Doing ‘enough’ of the ‘right’ thing: the gendered dimension of the ‘ideal activist’ identity and its negative emotional consequences

Abstract

This article explores how the activist identity is constructed within a local anti-austerity activist culture, how it is implicitly gendered, and the emotional implications of this. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 individuals engaged in local anti-austerity activism, the author argues that although presented as an abstract, genderless, individual, the ‘ideal activist’ is actually male. Despite participants defining activism broadly to include small acts in the everyday, the ‘ideal activist’ identity is narrowly defined by doing ‘enough’ of the ‘right’ type of activism–direct action. It is argued that this identity is easier to achieve for men than women, and that the negative emotional consequences of not achieving the identity are more likely to be experienced by women. The criterion of doing the ‘right’ amount of activism excludes those who cannot commit to constantly doing activism; women tend to face structural availability barriers to political participation, often related to caring responsibilities. The binary construction of direct action as ‘real’ activism versus online ‘slacktivism’ minimizes online activism, which is a form of accessible activism that women can combine with caring responsibilities. While women participants identify and challenge gendered barriers and exclusions to local anti-austerity activism, the implicit gendered nature of the ‘ideal activist’ identity and its damaging gendered consequences are not recognized, resulting in women feeling guilt and blaming themselves for their perceived failure to adequately perform the identity. This article thus reveals the complex ways that spaces of resistance can reinforce dominant gendered power structures, while ostensibly fighting against them. By utilising a feminist approach, the author establishes the importance of paying attention to the gendered differences between activist experiences in counter-hegemonic movements and contributes to understanding the complexities of the activist identity in the context of anti-austerity activism. Abbreviations: PA: the People’s Assembly Against Austerity; BME: Black Minority Ethnic; LGBT: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender.