2.2 Resisting resistance
Resisting groups need to be aware that the people they depose will not go away quietly and will probably fight back. This phenomenon is that of resisting resistance.
In a contemporary UK context, it is becoming increasingly unacceptable for those in power to straightforwardly deny the need for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI). Indeed, voicing opposition to EDI on its own terms – e.g. ‘White people are inherently superior’; ‘Men are superior to women’, etc. – is usually, and rightly, career limiting. Opponents of EDI have therefore been forced to adapt to new social standards and attitudes towards equality. In practice this has resulted in a sneakier form of resistance, one that disguises itself because resisters know it is socially unacceptable to openly voice sexist, racist and homophobic views.
This kind of resistance is called ‘oblique resistance’ (Smolović Jones et al., 2021). Oblique resistance never openly opposes EDI, but instead tries to move the target and distract from the goal of enhancing equality. At its root, oblique resistance is a way for powerful people to defend their privileges by resisting the resistance offered by those pursuing EDI. Smolović Jones et al. (2021) elaborate on this practice in their study of how people in sections of the Labour Party resisted gender equality initiatives. They practised oblique resistance in three ways, which you can explore below. Do any of these practices seem familiar within your own contexts?
| Ethics | Claiming that gender equality initiatives were unethical because they did not reward merit and because they overlooked other forms of inequality, such as deprivation. However, in practice it was evident that many resisters did not take action on any other forms of inequality either. |
| Territory | Claiming that bringing more women into senior elected positions would erode the autonomy of local communities to decide for themselves. The assumption was that women were somehow ‘foreign’, ‘other’. |
| Convention | Superficially voicing support for equality but always preferring white men from middle class professional backgrounds. |