Rankism

2025-11-02T00:24:06Z

73.241.33.142:

{{Short description|Rank-based discrimination}}
{{Wiktionary|Rankism}}
'''Rankism''' is "abusive, discriminatory, and/or exploitative behavior towards people because of their [[Social class|rank]] in a particular [[hierarchy]]".<ref>{{cite web
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert
| title = Rankism: A Social Disorder
| url = http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/rankism
| access-date = 2008-09-16
| archive-date = 2006-04-05
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060405163412/http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/rankism
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>
Rank-based abuse underlies many other phenomena such as [[bullying]], [[racism]], [[supremacism]] (often [[white supremacy]]), [[xenophobia]], [[hazing]], [[ageism]], [[sexism]], [[ableism]], [[sanism]], [[antisemitism]], [[Islamophobia]], [[homophobia]] and [[transphobia]]. The term "rankism" was popularized by physicist, educator, and [[Citizen diplomacy|citizen diplomat]] [[Robert W. Fuller]].

== Characteristics ==

Rankism can take many forms, including
* exploiting one's position within a hierarchy to secure unwarranted advantages and benefits (e.g. massive corporate bonuses);
* abusing a position of power (e.g., abusive [[parental abuse of children|parent]] or [[Religious abuse|priest]], [[Corporate corruption|corrupt CEO]], [[Workplace bullying|bully boss]], [[prisoner abuse]]);
* using rank as a shield to get away with [[insulting]] or [[humiliating]] others with impunity;
* using rank to maintain a position of power long after it can be justified;
* exporting the rank achieved in one sphere of activity to claim superior value as a person;
* exploiting rank that is illegitimately acquired or held (as in situations resting on specious distinctions of social rank, such as [[racism]], [[sexism]], [[intellectualism]], [[wealth]], [[Religious persecution|religious beliefs]], [[hereditary]], [[marital status]], [[gang|gang affiliation]], [[criminal record]], [[egotism]] or [[classism]]).

Rankism can occur in any [[social hierarchy]], such as governments, corporations, families, non-profit organizations, and universities.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert
| title = Democracy's Next Step: Building a Dignitarian Society
| url = http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/articles/democracy
| access-date = 2008-09-19
| archive-date = 2012-07-22
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120722071454/http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/articles/democracy/
| url-status = dead
}}</ref>

== Use of term ==

The term rankism first appeared in print in the ''Oberlin Alumni Magazine'' for fall of 1997.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert
| date = Fall 1997
| title = Campus Activities (sidebar)
| journal = Oberlin Alumni Magazine
}}</ref> It later appeared in a book called ''Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank,'' written by Fuller and published in 2003.<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert W.
| year = 2003
| title = Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank
| url = https://archive.org/details/somebodiesnobodi00full
| url-access = registration
| publisher = New Society Publishers
| location = Gabriola Island, Canada
| isbn = 0-86571-486-X
}}</ref>

The first use of the term in a management journal occurred in 2001 in a ''[[Leader to Leader Institute]]'' article. The piece questioned the abuse of rank in work hierarchies.<ref>{{cite journal
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert W
|date=Summer 2001
| title = A New Look at Hierarchy: How do we make sure that rank is exercised appropriately?
| journal = Leader to Leader
| volume = 21
}}</ref> The idea of rankism has since been widely covered in the media, including ''[[The New York Times]]'', ''[[NPR]]'', ''[[C-SPAN]]'', ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', the ''[[BBC]]'', ''[[Voice of America]]'', and ''[[O, The Oprah Magazine]]''.

Other notable references of rankism include Fuller's second book on the subject, ''All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity,''<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert W.
| year = 2006
| title = All Rise: Somebodies, Nobodies, and the Politics of Dignity
| publisher = Berrett-Koehler Publishers
| isbn = 978-1-57675-385-9
| url = https://archive.org/details/allrisesomebodie00full
}}
</ref> and an action-oriented guide titled ''Dignity for All: How to Create a World Without Rankism.''<ref>{{cite book
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert W.
|author2=Pamela A. Gerloff
| year = 2008
| title = Dignity for All: How to Create a World Without Rankism
| publisher = Berrett-Koehler Publishers
| isbn = 978-1-57675-789-5
| no-pp = true
| page = back cover
}}
</ref>

The Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (Human DHS) network has also accepted the concept of rankism as core to its mission. It asserts, "...the mission we have undertaken at Human DHS is the confrontation of abuse, rankism and the humiliation endemic to it, on the historical scale."<ref>{{cite web
| last = The Human DHS Team
| title = Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies: Who We Are – A Brief Overview
| url = http://www.humiliationstudies.org/whoweare/whoweare.php
| access-date = 2008-09-24
}}
</ref>

Professional mediator Julia Ann Wambach uses Fuller's definition of rankism to explore the abuse of position within a hierarchy from both up and down the lines of power, including how rankism feeds on itself in group contexts.<ref>Wambach, Julie Ann (2008). ''Battles between Somebodies and Nobodies: Combat Abuse of Rank at Work and At Home''. Brookside Press. {{ISBN|978-0-9814818-0-7}}</ref>

== Rankism and dignity ==

According to Fuller, the abuse of rank is experienced by victims as an affront to their [[dignity]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = Fuller
| first = Robert
| title = Dignity: A Universal Right
| url = http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/dignity
| access-date = 2008-09-16
| archive-date = 2013-08-20
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130820142447/http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/dignity/
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> Fuller and his supporters have launched a new [[social movement]] to promote the creation of a dignitarian society. The Dignity Movement's goal is to overcome rankism in the same way that the [[civil rights movement]] and [[feminist movement|women's movements]] target racism and sexism.

== See also ==
* [[Abuse]]
* [[Bullying]]
* [[Caste]]
* [[Class discrimination]]
* [[Discrimination]]
* [[Elitism]]
* [[Exploitation of labour|Exploitation]]
* [[Minority influence]]
* [[Power harassment]]
* [[Ranked society]]
* [[Structural violence]]
* [[Supremacism]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal
| first = Daniel
| last = Berger
|date=August 2005
| title = Book review: Somebodies and Nobodies: Overcoming the Abuse of Rank
| journal = Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
| volume = 198
| issue = 8
| pages = 571
| url = http://www.jonmd.com/pt/re/jnmd/abstract.00005053-200508000-00014.htm;jsessionid=EB3JeR6ML1B8J289h7dwXeWGIqiEFhsX6vsZHZxrbHNZS8nAyITE!-1738699248!-949856145!9001!-1
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130111034208/http://www.jonmd.com/pt/re/jnmd/abstract.00005053-200508000-00014.htm;jsessionid=EB3JeR6ML1B8J289h7dwXeWGIqiEFhsX6vsZHZxrbHNZS8nAyITE!-1738699248!-949856145!9001!-1
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 2013-01-11
| doi = 10.1097/01.nmd.0000172656.22250.24

| url-access = subscription
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Ehrenreich
| first = Barbara
| year = 2008
| title = This Land is Their Land: Reports from a Divided Nation
| publisher = Metropolitan Books
| location = New York
| isbn = 978-0-8050-8840-3
| url = https://archive.org/details/thislandistheirl00ehre
}}
* {{cite journal
| first = Art
| last = Kleiner
| year = 2004
| title = Diversity and its discontents
| journal = Strategy + Business
| issue = Spring 2004
}}
* {{cite journal
| first = Robert
| last = Knisely
|date=April 2003
| title = Rank prejudice
| journal = Washington Monthly
| volume = 35
| issue = 4
}}
* {{cite journal
| first1 = Elaina
| last1 = Richardson
|date=April 2003
| title = Respect
| journal = O Magazine
| doi = 10.1080/14786430310001599405
| volume = 83
| pages = 3549
| last2 = Richards
| first2 = David
| last3 = Cale
| first3 = Timothy
| issue = 31–34
| s2cid = 135956512
}}
* {{cite book
| last = Scheff
| first = Thomas
| editor-first = Michael
| editor-last = Jacobsen
| title = The Contemporary Goffman
| url = https://archive.org/details/contemporarygoff00jaco
| url-access = limited
| publisher = Routledge
| date=2009
| pages = [https://archive.org/details/contemporarygoff00jaco/page/n199 185]–198
| chapter = 7: A New Goffman: Robert W. Fuller's Politics of Dignity
| isbn = 978-0-415-99681-5
}}
* {{cite journal
| first = Connie
| last = Schultz
| date = January 14, 2006
| title = Taking it out on the clerks
| journal = The Cleveland Plain Dealer
}}
* {{cite book
| first = Julie Ann
| last = Wambach
| year = 2008
| title = Battles between Somebodies and Nobodies: Combat Abuse of Rank at Work and at Home
| publisher = Brookside Press
| isbn = 978-0-9814818-0-7
| url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780981481807
}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081203130709/http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/pubsres/academe/2006/SO/Feat/soanon.htm Academe Online] – Anonymous, (September/October 2006) "Class Issues Outside the Classroom"
* [http://blog.penelopetrunk.com/2006/08/07/battle-cry-against-power-tripping/ Brazen Careerist] – Penelope Trunk, (August 27, 2006) "Battle Cry Against Power Tripping" interview with Robert Fuller, at Brazen Careerist
* [http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/bibliography/ Breaking Ranks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060419062318/http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/bibliography/ |date=2006-04-19 }} – Bibliography on Fuller's website
* [http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/articles/ Breaking Ranks] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080619171426/http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/articles |date=2008-06-19 }} – Other articles by Fuller
* [https://www.canadianliving.com/life-and-relationships/money-and-career/article/rankism-bullying-someone-of-a-lower-rank-at-work Canadian Living] – Diana Fisher, "Rankism: Bullying someone of a lower rank at work"
* [http://www.humiliationstudies.org/ Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies] – an organization composed of over one thousand academics and practitioners from around the globe dedicated to confronting humiliation
* [http://de.spiritualwiki.org/Wiki/Dignity Dignity] – SpiritualWiki article
* [http://right-rank.com/ Right-Rank.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060614024326/http://right-rank.com/ |date=2006-06-14 }} – Right-rank is the use of communication skills by anyone within a hierarchy to promote respect for the dignity of everyone regardless of position.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060306183023/http://www.somebodybook.com/ SomebodyBook.com] – ''I Feel Like Nobody When... I Feel Like a Somebody When...'' (children's book that introduces issues related to rankism), Stephanie Heuer (2005)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060622095332/http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/printer_33209.shtml YubaNet.com] – '"Executive" monkeys influenced by other executives, not subordinates', [[Duke University]] Medical Center (March 22, 2006)

{{Abuse}}
{{Bullying}}
{{Discrimination}}

[[Category:Abuse]]
[[Category:Harassment and bullying]]
[[Category:Discrimination by type]]
[[Category:Social inequality]]
[[Category:1990s neologisms]]

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Rankism