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Cited by 122Feminist Theory and Gender StudiesFeminism, Gender, and IntersectionalityPsychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics

Woke? Affect, Neoliberalism, Marginalised Identities and Consumer Culture

Kanai, Akane, Gill, Rosalind·2020·New Formations
DOI 10.3898/newf:102.01.2020
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Abstract

Reading the current conjuncture is challenging. Alongside the exigencies of the current global pandemic, we live in a moment of resurgence of right-wing nationalism, populism, and a crisis of the left across the West. At the same time, we observe a different kind of political commonsense emerging in consumer culture. From burger chains and oil companies to fast fashion, there is an increasing saturation of 'feel good' and 'positive' messages of female empowerment, LGBTIQ pride, racial and religious diversity and inclusion, and environmental awareness. In this article, we question how radical politics – especially around gender, race and sexuality – is put to work in current moment as a response to crisis/ crises in this context of corporate 'wokeness'. We analyse the texture of woke capitalism – what it re-articulates and disarticulates – using Stuart Hall's ideas of conjuncture but contribute an explicitly feminist perspective that notes the extent to which these ideological formations operate affectively . We draw on contemporary feminist work illustrating the affective operation of neoliberalism in the production of everyday life and subjectivity. Going beyond a simple diagnosis of incorporation and recuperation of radical movements, we use the case study of woke capitalism to suggest the production of new affective movements structuring the ongoing obduracy of neoliberalism.

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Crossref · 10.3898/newf:102.01.2020

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  • Consumer responsibilization toward cultural appropriation manifests a more organic responsibilization than the institutionally driven process described by Giesler and Veresiu (2014).

    “Consumer responsibilization toward the issue of cultural appropriation, which has filtered into public consciousness via mainstream and social media (Kanai and Gill 2020), manifests a more 'organic' responsibilization that differs from the institutionally driven process described in Giesler and Veresiu's (2014) work.”

    From Between Cultural Appreciation and Cultural Appropriation: Self-Authorizing the Consumption of Cultural Difference (2024) · cites this paper as Kanai and Gill 2020

  • Consumer self-authorization epitomizes an ongoing dynamic between reconcilement and activism or woke capitalism, in its ambivalent attempt to reinscribe the resurgent politics of cultural diversity within the dominant logic of the market.

    “Seen in this light, consumer self-authorization epitomizes what Schmitt, Brakus, and Biraglia (2022, 84) describe as an ongoing 'dynamic between reconcilement and activism' or what Kanai and Gill (2020, 10) refer to as 'woke capitalism,' in its ambivalent attempt to reinscribe the resurgent politics of cultural diversity within the dominant logic of the market.”

    From Between Cultural Appreciation and Cultural Appropriation: Self-Authorizing the Consumption of Cultural Difference (2024) · cites this paper as Kanai and Gill 2020

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Authors
Kanai, A., & Gill, R.
Affiliations
City, University of London (GB)
ORCID
Venue
New Formations
Publisher
Lawrence and Wishart
Published
2020-12-01
Volume
102
Issue
102
Pages
10-27
ISSN
0950-2378 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3898/newf:102.01.2020
OpenAlex
W3097676871
Cited by
122
References
39
Citations by year
2026: 24 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 26 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 10
FWCI
20.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • New Formations (publishedVersion)
  • Goldsmiths (University of London) (acceptedVersion)
  • City Research Online (City University London) (acceptedVersion)
  • Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Feminist Theory and Gender Studies
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Feminism, Gender, and Intersectionality
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, and Politics
Keywords
neoliberalism, affect, consumerism, marginalized identities, gender, race, sexuality, feminist theory, Stuart Hall, conjuncture, radical movements, subjectivity, everyday life, right-wing populism

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