identity politics

noun

plural in form but singular or plural in construction

: politics in which groups of people having a particular racial, religious, ethnic, social, or cultural identity tend to promote their own specific interests or concerns without regard to the interests or concerns of any larger political group

Although the UCLA center's standards promoted rigorous history, they set off a major culture war because of their relentless emphasis on identity politics.

—Diane Ravitch

Identity politics is contemporary shorthand for a group's assertion that it is a meaningful group; that it differs significantly from other groups; that its members share a history of injustice and grievance; and that its psychological and political mission is to explore, act out, act on and act up its group identity.

—Catharine R. Stimpson

A number of critics have viewed her work through a lens of identity politics, taking her to be some sort of oracle of Muslim womanhood.

—Lauren Collins

Examples of identity politics in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Second, that it is headed in the right direction, out of the identity politics that determined people’s outcomes for centuries. —Jonathan M. Hansen, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024

Overemphasis On Identity Some proponents emphasize identity politics over common ground. —Jonathan H. Westover, Forbes, 13 Feb. 2024

The right’s suspicion of identity politics has also made conversations about diversity difficult. —Emma Green, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024

Americans didn’t need AI’s help to fight over the divisive issue of identity politics. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024

In it, Cedillo and De León not only gripe about the lack of Latino political power in Los Angeles but also openly express fear that a new generation of Latinos, who don’t subscribe to the identity politics of the past, is ready to take them on. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024

These factors, including the BJP’s explosive brand of identity politics, may well prove to be a winning proposition in this year’s elections. —Vasuki Shastry, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024

When Cohen’s book first appeared, it was read as a comic allegory about identity politics. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Feb. 2024

Given the identity politics involved in sidelining Harris, the idea that the Democrats would ever be able to ditch Biden and somehow swap in California governor Gavin Newsom or somebody else was pure fantasy. —Philip Klein, National Review, 9 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above