The Marketization of Identity Politics

Bliss, Catherine

doi:10.1177/0038038513495604

Cited by 37 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…By ascribing racial or ethnic categories to the physical bodies of individuals, race is comprehended as a corporeal substance which can be discovered through scientific analysis. Genetic genealogy thereby promotes a "genetic essentialism" (Arribas-Ayllon 2016;Bliss 2013;Nordgren and Juengst 2009;Roth et al 2020) which renders the individual as biologically bound to a racial group. As Scodari puts it:…”

Section: Gats and Geneticized Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

I am a Viking! DNA, popular culture and the construction of geneticized identity

Strand

Källén

2021

New Genetics and Society

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In this article, we analyze how genetic genealogy reshapes popular notions of historical identity, as it facilitates a genetically informed understanding of ethnicity and ancestry. Drawing on interviews with Swedish, British and American individuals who have employed genetic ancestry tests (GATs) to prove ancestral connections to Vikings, we explore how the desire to "be a Viking" is articulated through a convergence of pre-existing discourses around Vikings and DNA. By combining signs from genetic science and popular depictions of Vikings, our interviewees create a new discourse of geneticized Viking identity. In this new discourse, socio-historically constructed ideas about Vikings are naturalized as the innate qualities of individuals who possess a certain genetic composition. Images of "the Viking" once created for political, cultural or commercial purposes are revived in new embodied forms and can start to circulate in new social contexts, where they, by association, appear to be confirmed by genetical science.

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Section: Gats and Geneticized Identitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

I am a Viking! DNA, popular culture and the construction of geneticized identity

Strand

Källén

2021

New Genetics and Society

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“…Survey research has shown that GATs prompt people to understand human traits and racial differences as genetically determined (Phelan et al, 2014), even though GATs are often marketed as a means of celebrating diversity and overcoming differences (Bliss, 2013; Bolnick et al, 2007; Lee, 2013). Such claims have led to expectations that individual users of GATs will interpret results as having deterministic implications for their own identities (Bolnick et al, 2007; Nash, 2015; Nordgren and Juengst, 2009).…”

Section: Background and Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic ancestry testing among white nationalists: From identity repair to citizen science

Panofsky

Donovan

2019

Soc Stud Sci

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White nationalists have a genetic essentialist understanding of racial identity, so what happens when using genetic ancestry tests (GATs) to explore personal identities, they receive upsetting results they consider evidence of non-white or non-European ancestry? Our answer draws on qualitative analysis of posts on the white nationalist website Stormfront, interpreted by synthesizing the literatures on white nationalism and GATs and identity. We show that Stormfront posters exert much more energy repairing individuals' bad news than using it to exclude or attack them. Their repair strategies combine anti-scientific, counter-knowledge attacks on the legitimacy of GATs and quasi-scientific reinterpretations of GATs in terms of white nationalist histories. However, beyond individual identity repair they also reinterpret the racial boundaries and hierarchies of white nationalism in terms of the relationships GATs make visible. White nationalism is not simply an identity community or political movement but should be understood as bricoleurs with genetic knowledge displaying aspects of citizen science.

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“…Family norms, sexuality, ethnicity and human-nature relations take centre stage in the political discourse. This involves a coupling of questions of politics, lifestyle and identity to such a degree that lifestyle choices assume a political significance, most explicitly in the quest for environmentally sustainable ways of living (Bliss, 2013;Klandermans, 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revenge of the nerds: Cultural capital and the politics of lifestyle among adolescent elites

Pedersen

Jarness

Flemmen

2018

Poetics

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In recent scholarly debates about cultural stratification, some have argued that 'openness' and 'omnivorous' lifestyles constitute a new form of distinction. Using qualitative interviews, we address this by focusing on adolescents from backgrounds particularly rich in cultural capital, namely students at Schola Osloensis, the most prestigious upper-secondary school in Norway. Our findings reveal that (i) these students value academic merit; although they embrace selected forms of pop culture, and are self-reflexively reluctant to describe themselves as 'elite', their lifestyle is characterized by preferences for classical cultural canons. They regard this as necessary to understand contemporary avant-garde culture and achieve academic success. They also exhibit (ii) a distinctive fashion style that does not only emphasize aesthetics but also involves moral-political aspects. 'Hipster' style is criticized for being too commercial, whereas a 'nerdy' position is embraced as compatible with a quest for knowledge and insight. They also adopt (iii) political positions on feminism, antiracism and environmental protection, seamlessly interweaving these forms of position-taking in their everyday lives. (iv) Those who break key moral-political and aesthetic norms are negatively sanctioned and there are few signs of truly 'open' and 'omnivorous' lifestyles. We conclude that an elite education in an egalitarian society such as Norway is associated with a purported non-elitist style, where liberal values such as gender equality and international solidarity are at the centre. Simultaneously, however, through their education at Schola Osloensis, these students acquire high levels of cultural capital, including symbolic mastery and an embodied ability to perform well in demanding social settings. These skills, we argue, will be useful at the top levels of a rapidly changing labour market. In pointing to the persistent salience of 'old school' displays of cultural capital, as well as clear instances of symbolic boundary work,

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The Marketization of Identity Politics

Cited by 37 publications

References 58 publications

I am a Viking! DNA, popular culture and the construction of geneticized identity

I am a Viking! DNA, popular culture and the construction of geneticized identity

Genetic ancestry testing among white nationalists: From identity repair to citizen science

Revenge of the nerds: Cultural capital and the politics of lifestyle among adolescent elites

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