Revolting Subjects : Social Abjection and Resistance in Neoliberal Britain

"Revolting Subjects is a groundbreaking account of social abjection in contemporary Britain, exploring how particular groups of people are figured as revolting and how they in turn revolt against their abject subjectification. The book utilizes a number of high-profile and in-depth case studies - including 'chavs', asylum seekers, Gypsies and Travellers, and the 2011 London riots - to examine the ways in which individuals negotiate restrictive neoliberal ideologies of selfhood. In doing so, Tyler argues for a deeper psychosocial understanding of the role of representational forms in producing marginality, social exclusion and injustice, whilst also detailing how stigmatization and scapegoating are resisted through a variety of aesthetic and political strategies. Imaginative and original, Revolting Subjects introduces a range of new insights into neoliberal societies, and will be essential reading for those concerned about widening inequalities, growing social unrest and social justice in the wider global context."--Publisher's website. About the author 2 Title page 4 Copyright 5 Table of contents 6 Figures 7 Acknowledgements 8 Introduction: revolting subjects 12 Introduction 14 Social abjection 15 Revolting times 16 Figurative methods 19 Capture and escape 21 The structure of Revolting Subjects 24 Un/timeliness 29 1 | Social Abjection 30 The wretched of the earth 30 Introduction 31 The politics of disgust 32 Disgust consensus 34 The aesthetics of disgust 35 The neoliberalization of disgust 36 The psychoanalytics of disgust 38 ‘I feel like vomiting the mother’ 40 National depression 40 Abjection as a memory hole 43 Extreme Eurocentrism 44 Abject normativity 46 Hygienic governmentality 49 The politics of the racaille 50 Being made abject 52 Melancholic states 55 Conclusion: social abjection 57 2 | The Abject Politics of British Citizenship 59 The birth of British citizenship 60 Citizen Smith and the ‘loony left’ 61 The 1981 Nationality Act 64 The Brixton riots 65 State racism 67 Home rule 69 Home front 70 Stateless within the state 72 Sonia and Mary 73 Every child matters? 75 Sonia 77 Migrant abjection 79 Neoliberal black worlds 81 Conclusion 83 3 | The Asylum Invasion Complex 86 Introduction 86 Abas Amini 87 3.1 Iranian refugee sews his face in protest 88 3.2 ‘Abas Amini is our friend’ 89 The invasion complex 90 The fabrication of the asylum seeker 94 Soft-touch Britain 98 3.3 Steve Bell cartoon from 2003 depicting the tabloid media hysteria around the ‘refugee crisis’ 101 Media theatrics 101 The neoliberal economics of illegality 104 The dilemmas of migrant and refugee activism 107 The autonomy of migration 109 Conclusion: fearless speech 110 4 | Naked Protest: Maternal Politics and the Feminist Commons 115 Crane Wing, Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre, England, April 2008 115 Introduction 117 The securitization of reproduction 118 Policy 119 Media stigmatization 120 Experience 121 Against abjection 122 Naked but alive 126 Infinitely clothed 128 Sitting on a man 129 July 2002, Escravos Oil Facility, Niger Delta 131 4.1 Still from The Naked Option: A Last Resort 133 Common roots 133 Conclusion: ‘expose the naked truth’ 135 5 | The Big Society: Eviction and Occupation 136 19 October 2011, Dale Farm, Essex, England 136 5.1 Riot police at the Dale Farm eviction, October 2011 137 Dale Farm: background 137 5.2 ‘If not on a scrap-yard then where?’ Dale Farm 2011 138 Introduction 142 One square mile of land 142 ‘If you’re a Traveller you’re an outcast’ 144 Stamp on the camps 146 Proud to be British 148 The Big Society 150 Social abjection 151 The marketization of racism 152 Big fat gypsy weddings 153 The culturalization of politics 156 A struggle of imagination 160 Conclusion: the tragedy of the commons 161 6 | Britain and its Poor 164 Introduction 164 Sociology and its poor 165 Class is dead 166 Aylesbury Estate, Southwark, England, 2 June 1997 170 Failed citizens 172 Territorial stigma 173 The animation of the chav 174 Vicky Pollard 175 6.1 Popular greetings card 178 Classificatory struggles 178 Declassificatory politics 182 Class as a history of names 184 Broken Britain: Little Britain 187 Conclusion 188 7 | The Kids are Revolting 190 England, 6–10 August 2011 190 7.1 Volunteer Haley Miller waits to help with the clean-up operation at Clapham Junction 192 Introduction 193 7.2 ‘The riots are not political’ 194 The lumpen history of the underclass 195 Economic Darwinism 198 The new government of poverty 202 Penal pornography 204 7.3 Front cover of the Sun, 10 August 2011 205 Penal humiliation 207 Neoliberal citizenship 208 Un/employment 209 Social abjection 212 Carnival 214 Conclusion: dissensus 215 Afterword 218 The London Olympic Stadium, 29 August 2012 218 Disaster capitalism 221 The importance of cultural studies 226 Notes 228 Bibliography 233 Index 255 About Zed Books 265 Revolting Subjects is a ground-breaking account of social abjection in contemporary Britain. Focusing on citizenship, social class and migrant illegality and utilizing a number of high-profile case studies, it details the abject forms of injustice which neoliberal social and economic policies effect. Throughout, Revolting Subjects reveals the pivotal role of media systems in procuring public consent for forms of government that corrode democracy. Tyler argues for a deeper psycho-social understanding of the impact of stereotyping and scapegoating whilst also revealing how counter-representational strategies can be a creative resource for resistance. Imaginative and original, Revolting Subjects introduces a range of new insights into neoliberal societies, and will be essential reading for those concerned about widening inequalities and social justice in the wider global context. Revolting Subjects is a groundbreaking account of social abjection in contemporary Britain, exploring how particular groups are figured as revolting and how they in turn revolt against their subjectification. Utilizing a number of in-depth case studies, including ‘chavs’, asylum seekers, Gypsies and Travellers, and the 2011 London riots, Imogen Tyler argues for a deeper psychosocial understanding of the role of representational forms in producing marginality, social exclusion and injustice. The book also details how stigmatization and scapegoating are resisted through a variety of aesthetic and political strategies. Imaginative and original, Revolting Subjects is essential reading for those concerned about widening inequalities, growing social unrest and social justice. Revolting Subjects is a groundbreaking account of social abjection in contemporary Britain, exploring how particular groups are figured as revolting and how they in turn revolt against their subjectification. Utilizing in-depth case studies, including 'chavs', asylum seekers, Gypsies and Travellers, and the 2011 London riots, this imaginative and original book is essential reading for those concerned about widening inequalities, growing social unrest and social justice