Pride Politics: A Socio-Affective Analysis by Randi Nixon A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy Department of Sociology University of Alberta ©Randi Nixon, 2017 ii Abstract: This dissertation explores the affective politics of pride in the context of neoliberalism and the multitude of way that proud feelings map onto issues of social justice. Since pride is so varied in both its individual and political manifestations, I draw on numerous instances of collective pride to attend to the relational, structural and historical contours of proud feelings. Given the methodological challenges posed by affect, I use a mixed- method approach that includes interviews, participant observation, and discourse analysis, while being keenly attuned to the tension between bodily materiality and discursivity. Each chapter attends to an “event” of pride, exploring its emergence during particular encounters with collective difference. The project fills a gap in affect theory by attending to the way that proud feelings play a vital role in both igniting the political intensity necessary to bring about change (through Pride politics), and blocking or extinguishing possibilities of respectful dialogue and solidarity across gendered, sexual, and racial difference. Across the chapters, pride is used as a conduit through which the complexity of affective politics can be examined. The proud events around and through which each chapter is structured expose paths of affect and its politics. Taken together, the chapters provide an initial blueprint for navigating contemporary affective politics. Through an examination of the discursive rendering of pride, I find that, across several literatures, two key characteristics of pride are its deep relationality between individuals and collectives, and the way it circulates, is managed, and emerges in relation to social hierarches and the value attached to political categories (race, class, gender, ability). Because of the dynamic iii variability of pride as it moves across and through individuals, collectives, political categories and signs, I develop four analytical modes—normative pride, pride from below, wounded pride, and neoliberal pride—through which pride circulates and can be expressed. The modes are explored throughout the chapters, specifically the relationship between pride from below and neoliberal pride in the context of Gay Pride and Black Pride politics. I argue that, at the level of the individual, pride from below is a mechanism by which pain in the body that results from the tension between lived experience and dominant discursive realities can be expelled from the body. However, in that individual experience can be isolating and often disconnected from structural realities, I argue that activist and political writing are crucial (events) to the process of suturing the individual to the collective through the use of the language of pride as a galvanizing political force. Critical to my argument is the acknowledgment that pride is one way to name or articulate the wildness of individual and collective affect. The process of translating affect into language, most often emotions such as pride, is tenuous, ambivalent, and always-already incomplete. I explore the ambivalence of collective feeling through an examination of Gay Pride events, particularly the tension between pride from below and neoliberal pride, and suggest that a) collective pride is simultaneously enhancing and diminishing to bodies, and that b) the inherent wildness of affect forecloses possibilities of completely governing collective feeling, such as pride. iv Given the dynamism and unpredictability of affect, I suggest that attention to strategy in the realm of affective politics is of utmost importance. I read the event of Beyoncé’s Superbowl 2016 performance through the lens of affective political strategy, arguing that such a reading demonstrates the importance of timing and dosage to maximize affective and political impact. Key to Beyoncé’s success, I argue, is her movement through and simultaneous expressions of pride from below and neoliberal pride. Lastly, by staging an encounter between pride and laughter in a particular space—a safe house for inner-city street level sex workers—I show how affective-political encounters are simultaneously individual, collective, and structural. I offer a vision of what pride and its politics can look like when detached from a stable identity category and attached instead to a politics sensitive to the immanence of encounters. This ethico-political sensitivity is the basis upon which a model of assessing claims at the level of affective transmission can be offered, as I do in the conclusion. v Preface This thesis is an original work by Randi Nixon. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “Affective Orientations: An Analysis of Pride Politics,” No. 0003427, 08/15/2014. Chapter 5 of this thesis has been published as R. Nixon, “You Beat ‘Em, We Feed ‘Em! Enfolding Laughter and Pride,” Emotion, Space and Society, vol. 23, 33-39. I was responsible for data collection and analysis as well as the manuscript composition. vi Acknowledgements Without the love, encouragement, inspiration, support, intellectual and emotional energy, of so many, not only would this dissertation not have been completed, it would not have even begun. To my supervisors and supervisory committee – Sara, Chloë, and Judy – the consistent guidance and support you all differently provided me with far surpassed institutional obligation. I count myself amongst a lucky few graduate students who have never doubted the extent to which their committee believed in their work or their capacity to succeed. I have learned so much from each of you, and am so grateful for having chosen such a solid, well-rounded, warm, and charismatic team to back me up throughout this long process. Without the encouragement from past teachers, mentors, and colleagues, I definitely would not be who I am today. Sharon Rosenberg, Lise Gotell, and Heather Tapley shaped my early scholarly foundation, and I am very grateful. Kathryn Trevenen – I am continually grateful for your mentorship, guidance, and friendship, and for the way our relationship continues to grow. The staff and clients at Kindred House have provided me with so many important insights and lessons that were not only crucial to my project, but have changed me fundamentally. I am so grateful for the laughter, encouragement, conversations, reality-checks, and for being generally welcomed in the space. Kelly and Katie, you two have shaped so much of who I am, how I think, and how I want to be in the world. Katie, thank you seems such a small gesture for the countless hours you have spent reading my work, commenting on drafts, working through ideas, and supporting me emotionally. Kelly, your friendship, unwavering confidence in my capacities and ongoing willingness to support my scholarship has meant so much. Both of you have provided me with so much laughter, intense love, big challenges, and massive rewards. I am so grateful. To the babes – Ryan and Daniel – having you in this city for the last year(s) of my program has changed my life so much for the better. You are both such loving and supportive men. Ryan, your continuous support over the last decade is something I cannot begin to articulate in words; your love and loyalty is something that I cherish deeply and am beyond thankful for. The ease with which I move through the world when you are near is an amazing testament to how deeply you affect me. I can’t begin to thank you enough for what you’ve given me. To my family – Mom, Dad, and Marissa (Kota and Em) – thank you for keeping me humble and for swooping in to help when it really matters. I love you all so much. vii Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Kit. The time and energy you have spent helping me carve out emotional, physical, and intellectual space to complete this project is absolutely unfathomable. Thank you for working so hard with me and for me to build a life and a home that always nourishes, enhances, and lifts us up. You are the rock that keeps me anchored, and the love that carries me through all of my days. viii Table of Contents Introduction………………………………………………………………………………1 I. The Affective Turn……………………………………………………….9 II. Emergence, Encounters, Events…………………………………………14 III. Affective Politics: The Political Organization of the Body, Micropolitics & Political Encounters…..…………………….…………....................…20 IV. A Note on Method……………………………………………….………29 V. Chapter Outlines…………………………………………………………34 Chapter One: From Pride to Pride Politics………………………………………………41 I. Ancient Greek Hubris...………………………………………………….42 II. Modes of Pride……………………………………………………….…..47 III. Conclusion………………………………………………………….……60 Chapter Two: Tracing Pride ‘From Below’……………………………………….……..62 I. Mending the Gap………………………………………………….……...64 II. The Emergence of Pride from Below…………………………………....71 III. Conclusion……………………………………………………………….84 Chapter Three: The Buzz of the Hive: Gay Pride and the Emotional Politics of Neoliberalism……………………………………………………………………………86 I. Clashing Prides and the Emotional Politics of Neoliberalism…………...92 II. Pride Governing Pride……………………………………………….…...99 III. Willful Parts: Pride Toronto and Trans* Exclusion…………………….115 IV. History, Collective Feeling and Pride From Below…………………….124 V. Conclusion……………………………………………………………...132