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

For a party that prides itself on diversity, the clashes have exacerbated fierce debates over identity politics and long-standing rifts between progressives and moderates. — ABC News, 28 June 2026

The party adopted identity politics and institutional reform, intervening in areas where old-school Democrats felt that people’s rights should trump all. — Alex Rosado, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2026

Today, the Supreme Court’s recent decisions gutting the Voting Rights Act and affirmative action, as well as the rise of white identity politics, are once again charging the debate about how Black politics should best be organized. — Vivian Yee, New York Times, 20 June 2026

Elaborate wall labels drum relentlessly on themes of identity politics, the ecological crisis, colonialism, and wellness. — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 16 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for identity politics

• biopolitics
• bolsheviks
• candlesticks
• crucifix
• intermix
• lunatics
• mensheviks
• orthotics
• politicks
• bricks
• brix
• chicks