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DEHUMANIZATION 

Dehumanization happens when one group, seeking power and status, defines another as not being fully human and therefore undeserving of rights, voice, and respect. Dehumanization tactics, often under the guise of humor, include degrading an individual as well as their social group by associating them with what is seen as an unworthy animal. White supremacist items depict Obama as a monkey, a stereotype historically used to justify slavery. Sexist imagery identifies women as “meat” and shows them as consumable farmed animals. Donald Trump is depicted as a pig, though this aspersion does not extend to white men whose elevated group status ensures they are seen as individuals. Dehumanization depends upon the false beliefs that humans are superior to other animals and that some humans are superior to other humans.

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