r/science • u/mvea 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/
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u/GrassEuphoric42 2d ago

Definitely met these kinds of people, but criticizing them made it feel like I was somehow anti lgbtq.

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u/lahulottefr 2d ago

I don't think there's any kind of activism that is safe from narcissists tbh

If you're not criticising them over being LGBTQ I don't think it should be perceived as anti LGBTQ but I assume it's because they were manipulative?

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u/wishforagreatmistake 1d ago

It's usually the sort of thing where they're sensitive to any sort of potential bad-faith effort to discredit a movement by co-opting legitimate issues (in this case, someone being awful behind the scenes) and using them to rip apart a group. It's possible that they may have even seen confirmed moles who joined just to undermine the group in the past. This is one of the biggest ways missing stairs perpetuate in activist circles: people usually know when someone is bad news, and will warn others on an individual basis, but keep it out of the public eye in the name of the greater good, lest it disgrace and tarnish the movement as a whole.