CULTURAL FORM AND PROTEST: ACT UP NEW YORK’S TACTICS OF IRONY AND CAMP*
The strategic use of irony and camp in protest movements presents a complex interplay between cultural expression and social action. We examine the deployment of these cultural forms in AIDS activism, proposing a social theory of irony and camp in protest. Through an analysis of 188 interviews from the ACT UP Oral History project, we identify three primary effects of irony and camp: diffusion of tension and critique engagement, solidarity building and recruitment facilitation, and invitation across symbolic boundaries to undermine legitimacy. These outcomes stem from the unique cultural forms of irony and camp, which accentuate the incongruities in protest situations and draw attention to symbolic boundaries between discursive communities. Our findings challenge the predominant focus on frame analysis in the cultural analysis of protests, advocating for a deeper examination of how ideas are communicated within social movements.
Contributor Notes
* This project couldn't have been done without the work of Sarah Schulman and Jim Hubbard's ACT UP Oral History Project. Many thanks for all the interviews and for making this important dataset public. Extra special thanks to Marshall Taylor for his work on this project. The Culture workshops at Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, and Notre Dame, along with Notre Dame's Studies in Politics And Movements (SPAM) Workshop, gave important developmental feedback on earlier drafts. Talks on this article were presented at the Politics, Economy, and Culture Seminar at Indiana University and the American Sociological Association meetings. Thanks to all in the audience for the questions, comments, and encouragement. Thanks also to Neal Caren for his patience and care as editor along with our anonymous reviewers.