-core group", instead of "minority group", to refer to any aggregation of individuals that is perceived as an unassimilated ethnic group (on a linguistic, religious, physical, or ideological basis) by the ruling political elite of a country"[2] and reserves the term 'minority' only for groups that have been granted minority rights by their state of residence.

Minority group membership is typically based on differences in observable characteristics or practices, such as: ethnicity (ethnic minority), race (racial minority), religion (religious minority), sexual orientation (sexual minority), or disability.[3] The framework of intersectionality can be used to recognize that an individual may simultaneously hold membership in multiple minority groups (e.g. both a racial and religious minority).[4] Likewise, individuals may also be part of a minority group in regard to some characteristics, but part of a dominant group in regard to others.[5]

The term "minority group" often occurs within the discourse of civil rights and collective rights, as members of minority groups are prone to differential treatment in the countries and societies in which they live.[6] Minority group members often face discrimination in multiple areas of social life, including housing, employment, healthcare, and education, among others.[7][8] While discrimination may be committed by individuals, it may also occur through structural inequalities, in which rights and opportunities are not equally accessible to all.[9] Those in favour of minority rights often pursue laws designed to protect minority groups from discrimination and afford members of the minority group equal social status and legal protections as held by members of the dominant group.[10]

  1. ^ Healey, Joseph F. (2 March 2018). Race, ethnicity, gender, & class : the sociology of group conflict and change. Stepnick, Andi; O'Brien, Eileen, 1972– (Eighth ed.). Thousand Oaks, California. ISBN 9781506346946. OCLC 1006532841.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ Mylonas, Harris (2012). The Politics of Nation-Building: Making Co-Nationals, Refugees, and Minorities. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. xx. ISBN 978-1107661998.
  3. ^ Ritzer, George (15 January 2014). Essentials of sociology. Los Angeles. ISBN 9781483340173. OCLC 871004576.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ^ Hughes, Melanie (2011). "Intersectionality, Quotas, and Minority Women's Political Representation Worldwide". American Political Science Review. 3 (105): 604–620. doi:10.1017/S0003055411000293. S2CID 2592368.
  5. ^ Laurie, Timothy; Khan, Rimi (2017), "The Concept of Minority for the Study of Culture", Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 31 (1): 3, doi:10.1080/10304312.2016.1264110, S2CID 152009904
  6. ^ Johnson, Kevin. "The Struggle for Civil Rights: The Need for, and Impediments to, Political Coalitions among and within Minority Groups". Louisiana Law Review. 63: 759. Archived from the original on 15 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  7. ^ Becker, Gary S. (1971). The economics of discrimination (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226041049. OCLC 658199810.
  8. ^ Williams, David R. (1999). "Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Health The Added Effects of Racism and Discrimination" (PDF). Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 896 (1): 173–188. Bibcode:1999NYASA.896..173W. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1999.tb08114.x. hdl:2027.42/71908. ISSN 0077-8923. PMID 10681897. S2CID 26852165. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 January 2012. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  9. ^ Verloo, Mieke (2006). "Multiple Inequalities, Intersectionality and the European Union". European Journal of Women's Studies. 13 (3): 211–228. doi:10.1177/1350506806065753. hdl:2066/46605. ISSN 1350-5068. S2CID 21752012. Archived from the original on 10 February 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  10. ^ Skrentny, John David (2002). The minority rights revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674043732. OCLC 431342257.