POLIS: Sociology and Anthropology Undergraduate Journal

Towards an Understanding of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Through Queer Assimilationism

Elijah Dunham-Jasich — 2024-08-17

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy marks an important moment in the history of queer rights in the United States of America—while outwardly ending the military’s ban on Queer servicemembers, the protections this policy offers hinges on any given servicemember’s willingness to conceal their queer identity. Historical research on the American queer rights movement contextualizes this era of policy within a broader move away from the radicalism of its past and towards demands of queer into inclusion into previously exclusive facets of American life. This presents space for analysis into how and why this rhetorical shift occurs, and consequently with what effectiveness this shift presents to the demands expressed by the American queer rights movement. Utilizing Michel Foucault’s conception of interest, this paper argues for an understanding of DADT through the interest generating potential of this rhetorical shift that makes possible the aims of DADT. Through widespread adoption of strategies aimed at aligning queer identities with heteronormative ideals, the American queer rights movement defines ‘the right to fight’ as an addressable issue, and thus makes possible a policy which acts upon this issue. This stresses the importance of interest theory in the analysis of the American queer rights movement, and thus contributes to an understanding of how social movements affect change.

The Paranoid Style of Internet Politics

Kamran Houle — 2024-08-17

The 2014 Gamergate movement has since become a model for backlashes and attacks against the inclusion of marginalized identities within the gaming industry. In the decade since the Gamergate movement, a number of similar backlashes have continued to occur, finding new reasons and rationales to attack the inclusion of marginalized people in the narrative of games as well as in the industry more broadly. In early 2024, one of these Gamergate-esque backlashes emerged around the company Sweet Baby Inc., first noticed by anti-woke movements in late 2023. This article examines two Reddit threads discussing Sweet Baby Inc. and analyzes the discourses produced around the company and how this reflects on the ways that anti-woke: gaming backlashes conceptualize notions of ‘politics’ and ‘diversity’.

Algorithms of Mass Destruction

Anum Khalid — 2024-08-17

The genocide in Gaza has been widely witnessed on social media, where the rapid dissemination of news and the rise of social activism have left many unsure of where to turn for accurate information. This paper critically examines the role of propaganda and dataism in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, focusing on how social media platforms contribute to the dehumanization of Palestinian civilians. Drawing on autoethnographic insights from Instagram, the paper explores symbolic violence and the construction of narratives that essentialize and marginalize Palestinian identities, leading to compassion fatigue among global audiences. The analysis underscores the dual role of social media as both a tool for resistance and a mechanism of oppression within a broader techno-capitalist framework, highlighting the complexities of digital activism in the context of colonial violence.