Stereotypes function to make existing social inequalities seem legitimate and natural

Evidence

We seek to develop the argument that stereotypes serve ideological functions, in particular that they justify the exploitation of certain groups over others, and that they explain the poverty or powerlessness of some groups and the success of others in ways that make these differences seem legitimate and even natural. … Based on theories of and data on self-perception, attribution, cognitive conservatism, the division of social roles, behavioral confirmation, and the belief in a just world, we stipulate a process whereby stereotypes are used to explain the existing social system and the positions and actions of self and others. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 2909

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the system-justification concept later elaborated in Jost & Banaji work, and to the just-world hypothesis (Lerner) referenced here; also echoes the ‘legitimizing myths’ framing from social dominance theory in the same chapter. — connects to: Bourgeois tolerance functions as a mask preserving the status quo — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 342; System justification theory attributes stereotype endorsement to status-quo legitimization — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 140; Understanding status mechanisms is a precondition for reducing inequality (+4 more)
• DEFINE: Defines the core thesis of system-justification theory of stereotypes: they are ideological tools explaining away group differences as natural.