‘They Actually do Get More Money’: Using Myths in Justifying Hierarchies in Ethnic Relations

Abstract

This article analyses myths as a societal and discursive mechanism for maintaining and reproducing hierarchical ethnic relations. Theoretically, we rely on Paulo Freire and discursive social psychology (DSP) in conceptualising myths as false perceptions that act as counterforces to a critically informed understanding of reality and end up discursively reproducing the societal status quo with its unequal power relations. The data was produced as part of an artistic-scientific process between 2017 and 2019, which consisted of migration-themed events relying on participatory theatre. The events took place mainly in suburban bars but also in libraries and nursing homes around Finland. In our analysis, we identify three myths regarding ethnic relations: a myth of immigrants as profoundly different from majority Finns, a myth that discrimination or racism is a minor problem, and a myth of privileged immigrants. We also exemplify how myths are employed, co-constructed and actively used in producing versions of reality and for opposing equality measures and the politics of anti-racism. We argue that conceptualising a certain type of account as myth and combining Freirean theorisations with DSP to analyse them, adds to understanding of the ways in which social hierarchies and power relations are constructed, maintained and reproduced.