“Cool Dudes” and Cultural Capital: Extending System Justification to the Legitimacy Crisis

• In Event: 50462 - Section on Science, Knowledge, and Technology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Masculinities in Science and Technology

Abstract

Recent surveys show a decline in U.S. public confidence in institutions, raising concerns about their legitimacy, particularly in knowledge institutions like science and the media (Rainie, Keeter, & Perrin 2019). This decline occurs alongside political polarization and resistance to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), especially among majority identity groups. This resistance can be understood through political psychology, which explains how conservative white males ("Cool Dudes") oppose scientific expertise, such as climate change, to protect their social roles and identities (McRight et al., 2011). The group-identity resists threats to their privileged status, which is tied to cultural capital, as introduced by Bourdieu. Cultural capital refers to the educational and social resources that provide power and status. White highly educated males benefit greatly from generational access to this capital. The proposed study aims to analyze if a threat to cultural capital for white male elites, relates to the decline in confidence in knowledge institutions. I hypothesize that elite white males are losing confidence in knowledge institutions more quickly and more severely than their less-educated counterparts. The research will focus on the period from 1992 to 2018, using data from the General Social Survey (GSS). The proposed study will utilize multiple regression analysis to explore group identities and system justification as influencers on the decline of "Cool Dude" institutional confidence. The goal is to understand if white male elites’ cultural capital, tied to their privileged position, affects their confidence in institutions, particularly in the context of contemporary political polarization, feeding the legitimacy crisis.

Author

• Bridget McCann, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee