On sex and stigma

Organised by

• Department of Political and Social Sciences

Abstract:

Are far-right supporters stigmatised by a social norm against the far-right on the dating market? This paper investigates this question leveraging a unique visual conjoint experiment conducted in Britain and Spain. Theoretically, we argue that the far-right is accommodated within the dating market as a result of the affective spillovers among those on the centre-right. Empirically, we test this by examining the behaviour of centre-right partisans and assessing whether they follow a polity-based norm which places a premium on ostracizing stigmatized parties, or a bloc-logic norm which incentivises the rejection of out-bloc partisans. The results demonstrate that centre- right partisans actively accommodate the far-right and are expected to do so by fellow in-group partisans. An accommodating bloc-logic in dating preferences among the mainstream right has large normative implications as it suggests that affective polarization and out-bloc rejection contributes to facilitating the social normalization of those often at odds with liberal democracy.

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