Scott Alexander – the author of Slate Star Codex, a cult-hit blog about philosophy and science – uses the term “respectability cascade” to describe the process by which social phenomena travel in and out of mainstream discourse.
Sometimes a respectability cascade drags a movement or an idea downwards into the hell of taboo status. Alexander gives the example of endocrine disruptors: hormone-like pollutants that are believed to interfere with the endocrine systems of animals and humans, which can lead to cancer and sexual development problems. Scientists began looking into the issue of endocrine disruptors in the 1990s, with no fanfare whatsoever, aside from occasional sober coverage in news outlets such as the New York Times.
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