Editing Essentialism (section)

===Racial, cultural and strategic essentialism===
{{main|Race (human categorization)|Strategic essentialism}}
Cultural and racial essentialism is the view that fundamental biological or physical characteristics of human "races" produce personality, heritage, cognitive abilities, or 'natural talents' that are shared by all members of a racial group.<ref name="Soylu Yalcinkaya Estrada-Villalta Adams 2017 p. ">{{cite journal | last1=Soylu Yalcinkaya | first1=Nur | last2=Estrada-Villalta | first2=Sara | last3=Adams | first3=Glenn | title=The (Biological or Cultural) Essence of Essentialism: Implications for Policy Support among Dominant and Subordinated Groups | journal=Frontiers in Psychology | publisher=Frontiers Media SA | volume=8 | date=2017-05-30 | page=900 | issn=1664-1078 | doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00900 | pmid=28611723 | quote=Whereas, endorsement of biological essentialism may have similarly negative implications for social justice policies across racial categories, we investigated the hypothesis that endorsement of cultural essentialism would have different implications across racial categories. In Studies 1a and 1b, we assessed the properties of a cultural essentialism measure we developed...| pmc=5447748 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Stubblefield 1995 pp. 341–368">{{cite journal |last=Stubblefield |first=Anna |year=1995 |title=Racial Identity and Non-Essentialism About Race |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/23557192 |journal=Social Theory and Practice |publisher=Florida State University Department of Philosophy |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=341–368 |doi=10.5840/soctheorpract19952131 |issn=0037-802X |jstor=23557192 |access-date=2023-07-22 |quote=Essentialist conceptions of race hold that the characteristics of physical appearance referred to by racial terms are indicative of more profound characteristics (whether positively or negatively construed) of personality, inclinations, `culture,' heritage, cognitive abilities, or `natural talents' that are taken to be shared by all members of a racially defined group.}}</ref> In the early 20th century, many [[Anthropology|anthropologists]] taught this theory – that race was an entirely biological phenomenon and that this was core to a person's behavior and identity.<ref name="cravens">{{harvnb|Cravens|2010}}</ref> This, coupled with a belief that [[linguistics|linguistic]], cultural, and social groups fundamentally existed along racial lines, formed the basis of what is now called [[scientific racism]].<ref name="currell">{{harvnb|Currell|Cogdell|2006}}</ref> After the [[Nazi eugenics]] program, along with the rise of anti-colonial movements, racial essentialism lost widespread popularity.<ref>{{cite journal|author-last=Hirschman |author-first=Charles |date=2004 |title=The Origins and Demise of the Concept of Race |journal=Population and Development Review |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=385–415 |doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2004.00021.x |s2cid=145485765 |issn=1728-4457 }}</ref> New studies of [[culture]] and the fledgling field of [[population genetics]] undermined the scientific standing of racial essentialism, leading race anthropologists to revise their conclusions about the sources of phenotypic variation.<ref name="cravens" /> A significant number of modern anthropologists and [[biologist]]s in the West came to view race as an invalid genetic or biological designation.<ref name="Cravens; Angier; et al.">See:
* {{harvnb|Cravens|2010}}
* {{harvnb|Angier|2000}}
* {{harvnb|Amundson|2005}}
* {{harvnb|Reardon|2005}}
</ref>

Historically, beliefs which posit that social identities such as ethnicity, nationality or gender determine a person's essential characteristics have in many cases been shown to have destructive or harmful results. It has been argued by some that essentialist thinking lies at the core of many [[Reductionism|simplistic]], [[Discrimination|discriminatory]] or [[Extremism|extremist]] ideologies.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kurzwelly|first=J.|author2=Fernana, H.|author3=Ngum, M. E.|year=2020|title=The allure of essentialism and extremist ideologies|journal=[[Anthropology Southern Africa]]|volume=43|issue=2|pages=107–118|doi=10.1080/23323256.2020.1759435|s2cid=221063773}}</ref> Psychological essentialism is also correlated with [[Racism|racial prejudice]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Jacqueline M.|last2=Ratliff|first2=Kate A.|date=June 2018|title=Psychological Essentialism Predicts Intergroup Bias|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325508855|journal=Social Cognition|volume=36|issue=3|pages=301–323|doi=10.1521/soco.2018.36.3.301|s2cid=150259817}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mandalaywala|first1=Tara M.|last2=Amodio|first2=David M.|last3=Rhodes|first3=Marjorie|date=19 June 2017|title=Essentialism Promotes Racial Prejudice by Increasing Endorsement of Social Hierarchies|url=|journal=Social Psychological and Personality Science|volume=19|issue=4|pages=461–469|doi=10.1177/1948550617707020|pmc=7643920|pmid=33163145}}</ref> In medical sciences, essentialism can lead to an over-emphasis on the role of identities—for example assuming that differences in hypertension in African-American populations are due to [[Race (human categorization)|racial]] differences rather than social causes—leading to fallacious conclusions and potentially unequal treatment.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Duster|first=Troy|title=Race and Reification in Science|journal=Science|year=2005|volume=307|issue=5712|pages=1050–1051|doi=10.1126/science.1110303|pmid=15718453|s2cid=28235427}}</ref> Older social theories were often conceptually essentialist.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kurzwelly|first=J.|author2=Rapport, N.|author3=Spiegel, A. D.|title=Encountering, explaining and refuting essentialism|journal=Anthropology Southern Africa|year=2020|volume=43|issue=2|pages=65–81|doi=10.1080/23323256.2020.1780141|hdl=10023/24669|s2cid=221063562|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Strategic essentialism, a major concept in [[postcolonial theory]], was introduced in the 1980s by the [[India]]n [[literary critic]] and [[literary theory|theorist]] [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]].<ref>{{cite book |editor=G. Ritze and J.M. Ryan |title=The Concise Encyclopedia of Sociology |date=2010 |page=193}}</ref> It refers to a political tactic in which minority groups, nationalities, or ethnic groups mobilize on the basis of shared gendered, cultural, or political identity. While strong differences may exist between members of these groups, and among themselves they engage in continuous debates, it is sometimes advantageous for them to temporarily "essentialize" themselves, despite it being based on erroneous logic,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kurzwelly|first=J.|author2=Rapport, N.|author3=Spiegel, A. D.|title=Encountering, explaining and refuting essentialism|journal=[[Anthropology Southern Africa]]|year=2020|volume=43|issue=2|pages=65–81|doi=10.1080/23323256.2020.1780141|hdl=10023/24669 |s2cid=221063562|hdl-access=free}}</ref> and to bring forward their group identity in a simplified way to achieve certain goals, such as [[wikt:equal rights|equal rights]] or [[antiglobalization]].<ref>{{cite book |author=B. Ashcroft |display-authors=etal |title=Key Concepts in Post-colonial Studies |url=https://archive.org/details/keyconceptsinpos0000ashc |url-access=registration |date=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/keyconceptsinpos0000ashc/page/159 159–60]|publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780415153041 }}</ref>