Witch’ Stigma As White Women's Self- Empowerment
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University of South Carolina Scholar Commons Theses and Dissertations Summer 2019 Appropriation of the ‘Witch’ Stigma as White Women's Self- Empowerment Anna S. Rogers Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Rogers, A. S.(2019). Appropriation of the ‘Witch’ Stigma as White Women's Self-Empowerment. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/5395 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you by Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. APPROPRIATION OF THE ‘WITCH’ STIGMA AS WHITE WOMEN’S SELF-EMPOWERMENT by Anna S. Rogers Bachelor of Arts University of South Carolina, 2012 Masters of Arts University of South Carolina, 2015 Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Carolina 2019 Accepted by: Mathieu Deflem, Major Professor Andrea Henderson-Platt, Committee Member Carla Pfeffer, Committee Member Dawn K. Cecil, Committee Member Cheryl L. Addy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School © Copyright Anna S. Rogers, 2019 All Rights Reserved. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my life partner Evan, my mother, my father, my brother Matthew, my two cats Gremlin and Marshmallow, and to my mentor Professor Mathieu Deflem. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank several people for providing support and guidance over the last several years while I completed my PhD and this dissertation. I would first like to thank Dr. Andrea Henderson, my second committee member, for her requiring me to read the article that sparked the idea for this dissertation, for her helpful guidance on the project, and for always providing a laugh when I needed it. I would also like to thank my second committee member, Dr. Carla Pfeffer for helping me with qualitative theory, feminist theory, and her support throughout this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Dawn K. Cecil for her support and expertise in popular culture studies. I would also like to especially thank the Russell and Dorothy Bilinski Foundation for providing me with a fellowship for the last year of my doctoral program that allowed me to put all of my focus on finishing my dissertation and getting a job. I would like to thank my extended family, my mom, my dad, and my brother for always supporting me since childhood in my dreams of earning a PhD and always being there for me when I needed it. I would like to thank Calley Fisk and Jered Abernathy for their friendship, laughs, and dinners throughout my time in graduate school. I would like to give most thanks to my mentor Dr. Mathieu Deflem and my significant other Evan Pressman. Mathieu you have been the best mentor a person could ask for and I would not have made it this far without you. Thank you for always iv supporting my non-traditional research ideas and for all of the professionalization you have taught me since I was an undergraduate student here at USC. Evan I would like to thank you for always having my back and supporting me even in cases where I might have been wrong and for providing with unconditional love and support. Marshmallow and Gremlin thank you for being my writing buddies and my snuggle babies. v ABSTRACT This dissertation uses a grounded theory perspective to uncover the process of white women who find self-empowerment in the appropriation of historically stigmatized identities and rhetoric surrounding a self-described witch identity. The sample in this study included 13 white women who self-identified as witches across varying socio- economic and geographical lines. The four main research questions that guide this research study are: 1) what sociologically relevant factors lead women choosing to self- identify as a witch?; 2) what components does the process of choosing to identify as a witch entail?; 3) what meanings do self-identified witches attach to their and others’ depictions of witches in popular culture?; and, finally, 4) what experiences do self- identified witches have with agents of social control? Of the 13 respondents, 10 were interviewed via Zoom, a video and audio recording app, and then professionally transcribed. The remaining 3 interviews were conducted via email, with follow up emails for clarification and more detail. The interview findings were analyzed following the logic of grounded theory, which included a journal for notes throughout the entire research process, memo writing, initial coding, thematic coding, and some axial coding. The main findings of this dissertation are discussed focusing on the following findings based on the self-reported experiences of self-identified witches: 1) self- identified witches create self-empowerment from being able to control their bodies and vi the environment around them; 2) this self-empowerment can be strengthened significantly through the development and understanding of their own non-conformity, particularly in politics; 3) in some cases (particularly those with lower status in education and socio-economic status), comparing themselves with others, and ultimately ranking themselves as “better” than these others, makes respondents feel stronger and gain status back.; 4) popular culture depictions of witches does not necessarily play a role in self-identified witches own construction of their identity, but it plays a strong role in their view of how other’s view them (Mead’s “generalized-other”); 5) they respond to their construction of the generalized other and ultimately adjust their own behaviors in based on their perceptions’ of how others view them due to a fear of social control such as, rejection, being laughed at, being viewed as dangerous or scary, and the negative impact it could have on their jobs. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication .......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... iv Abstract .............................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2: Witch Identity ................................................................................................ 10 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 10 Historical Relevance: Salem Witch Trials of 1692 ................................................ 10 Modern Day Witches ........................................................................................... 13 Self-Identified Witches in this Study .................................................................... 20 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework .................................................................................. 23 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 23 Classical and Contemporary Scholars on Culture and Deviance .......................... 24 Cultural Criminology ............................................................................................ 30 Symbolic Interactionism and Socialization ........................................................... 32 Grounded Theory ................................................................................................. 42 Feminist Literature ............................................................................................... 43 Chapter 4: Methodology .................................................................................................. 49 viii Research Questions ............................................................................................. 49 Research Design ................................................................................................... 50 Self-Reflexivity ..................................................................................................... 53 Sample and Data Collection ................................................................................. 55 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 58 Scope and Limitations .......................................................................................... 60 Content Analysis .................................................................................................. 61 Chapter 5: Findings: Witch Identity ................................................................................. 65 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 65 Theme 1: The Process of Becoming a Witch ........................................................ 66 Theme 2: Political Identity and Hexing Donald Trump ........................................ 72 Theme 3: The ‘Dark’ Side of Magic – Voodoo and Racial Implications ................ 80 Empowerment: From Popular Culture to Self-Empowerment ............................ 89 Theme