Sociology and Anthropology Vol. 4(12), pp. 1121 - 1131
DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.041212
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The Everyday Paths to Equalize Oneself: Emphasizing Vs. Rejecting Group Membership among Working Class Ethiopian-Israelis

Adane Zawdu ^*
Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, United States

ABSTRACT

Following recent studies on everyday de-stigmatization processes [1], I examine in this paper the culture resources working class Ethiopian-Israelis mobilize to contest stigmatized notions of Ethiopianness. Based on 30 in-depth interviews, and an ethnographically informed analysis of those interviews, I present two types of culture resources. The first is the use of "Ethnic Culture," in which Ethiopianness is presented as unproblematic ethnic distinctiveness, and non-Ethiopian Israelis are grouped along ethnic lines of different, but equally valued groupings. This is a strategy that emphasizes group membership and handles ethnic distinctions as commonsensical. The second is the use of "Universalism," in which all potential group memberships are rejected as meaningless for individual self-identification and evaluation. This strategy emphasizes equality on universal ground and uses various all-inclusive criteria. Guided by two distinct logics, emphasizing vs. rejecting group membership, both strategies are oriented towards creating horizontal relations with others. While previous studies emphasized the role of racial and national boundaries in the de-stigmatization processes among Ethiopian Israelis, the variations in this paper shed light on the working of ethnicity as a commonsensical source of value; thus, enabling us to further specify the different logics behind the absence of racial language among ordinary Ethiopians, and the varied degrees to which national boundaries matter in everyday contestation over stigmatized notions of group membership.

KEYWORDS
De-stigmatization, Israelis of Ethiopian origin, Ethnic and Racial Boundaries, Nationhood

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Adane Zawdu , "The Everyday Paths to Equalize Oneself: Emphasizing Vs. Rejecting Group Membership among Working Class Ethiopian-Israelis," Sociology and Anthropology, Vol. 4, No. 12, pp. 1121 - 1131, 2016. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.041212.

(b). APA Format:
Adane Zawdu (2016). The Everyday Paths to Equalize Oneself: Emphasizing Vs. Rejecting Group Membership among Working Class Ethiopian-Israelis. Sociology and Anthropology, 4(12), 1121 - 1131. DOI: 10.13189/sa.2016.041212.