WORKING FOR FREEDOM AND WORKING FOR FREE: RECOGNIZING AND RESISTING THE REPRODUCTION OF OPPRESSIVE STRUCTURES IN UNPAID ORGANIZING WORK

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Karout, S. (2018). WORKING FOR FREEDOM AND WORKING FOR FREE: RECOGNIZING AND RESISTING THE REPRODUCTION OF OPPRESSIVE STRUCTURES IN UNPAID ORGANIZING WORK. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

This ethnographic research is an inquiry into the obstacles that LGBTQ people face in their unpaid organizing work in Charlotte, NC. Field work included participant observation from 2014 to 2018, and 26 semi-structured and unstructured interviews with community members of diverse genders and ethnicities. The goal of this research was to produce actionable recommendations for community members in order to help them better handle the obstacles that the research identified. Those things that were found to have the most influence over the quality of organizing work were: the insidious presence of neoliberal thought, over-reliance on identities as sources of political authority, and the exploitation/reproduction of emotional trauma by some organizers to enforce conformity from others. This report argues that in Charlotte these three things work in tandem to create an atmosphere that struggles to sustain transformative grassroots organizing. To demonstrate the role these play in shaping organizing work in the community, the report explores the connection between these three influences and obstacles that are commonly identified by participants. The report concludes with the recommendation that the community collectively create mechanisms through which they can openly engage in political and ideological struggle while minimizing the undermining influence of neoliberal thought.

Details
Author

Karout, Samantha

Title

WORKING FOR FREEDOM AND WORKING FOR FREE: RECOGNIZING AND RESISTING THE REPRODUCTION OF OPPRESSIVE STRUCTURES IN UNPAID ORGANIZING WORK

Physical Description

1 online resource (87 pages) : PDF

Date

2018

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

This ethnographic research is an inquiry into the obstacles that LGBTQ people face in their unpaid organizing work in Charlotte, NC. Field work included participant observation from 2014 to 2018, and 26 semi-structured and unstructured interviews with community members of diverse genders and ethnicities. The goal of this research was to produce actionable recommendations for community members in order to help them better handle the obstacles that the research identified. Those things that were found to have the most influence over the quality of organizing work were: the insidious presence of neoliberal thought, over-reliance on identities as sources of political authority, and the exploitation/reproduction of emotional trauma by some organizers to enforce conformity from others. This report argues that in Charlotte these three things work in tandem to create an atmosphere that struggles to sustain transformative grassroots organizing. To demonstrate the role these play in shaping organizing work in the community, the report explores the connection between these three influences and obstacles that are commonly identified by participants. The report concludes with the recommendation that the community collectively create mechanisms through which they can openly engage in political and ideological struggle while minimizing the undermining influence of neoliberal thought.

Genre

masters theses

Subjects--Topics

Ethnology

Degree

M.A.

Keywords

Activism
Grassroots
LGBTQ
Neoliberalism
Organizing
Queer

Subject Area

Anthropology

Advisor(s)

Starrett, Gregory

Committee Members

Peterson, Nicole
James, Robin

Degree Note

Thesis (M.A.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2018.

Rights Statement

This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). For additional information, see http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/.

Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Karout_uncc_0694N_11739

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:615