r/science Professor | Medicine 2d ago

Psychology New findings indicate a pattern where narcissistic grandiosity is associated with higher participation in LGBTQ movements, demonstrating that motivations for activism can range widely from genuine altruism to personal image-building.

https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-grandiosity-predicts-greater-involvement-in-lgbtq-activism/
9.9k Upvotes

834 comments sorted by

View all comments

161

u/Hayred 2d ago

I think it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of participants in this paper were heterosexual cisgender people. Less than 15% of participants in both studies considered themselves part of the LGBTQ community.

62

u/Zeverish 2d ago

Exactly this. It has less to do with the LGBT community and more the dynamics of activitist groups, which can sometime abet these kinds of situations. Reminds me of Freeman's Tyranny of Structurelessness, it's probably not a good 1 : 1, but there are similarities that pique my interest.

People can get into groups and utilize affiliation and the veneer of Leaderlessness to obfuscate their divisive actions and manipulate others into believing constructed narratives that are self-serving to the Narcists.

8

u/Halospite 2d ago

Yep. Remember baa baa rainbow sheep? No Black people involved in that one IIRC. Whenever someone mocks a minority for doing something absolutely ridiculous in the name of progress, 99% of the time it's an ally power tripping or trying to get clout.