Alain de Benoist’s anti-political philosophy beyond Left and Right: non-emancipatory responses to globalisation and crisis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse and critique non-emancipatory and anti-political forms of opposition to globalisation and to the current Eurozone management of the global financial crisis. It will question, amongst other themes, critiques of globalisation that present themselves as mere critiques of capitalist excess or capital’s ‘transnational’ form. This opens up the problem of the national/global antinomy as well as of responses that contain a nationalist or traditionalist element. The paper draws primarily on a critical discussion of the work of ‘European New Right’ philosopher Alain de Benoist. In de Benoist’s writings it detects an anti-political rejection of the political divide between left and right, which aligns it with contemporary neo-fascist opposition to the Eurozone crisis. The paper will reflect upon this alignment through a discussion of Marxist critical theory, putting forward the argument that capitalist processes must be understood as non-personal domination rather than as a system of individual greed or wilful exploitation. This should also open up the possibility to re-evaluate some of the recent progressive, yet largely populist, movement mobilisations directed at the crisis

Recontextualising partisan outrage online: analysing the public negotiation of Trump support among American conservatives in 2016

This article conceptualises the role of audience agency in the performance of American conservative identities within a hybridised outrage media ecology. Audience agency has been under-theorised in the study of outrage media through an emphasis on outrage as a rhetorical strategy of commercial media institutions. Relatively little has been said about the outrage discourse of audiences. This coincides with a tendency to consider online political talk as transparent and "earnest," thereby failing to recognise the multi-vocality, dynamism, and ambivalence—i.e., performativity—of online user-generated discourse. I argue the concept of recontextualisation offers a means of addressing these shortcomings. I demonstrate this by analysing how the users of the American right-wing partisan media website TheBlaze.com publicly negotiated support for Donald Trump in a below-the-line comment field during the 2016 US presidential election. These processes are situated with respect to the contested, dynamic, and creative construction of partisan identities in the contemporary United States

Neoliberal Feminism: The Only Approach

Throughout its history, feminism has manifested in myriad ways; indeed, there are more than ten different categories of feminist thought, all of which seek to define the tenets and objectives of feminism as a movement. These groups include, but are not limited to: radical feminism, eco feminism, third wave feminism, postmodern feminism, liberal feminism, and psychoanalytic feminism. It is important to note that these divisions are not mutually exclusive - one can identify with multiple types of feminist thought at the same time. Given the variety of beliefs attached to the notion of feminism, academic scholarship on the subject is naturally diverse and sometimes contradictory. In fact, both ideological and strategic debates have always existed within the movement, though their content has changed as feminism has evolved and adapted to modern circumstances. Today, a vibrant discourse exists concerning the differences between liberal feminism and neo-liberal feminism. This modern perspective on feminism questions neo-liberal feminism’s necessity as well as its potentially damaging implications. In addition, this conversation also inquires into the relationship between conservatism and feminism, and whether or not it is possible to be a conservative feminist. A case study in which 8 subjects of varying political affiliations were interviewed about these topics suggests support for neo-liberal feminism’s market-based approach as well as an acceptance of a new category of feminist thought: conservative feminis

Coping with perceived ethnic prejudice on the gay scene

There has been only cursory research into the sociological and psychological aspects of ethnic/racial discrimination among ethnic minority gay and bisexual men, and none that focuses specifically upon British ethnic minority gay men. This article focuses on perceptions of intergroup relations on the gay scene among young British South Asian gay men and the effects of perceived prejudice for their identities. Twelve young British South Asian gay men were interviewed about their experiences. The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, which yielded the following themes: (a) ethnic otherization on the gay scene, (b) mechanisms of rejection on the gay scene, and (c) nowhere to turn: double rejection and identity threat. The data indicate that young British South Asian gay men may face multiple layers of rejection—racism and homophobia from the general population, homophobia from the ethnoreligious community, and racism from White British gay men. This can deprive young British South Asian gay men of the only remaining source of social support that they perceive—namely the sexual ingroup—inducing negative social and psychological outcomes for identity processes

Integrating Faith and Tradition: The Baralek Tuanku Ceremony in Minangkabau

This study explores the acculturation process between Islam and Minangkabau customs, focusing on the traditional Baralek Tuanku ceremony. Fieldwork was conducted at Pesantren Nurul Yakin in Padang Pariaman, employing qualitative research methods, including observations, interviews, and participation in ceremonies. Data were analysed using thematic and narrative analysis. The study reveals that the acculturation of Islam and Minangkabau customs through Baralek Tuanku occurs in two forms: First, before the conferment of the Tuanku title, where Minangkabau values are institutionalised in the education of the students, particularly through teaching rundiang. Second, during the conferment process, where two elements of Minangkabau customs are involved: niniak mamak (customary leaders) who bestow the customary heirloom title alongside the Tuanku title, and bako (father’s sister) who prepares traditional food for the pesantren teachers. These pesantren inherit the values of the Syattariyah Order, particularly those related to maintaining the harmony between Islam and local culture, as the pesantren are managed by figures from this tarekat. This study offers a conceptual framework for understanding how dual identities can be harmoniously integrated within a community. It enriches the theoretical discourse on acculturation by providing a successful example of cultural and religious amalgamation

From Transnormativity to Self-Authenticity: Shifting Away From a Dysphoria-Centered Approach to Transgender Identity

Transnormativity is a social ideology concerning the validity and perceived realness of transgender individuals and identities. In this thesis, I investigate current transgender issues through the lens of transgender medicalization and its resulting sociocultural impacts, prioritizing trans identities and individuals that surpass binary categorizations. Under transnormativity, nonbinary gender identity is continually made invisible and unintelligible in both popular and trans discourse, however, nonbinary users of social media find creative means to express their authentic sense of self nonetheless. The resulting implications of such work to socially, culturally, and psychologically resist and deconstruct transnormativity

When Do Opponents of Gay Rights Mobilize? Explaining Political Participation in Times of Backlash against Liberalism

Existing research suggests that supporters of gay rights have outmobilized their opponents, leading to policy changes in advanced industrialized democracies. At the same time, we observe the diffusion of state-sponsored homophobia in many parts of the world. The emergence of gay rights as a salient political issue in global politics leads us to ask, “Who is empowered to be politically active in various societies?” What current research misses is a comparison of levels of participation (voting and protesting) between states that make stronger and weaker appeals to homophobia. Voters face contrasting appeals from politicians in favor of and against gay rights globally. In an analysis of survey data from Europe and Latin America, we argue that the alignment between the norms of sexuality a state promotes and an individual’s personal attitudes on sexuality increases felt political efficacy. We find that individuals who are tolerant of homosexuality are more likely to participate in states with gay-friendly policies in comparison with intolerant individuals. The reverse also holds: individuals with low education levels that are intolerant of homosexuality are more likely to participate in states espousing political homophobia

“Where are you really from?”: nationality and ethnicity talk (NET) in everyday interactions

The article examines the significance of questions such as “where are you really from?” in everyday conversational interactions. Defining this kind of talk as nationality and ethnicity talk (NET), i.e. discourse that either explicitly or inexplicitly evokes one’s nationality or ethnicity in everyday conversation, the paper discusses what constitutes NET, how it works through symbolic and indexical cues and strategic emphasis, and why it matters in the wider context of identity, race, intercultural contact and power relations. The discussion draws on social media data including videos, blogs, on-line comments and the authors’ observations, and focuses on NET around Asian people living outside Asia. It argues that the question “where are you really from” itself does not per se contest immigrants’ entitlement. However, what makes a difference to the perception of whether one is an “interloper” - someone who is not wanted - is the “tangled” history, memory and expectation imbued and fuelled by power inequality

Stigma described by attempt survivors with diverse gender and sexual identities in their suicide stories: a hermeneutic phenomenological dissertation.

Suicide is a profoundly impactful issue across societies. Gender and sexually diverse (GSD) populations exhibit rates of suicidal ideation and behavior far greater than those of cisgender heterosexual populations. Stigma impacts health outcomes among GSD populations through stress exposure and response processes. Compound stigma is experienced when individuals occupy positions in multiple stigmatized identity groups and can have multiplicative effects on adverse outcomes. Further, opportunities for positive social support and resilience building may be limited due to the narrow convergence of stigmatized identity groups. Stigma among GSD suicide attempt survivors (GSDAS) is an important phenomenon to explore in order to understand nuanced differences and similarities between experiences, sources, and interactions with stigma within stories of suicide. Using data from the Live Through This advocacy project, hermeneutic phenomenological processes were utilized to explore the lived experience of stigma among GSDAS. The larger study sample was divided into two groups: those with nonheterosexual sexually diverse identities only (n=37) and those with noncisgender gender diverse identities (n=11). Findings from this dissertation indicate a complex web of factors that exist within a pervasive environment of stigma and interact to shape social experiences of GSDAS. This study contributes to our understanding of stigma within the context of suicide stories for GSDAS and can help inform individual and social suicide prevention efforts with an overarching goal to decrease stigma-related experiences and improve outcomes through greater equity, support, and care for GSDAS

Constructing Queerness in Vietnam : Essentialism, Homonormativity, and Social Hierarchy

The article is based on a qualitative research that focused on the way in which young Vietnamese queers construct their identities and social relationships. The interview data used in the study suggest that most interviewees strongly conform to gender/sexual norms and conceptualize their identities through essentialism. Such conformity leads to the regulation of gender behaviours and romantic relationships in this community, and contributes to a lack of solidarity among different queer groups. The research demonstrates the mechanism through which a social hierarchy based on norms of class and homonormativity emerges in this queer community. Worth noting is that the identity formation and identity politics of these young people also reflect the different values originating from Vietnam’s previous colonial contact with both the West and the East