Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Part I From There to Here: Theoretical Background
- Part II Oppression and Its Psycho-Ideological Elements
- Part III The Circle of Oppression: The Myriad Expressions of Institutional Discrimination
- 5 “You Stay in Your Part of Town, and I'll Stay in Mine”: Discrimination in the Housing and Retail Markets
- 6 “They're Just Too Lazy to Work”: Discrimination in the Labor Market
- 7 “They're Just Mentally and Physically Unfit”: Discrimination in Education and Health Care
- 8 “The More of Them' in Prison, the Better”: Institutional Terror, Social Control, and the Dynamics of the Criminal Justice System
- Part IV Oppression as a Cooperative Game
- Notes
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
5 - “You Stay in Your Part of Town, and I'll Stay in Mine”: Discrimination in the Housing and Retail Markets
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Part I From There to Here: Theoretical Background
- Part II Oppression and Its Psycho-Ideological Elements
- Part III The Circle of Oppression: The Myriad Expressions of Institutional Discrimination
- 5 “You Stay in Your Part of Town, and I'll Stay in Mine”: Discrimination in the Housing and Retail Markets
- 6 “They're Just Too Lazy to Work”: Discrimination in the Labor Market
- 7 “They're Just Mentally and Physically Unfit”: Discrimination in Education and Health Care
- 8 “The More of Them' in Prison, the Better”: Institutional Terror, Social Control, and the Dynamics of the Criminal Justice System
- Part IV Oppression as a Cooperative Game
- Notes
- References
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Summary
If subordinate groups are to be kept in “their place,” it is then crucial that they also be restricted in the places they are allowed to live and in the quality of the goods and services they have access to. This implies that, among the many other ways in which subordinates will be discriminated against, discrimination in both the housing and retail markets will form important and essential arcs in the circle of oppression.
Discrimination in the Housing Market
Housing discrimination literally gets people where they live. Despite wide-scale attempts by most modern states to eliminate the more blatant and overt forms of housing discrimination, covert housing discrimination remains an extremely powerful force in helping to isolate subordinates into residential areas that are impoverished, underserviced, and dangerous. As we discuss in more detail ahead, isolation within these areas further erodes the ability of subordinates to exploit their full potential and to become equal members of civil society.
Perceived Housing Discrimination
The first evidence we consider are people's reports of housing discrimination taken from recent studies conducted in Sweden, the United States, and the United Kingdom. In 1996, a large sample of foreign immigrants to Sweden were asked about their perceptions of discrimination within Swedish society, including the housing market (i.e., being denied home ownership, home financing, or apartment rental). As Figure 5.1 shows, certain immigrant groups perceived more housing discrimination than others.
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- Information
- Social DominanceAn Intergroup Theory of Social Hierarchy and Oppression, pp. 131 - 149Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1999