Stereotypes are attacked by groups when they mismatch emerging social roles.

Evidence

Although Allport viewed stereotype accuracy as a central issue, social scientists subsequently placed less emphasis on it (though see Judd & Park, ch. 8 this volume). Stereotype accuracy warrants reconsideration, in part because social change that has the potential to improve the status of a social group raises questions about the accuracy of the stereotypes that have characterized them. Members of groups seeking social change commonly attack their group’s stereotype because new roles require nonstereotypical characteristics. For example, the role of business executive is thought to require male-stereotypical attributes, such as being action oriented, decisive, and competitive (e.g., Martell, Parker, Emrich, & Crawford, 1998). Thus, stereotypes that portray women as deficient compared with men in these qualities restrict women’s opportunities; the content of such stereotypes is inconsistent with women’s aspirations for social and political equality. Therefore, eradicating these ideas became a major focus of the feminist movement. Because activists rail against the stereotypes that have characterized their groups on the basis of their traditional social position, theorists such as Allport have overaccommodated by defining stereotypes as necessarily inaccurate. — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice, 217

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to existing vault claims on stereotype content tracking group status — similar mechanism to the Jew-as-merchant stereotype shift in the antisemitism cluster.
• QUESTION: Allport defined stereotypes as necessarily inaccurate partly from overaccommodating activists — worth tracing how this ‘accuracy’ debate unfolded in later chapters (Judd & Park cited).
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — John F. Dovidio, Peter Glick, Laurie A. Rudman, On the Nature of Prejudice: Fifty Years…, 217