Racist Feminist Ressentiment
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FROM PAIN TO POWER: A SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF ANTI- RACIST FEMINIST RESSENTIMENT ALIYA AMARSHI A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIOLOGY YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO JULY 2018 © Aliya Amarshi, 2018 Abstract In recent years, identity-based movements have increasingly been criticized by outsiders for espousing a “culture of outrage” both in terms of their academic expressions and activist mobilizations. In the present study, I examine this charge from within the struggle by advancing a self-reflexive socio-psychological investigation into certain emotional responses, attitudes, and practices that have, in significant ways, come to define this type of political agitation. Specifically, I focus my analysis on anti-racist feminism given my personal ties and investment in this movement. Following Wendy Brown, I investigate whether anti-racist feminism suffers from the Nietzschean affliction of ressentiment, and if so, what can be done to reorient the movement towards a more affirmative and humanist future. I address this latter objective through the work of Erich Fromm who I argue provides us with insights that are especially pertinent to our current problem, and which, when developed further with the aid of anti-racist interventions, can offer a fruitful means to moving forward. ii For my parents, Abdul and Nasim Amarshi, without whom none of this would have been possible – thank you. iii Acknowledgements Writing a dissertation and completing a PhD is an arduous process that could not have been accomplished without the support of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my doctoral supervisor, Philip Walsh, for his dedication, generous support, guidance, advice, and availability. I honestly could not have asked for a better supervisor and am immensely grateful that our paths crossed on that cold picket line many years back. Thank you Philip for having faith in my vision and for your constructive guidance in helping me realize it. You have in many ways made my doctoral experience a positive one. I am grateful also to my committee members, Michael Nijhawan and Renita Wong, for their close reading of my work and helpful suggestions for making it better. A special thanks to Meg Luxton for nurturing a space in our feminist theory class in which I could develop and project my voice as an academic. Although our views were not always confluent, your encouragement was vital to me at a very formative time in my growth as an intellectual and for that I will always be grateful. A big thanks goes to Audrey Tokiwa for your patience, fast responses (even in the evenings and on weekends), and guidance throughout this process. I will always associate the York Sociology Department with your warmth and laughter. Kathy Bischoping has also been a constant and comforting presence in her role as GPD twice during my graduate studies. Thank you for your friendliness and interest in my progress. I am incredibly fortunate to have amazing friends who have been instrumental in supporting me and celebrating each of my milestones on this journey. Thank you to Shazia for the marathon phone conversations, surprise care packages, and enduring support through thick and thin. Thank you to Preity for being the person that I can always count on and grow with. I will never forget all the care and effort that you and Suzanne took to support me on my defense date. Thank you to Emilie for accepting me for who I am, to Grace for the healing laughter and being there to listen to a paper and offer feedback, and to Emi for celebrating every success along the way with me. All of you are the best friends that I could ever ask for. Thank you to the sociology wasteland crew for walking this path with me. I don’t know what I would have done without all of you. Your support and humour have sweetened even the most bitter parts of this journey. A special thanks to Selom and Kritee for your close friendship and loving loyal support; to Ben, my star sister, for our many long conversations and for having faith in me; to Stefan for your enthusiasm in iv my work and encouraging messages; and to Sara for being such a lovely and supportive friend. I would also like to offer a heartfelt thanks to Elizabeth for always being there for me – your support has been more meaningful than I can express. Finally, and significantly, thank you to my family. To my parents who have nurtured my curiosity and given me the love and support with which to follow my dreams and to my grandparents whose love I carry within me. Thank you Alisha for your constant encouragement and humour during hard times, and Al-Aliyy for being the best and kindest brother I could have ever asked for. I am very grateful to have the loving and caring family that I do – I love you all very much. A last note of acknowledgment to all of those out there who will not and cannot rest until all forms of social inequality and cruelty are terminated and social justice is achieved – including justice for First Nations peoples on this unceded land. To those for whom it is not a choice to care and who are willing to speak out against domination and dehumanization, thank you for being my sisters and brothers on this path. I hope that one day we will be able to realize a better future together. v Table of Contents Abstract .......................................................................................................................................................... ii Dedication…………………………………………………………………………………………………..………iii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 – Introduction: A Self-Reflexive Study .......................................................... 1 Chapter 2 – Anti-racist feminism: A Culture of Outrage? ........................................ 17 (2. 1) Anti-racist feminism .................................................................................................................................. 17 (2. 2) A Culture of Outrage .................................................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 3 – The Political is Personal .............................................................................. 47 (3.1) Social Movement Theory and the Study of Emotions .................................................................. 47 A Turn Away From Emotions ............................................................................................................................. 51 The Return of the Repressed ............................................................................................................................... 54 (3.2) A Frommian Understanding of the Psyche and the Political .................................................... 75 Chapter 4 – An Anti-Racist Feminist Ressentiment .................................................... 99 (4.1) The Psychology and Sociology of Ressentiment ............................................................................ 101 Nietzsche .................................................................................................................................................................. 101 Scheler ....................................................................................................................................................................... 105 (4.2) An Anti-Racist Feminist Ressentiment .............................................................................................. 110 Some Limitations .................................................................................................................................................. 115 A Bias Towards the Master .............................................................................................................................. 116 The Story of the Slave ......................................................................................................................................... 122 An Active Ressentiment? .................................................................................................................................... 134 A Transformative Ressentiment? ................................................................................................................... 143 Chapter 5 – The Problem with Identity ....................................................................... 157 (5.1) Identity Politics ........................................................................................................................................... 159 Injurious Attachments ........................................................................................................................................ 163 Confronting Essentialism .................................................................................................................................. 166 Identity as Imposition ......................................................................................................................................... 171 Collusion With Dominant Power ..................................................................................................................