Lecture 2

Question 1

Norm images

Answer 1

Controlling our insides and outsides

Mechanism that influences social situations persons, relationships and the surrounding

Norm images or ideal images say what is normal, what should be and what is normal in a given context

Question 2

Somatic norm image:

Answer 2

The complex of physical (somatic) characteristics which are accepted by a group as its norm and ideal (hoetink, 1967)

Skin color, gender and weight, but also hair, tattoos piercings and the head scarve

Hoetink: somatic norm images
accepted by group as its norm and ideal-> influence self-perceptions, belonging and self-worth-> structure social realities

Question 3

Cultural norm image:

Answer 3

Normative demands and conventions regarding day-to-day behavior (integrity, loyalty), language skills, but also flexibility (Growricharn, 2005)

Question 4

Which D’s of the 4D-model fit best with the figure of the ‘bridge builder’ in diversity policies?

Answer 4

Difference & Diversity; you’re shifting from one group to another
Difference: assuming difference both as a conflict as a enrichment
Diversity: connection to both groups, discourse, it focus on marginalized groups

Question 5

Application of the norm image: Supercop

Answer 5

 Assumption of innate care taking intuition of women and women calming effect-> construction that physical aspects of police work connected to men and communicative to women

 Problem? Implications
• Dichotomous categorization of ‘groups’/ sustains a gendered and racialized division of labour-> normative expectations
• Assumes deficiency
• Despite good intentions, strongly prescriptive (normative control, trying to influence employers within police force)
• Instrumentalization and commodification of bodies for economic purposes-> feeling used and abused> assumed human capital is being used for organisational outcomes-> when wanting something back or remain unseen or treated equally then organisation was not there for them

Question 6

• Conclusion:

Answer 6

ideal images of police officers are not neutral, exclusion is not absolute (focus should not be on exclusion but also inclusion; ‘included excluded’) and diversity policy can pigeonhole minority groups, this leads to dilemmas and unwanted forms of exclusion

Question 7

Article Professional anomalies: Diversity policy

Answer 7

policy measures to increase labour market participation of minorities-> in policy processes new power/knowledge regimes, identities and truths are constructed and reconstructed-> diversity policies relevant because target minority members and aim at adjusting organisational identities and roles to adapt to macro events in society

Question 8

In the Netherlands, diversification of the police

Answer 8

• an ethnically heterogeneous police force could suppress police discrimination, reduce violence and conflict, improve contact with ethnic minority communities and prevent the social and economic marginalization of ethnic minorities-> better and fairer policing-> by culturalized and essentialist logic: ethnic minorities own channels, uniqueness of ethnic minorities in policy documents and cultural courses
• Ethnic minority police officers underrepresented in the Dutch police force compared to demographic changes in society-> is recruiting and retaining police officers-> problematization of their loyalty to the police corps and colleagues-> few opportunities in occupational culture for ethnic minority officers-> racist jokes, disadvantage for promotion, less safe

Question 9

Norm image activated when

Answer 9

1. ethnic minority police officers interact with their ‘own’ ethnic groups and
2. when ethnic minority police officers speak a non-Dutch language during everyday police work-> response ethnic minority citizen better towards minority police officer than majority officer-> presumes a form of ethnic solidarity, identification and empathy that can be instrumentally applied for ‘effective’ policing-> problematic because majority police officer cannot anticipate potentially escalating situations-> undermines ‘us’ versus ‘them’, ‘team versus ‘other’ language-> exclusion barrier-

Question 10

• ‘Other body’ refers to the paradoxical

Answer 10

refers to the paradoxical ‘on the fence’ position that is unintentionally and intentionally created for ethnic minorities within the police organization-> marginalized and negative somatic norm images of their bodies are instrumentally valuable for everyday police work-> the ramifications are that actions, attitudes and ways of thinking in policing are legitimized and justified by policy discourses-> partial exclusion: both insider and outsider being reduced to one’s appearance or skin colour

Question 11

Multicultural craftsman/women

Answer 11

• Multicultural craftsman/women-> norm image: the professionalism of police officers and the management to deal with the many cultures and lifestyles in our organization and in society-> ‘good’ police officer
  1. Competences: ability to apply knowledge, experience, personal qualities and skills integrally-> open and respectable attitude to subcultures, intercultural sensitivity, ability to learn and self-reflection
  2. Knowledge: staying up to date on developments in the world, as well as knowledge about different cultures and lifestyles in society

Question 12

Assimilation

Answer 12

best version is social participation-> is imposed upon privately or professionally
- Two micro-level interactions-> (1) daily live (in shops etc. assimilation is allegedly achieved by participation in the receiving society and is sometimes desired by the immigrants themselves) (2) interaction with professionals who enforce specific cultural behaviour and underlying norms (governments etc.)

Question 13

Transfer of culture: acculturation

Answer 13

-> two drawbacks (a) specific content of process not disclosed nor outcomes (b) happens through individual participation in host society -> not neutral process but subjugation and stratification-> can be overcome by cultural norm image: elicits specificity of cultural content and draws attention to specific roles of actors

Question 14

Gordon: assimilation

Answer 14

 Structural assimilation: large scale entrance into cliques, clubs, and institutions of the host society, on a primary group level-> other assimilations flow from
 Cultural assimilation: change of cultural patterns to those of the host society-> acculturation
- Assimilation is the outcome of participation
- Acculturation happens automatically and unintentionally

Question 15

• Berry: Assimilation

Answer 15

cultural contact leads to assimilation, integration, separation or marginalisation-> criticism: power differentials -> acculturation one way, and cultural flows diaspora

Question 16

Culturalization of citizenship

Answer 16

social problems as a culture thing-> morality and culture in citizenship-> sexualisation of citizenship: Dutch self-image of sexually free and tolerant of gay identities -> dichotomies-> Muslim homophobia as moral and cultural exclusion-> ‘other’ differ from Dutch self-image: openmindedness and tolerance had diminished lately-> minorities reminded that they don’t adhere to ‘essential features’-> white ethnicization: Dutch culture as homogenous and massive-> all parties want migrants to assimilate

Question 17

Norm image police organisations three feature into account:

Answer 17

(1) enactment of national norm image also to ethnic minority background
(2) street police enjoy a large degree of discretion because of their professional autonomy as street-level bureaucrats and their poor visibility to supervisors (can decide how and if to enforce the law)
(3) the large power differential between police officers and citizens is an important precondition for the conveyance of cultural norms (conveyance embedded in and legitimised by nationalistic climate often instructed by police superiors)-> differs from other organisation-> however culture is not the law-> but can impose their norm image of nation, professionalism and citizenship-> police officers guard the nation (because of hierarchical position) as they conceive it ideally