The practice of everyday politics: Lifestyle and identity as radical activism

This dissertation is a critical study of the phenomenon of "lifestyle politics." I define lifestyle politics as attempts by individuals to enact their political ideologies through the habitual practices of their everyday lives. In this study, I use ethnographic methods to explore how contemporary anarchist activists position their personal lifestyles within strategies of radical political resistance. That is, I examine how individuals who self-identify as anarchists use this identity, and the everyday cultural practices that go with it, as tools of political dissent. This study crosses disciplinary boundaries, employing methods and theories from communication, cultural studies, gender and sexuality studies, and sociology. It draws on previous research in the areas of consumer activism, subcultures and social movements, embodied performance, queer resistance, and identity politics. It is heavily informed by Foucaultian theories of power, discourse, and subjectivity, and is inspired by feminist work on identity and political struggle.;The cultural, political, and economic climate of the contemporary United States produces a context in which individualized tactics of resistance co-exist with collective identities and shared desires for social transformation. This dissertation probes this tension between the individual and the collective, as it is manifested for a particular political subculture. I explore various core aspects of daily life---practices of consumption, self-presentation, and sexuality---in order to understand the precise relationship between the personal and the political for contemporary anarchists in the US. I describe the political meanings these individuals attribute to their personal practices, as well as the material outcomes they seek as political activists. I also examine the way personal identity itself is understood and deployed by anarchists as part of their resistant political project; that is, how the very category of anarchist is useful (or not) for these subjects. Based on empirical research, I theorize the relationship between individual resistance and social activism, emphasizing the centrality of communication and culture to this relationship.;I show that anarchist practices of lifestyle politics have multiple motivations, not all of which are commensurable with their material effects. While individual practices of consumption, self-styling, and sexual expression may often be personally pleasurable and ethically justifiable, it is unclear that they have the capacity to produce social change on the scale sought by radical activists. I argue that a theoretical engagement with processes of communication, representation, and performance is necessary for activists to connect their individual tactical interventions with their broad political strategies. I also show that while shared tastes and lifestyles can reinforce feelings of community and solidarity among radicals, they can simultaneously contribute to pernicious forms of insularity and cultural homogeneity within social movements. I argue that intra-movement disciplinarity around lifestyle norms can both produce collective expressions of ethical commitment and exclude potential political allies. I urge social movement participants to recognize both the possibilities and limitations presented by lifestyle politics. Ultimately, I make the case that movement strategy must be informed by reflexive critique, which should determine in any given situation the degree to which lifestyle-based tactics are appropriate.