View the Table of Contents
Read the Introduction.

Winner of the 2006 Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Organized Section Best First Book Award from the American Political Science Association

Winner of the 2006 W.E.B. DuBois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists

""The Politics of Disgust" is a very thoughtful, theoretically sophisticated, empirically rich analysis of the discourse of welfare reform."
--"Political Science Quarterly"

"An important contribution to our understanding."
--"Perspectives on Politics"

aFor those concerned about inequality and democratic theory in America, Hancockas introduction alone, in which she frames the characteristics of politics of disgust, makes the book worthwhile.a
&3151;"Perspectives on Politics"

"Brilliantly conceived and executed. . .[A] stunning work of public policy that, if embraced, could radically change 'welfare'--and America--as we know it."
--Robin D. G. Kelley, author of "Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination"

"[A] challenging and disturbing account of the impact of stereotypes in politics. Anyone interested in the means by which the poor, the unpopular, and the alienated are kept from participating in politics to demand better treatment should read this book."
--Frank R. Baumgartner, coauthor of "Agendas and Instability in American Politics"

"[An] excellent and outstanding book; Ange-Marie Hancock has established herself without doubt as a rising star in political science."
--Gerald Horne, author of "Race War! White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire"

Ange-Marie Hancock argues that longstanding beliefs about poor African Americanmothers were the foundation for the contentious 1996 welfare reform debate that effectively "ended welfare as we know it." By examining the public identity of the so-called welfare queen and its role in hindering democratic deliberation, The Politics of Disgust shows how stereotypes and politically motivated misperceptions about race, class and gender were effectively used to instigate a politics of disgust.

The ongoing role of the politics of disgust in welfare policy is revealed here by using content analyses of the news media, the 1996 congressional floor debates, historical evidence and interviews with welfare recipients themselves. Hancock's incisive analysis is both compelling and disturbing, suggesting the great limits of today's democracy in guaranteeing not just fair and equitable policy outcomes, but even a fair chance for marginalized citizens to participate in the process.

Intersectionality theory has emerged over the past thirty years as a way to think about the avenues by which inequalities (most often dealing with, but not limited to, race, gender, class and sexuality) are produced. Rather than seeing such categories as signaling distinct identities that can be adopted, imposed or rejected, intersectionality theory considers the logic by which each of these categories is socially constructed as well as how they operate within the diffusion of power relations. In other words, social and political power are conferred through categories of identity, and these identities bear vastly material effects. Rather than look at inequalities as a relationship between those at the center and those on the margins, intersectionality maps the relative ways in which identity politics create power. Though intersectionality theory has emerged as a highly influential school of thought in ethnic studies, gender studies, law, political science, sociology and psychology, no scholarship to date exists on the evolution of the theory. In the absence of a comprehensive intellectual history of the theory, it is often discussed in vague, ahistorical terms. And while scholars have called for greater specificity and attention to the historical foundations of intersectionality theory, their idea of the history to be included is generally limited to the particular currents in the United States. This book seeks to remedy the vagueness and murkiness attributed to intersectionality by attending to the historical, geographical, and cross-disciplinary myopia afflicting current intersectionality scholarship. This comprehensive intellectual history is an agenda-setting work for the theory.

View the Table of Contents
Read the Introduction.

Winner of the 2006 Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Organized Section Best First Book Award from the American Political Science Association

Winner of the 2006 W.E.B. DuBois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists

""The Politics of Disgust" is a very thoughtful, theoretically sophisticated, empirically rich analysis of the discourse of welfare reform."
--"Political Science Quarterly"

"An important contribution to our understanding."
--"Perspectives on Politics"

aFor those concerned about inequality and democratic theory in America, Hancockas introduction alone, in which she frames the characteristics of politics of disgust, makes the book worthwhile.a
&3151;"Perspectives on Politics"

"Brilliantly conceived and executed. . .[A] stunning work of public policy that, if embraced, could radically change 'welfare'--and America--as we know it."
--Robin D. G. Kelley, author of "Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination"

"[A] challenging and disturbing account of the impact of stereotypes in politics. Anyone interested in the means by which the poor, the unpopular, and the alienated are kept from participating in politics to demand better treatment should read this book."
--Frank R. Baumgartner, coauthor of "Agendas and Instability in American Politics"

"[An] excellent and outstanding book; Ange-Marie Hancock has established herself without doubt as a rising star in political science."
--Gerald Horne, author of "Race War! White Supremacy and the Japanese Attack on the British Empire"

Ange-Marie Hancock argues that longstanding beliefs about poor African Americanmothers were the foundation for the contentious 1996 welfare reform debate that effectively "ended welfare as we know it." By examining the public identity of the so-called welfare queen and its role in hindering democratic deliberation, The Politics of Disgust shows how stereotypes and politically motivated misperceptions about race, class and gender were effectively used to instigate a politics of disgust.

The ongoing role of the politics of disgust in welfare policy is revealed here by using content analyses of the news media, the 1996 congressional floor debates, historical evidence and interviews with welfare recipients themselves. Hancock's incisive analysis is both compelling and disturbing, suggesting the great limits of today's democracy in guaranteeing not just fair and equitable policy outcomes, but even a fair chance for marginalized citizens to participate in the process.

Intersectionality theory has emerged over the past thirty years as a way to think about the avenues by which inequalities (most often dealing with, but not limited to, race, gender, class and sexuality) are produced. Rather than seeing such categories as signaling distinct identities that can be adopted, imposed or rejected, intersectionality theory considers the logic by which each of these categories is socially constructed as well as how they operate within the diffusion of power relations. In other words, social and political power are conferred through categories of identity, and these identities bear vastly material effects. Rather than look at inequalities as a relationship between those at the center and those on the margins, intersectionality maps the relative ways in which identity politics create power. Though intersectionality theory has emerged as a highly influential school of thought in ethnic studies, gender studies, law, political science, sociology and psychology, no scholarship to date exists on the evolution of the theory. In the absence of a comprehensive intellectual history of the theory, it is often discussed in vague, ahistorical terms. And while scholars have called for greater specificity and attention to the historical foundations of intersectionality theory, their idea of the history to be included is generally limited to the particular currents in the United States. This book seeks to remedy the vagueness and murkiness attributed to intersectionality by attending to the historical, geographical, and cross-disciplinary myopia afflicting current intersectionality scholarship. This comprehensive intellectual history is an agenda-setting work for the theory.