Adams, A. Brown, R. (2026, July). Shifting Public Perceptions: Racial Privilege and Gender Disadvantage. Poster presented at the Consortium Research Symposium, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH.

Abstract: In the last decade, social movements such as Black Lives Matter and #MeToo demonstrate a shift in public discourse around levels of group-based advantage. The current analysis extends the field’s commentary on how the advantaged think about their own levels of privilege (Knowles et al., 2014; Phillips and Lowery, 2018; Pratto and Stewart, 2012) by showcasing trends over time in nationally representative data sets. We analyzed seven years of data from Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel to test public perception of white advantage and gender disadvantage between 2017 and 2024. Our findings demonstrate exploratory evidence of how perceptions of privilege change over time, including a significant decrease in perceived racial privilege among white Americans in 2024 and a persistent decrease in men supporting the claim that gender obstacles still exist for women since 2021. Overall, results show a change in how the advantaged think about their levels of privilege. Future research can experimentally assess why these decreases occur and the extent that social movements may have a waning impact.