Why Political Sociology Should Care About Kanye West’s Politics

• In Event: 3551 - Section on Sociology of Culture Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 6. Culture Section Network: Feminist Political Culture

Abstract

Care About Kanye West’s Politics"

People debate in popular discourse about whether or not celebrities’ politics matter: on one hand, it might be important that they use such a large cultural platform to discuss important, “serious” issues, while on the other hand, isn’t it a frivolous act to give them such power? In this talk I argue that young people’s conversations about celebrities and politics matter for their nascent political engagement and subjectivity construction. While political sociology has been interested in how young people are socialized into a public sphere, it has often failed to theorize the importance of popular culture in such socialization. Adapting a methodology of feminist reception studies, I take seriously the role of the often-feminized popular culture in young people’s lives. Through an analysis of focus groups with young people, I argue that celebrity culture is a “socio-political playground,” especially for women, in which a political subjectivity is shaped and re-shaped through collective, playful conversations about popular culture.

Author

• Sarah R. Johnson, University of Virginia