Stigma on College Reddit: How Gender, Race and Jobs Mix to Hurt Students

College students on the internet often talk about feeling judged or left out. Researchers looked at more than 300, 000 posts from a popular college forum to see how different kinds of stigma show up. They used a special computer program that can read the tone of a post and spot words that hint at prejudice. The study found that when students mention their job or field of study, the posts most often contain stereotypes—simple, unfair beliefs about that group. When students talk about their race, the posts more frequently show signs of losing status or being treated unfairly.

When a student’s post includes several identities at once—such as being both a woman and a person of color—the signals of stigma are strongest. This means that people who belong to more than one minority group feel a double hit from bias. The research suggests that teachers, counselors and campus groups need to think about how different identities overlap when they try to help students. A one‑size‑fits‑all approach won’t work; instead, programs should address the layered problems that students face when they juggle multiple marginalized identities.

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