“Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis: Summary and Critique

Introduction: “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

“Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis first appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of philoSOPHIA (Volume 9, Number 2), published by the State University of New York Press. This article situates itself within the resurgence of affect theory, or the “affective turn,” to critically engage with the concepts of abjection and shame as theorized by Julia Kristeva. Purvis delves into how abjection operates within societal structures, maintaining oppressive dynamics while simultaneously holding the potential for political resistance and feminist transformation. Central to her thesis is the proposition that shame—often immobilizing and destructive—can also serve as a powerful site for political and social reimagining. Purvis argues, “Through a politics of shame, the powers of horror are redeployed, and the horrors that lie in power are exposed, confronted, and potentially defeated.” Her work is significant in literary and feminist theory as it reframes negative affect as a generative space for revolutionary politics, addressing intersections of race, gender, and sexuality within systems of power. The article provides a critical bridge between psychoanalysis and feminist praxis, emphasizing the transformative potential of abjection when reoriented toward justice and liberation.

Summary of “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

References

• Kristeva, J. (1982). Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Columbia University Press.
• Purvis, J. (2019). Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame. philoSOPHIA, 9(2), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1353/phi.2019.0020
• Probyn, E. (2000). Carnal Appetites: FoodSexIdentities. Routledge.
• Ahmed, S. (2004). The Cultural Politics of Emotion. Routledge.
• Butler, J. (1993). Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. Routledge.
• Lorde, A. (2007). Sister Outsider. Crossing Press.
• Young, I. M. (2005). On Female Body Experience: Throwing Like a Girl and Other Essays. Oxford University Press.

Theoretical Terms/Concepts in “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

Concept/Term	Definition/Explanation	Relevance in the Article
Abjection	The process of expelling or excluding what threatens identity, social order, or symbolic boundaries.	Central to understanding how shame and disgust operate within gendered and societal power structures (Kristeva, 1982).
Shame	A “sticky” affect characterized by discomfort, humiliation, and potential for reflection and creativity.	Explored as both a tool of oppression and a site of feminist and political resistance (Probyn, 2005).
Disgust	Affective response to the abject, often more immobilizing than shame.	Differentiated from shame as more totalizing and harder to reconfigure politically (Tomkins, 1995).
Affective Turn	A resurgence of interest in studying affect/emotion as central to systems of knowledge, power, and politics.	Frames the article’s exploration of how emotions like shame and disgust shape political and social dynamics.
Feminized Abjection	The association of women’s bodies with reproductive functions and substances deemed “unclean” or “impure.”	Highlights gendered mechanisms of abjection, such as menstruation and childbirth (Young, 2005).
Semiotic vs. Symbolic	Kristeva’s distinction between pre-symbolic (emotional, bodily) and symbolic (language, order) realms.	Used to explain the continuous interplay between societal norms and individual emotional experiences.
Counterpublics	Alternative social spaces or movements formed in opposition to dominant publics.	Demonstrated through feminist and queer movements like SlutWalk and #MeToo (Warner, 2002).
Intersectionality	Framework for analyzing overlapping systems of oppression across race, gender, sexuality, etc.	Applied to abjection, exploring how marginalized identities experience compounded shame and exclusion.
Queer Positionality	Non-normative identities and their potential to disrupt dominant societal and cultural narratives.	Linked to the reclamation of shame as a site of empowerment in queer theory (Halberstam, 2005).
Affective Economies	Circulation of emotions within societal and political contexts that reinforce power structures.	Explored to show how shame and disgust are distributed and internalized in gendered and racialized ways (Ahmed, 2004).

Contribution of “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis to Literary Theory/Theories

• Expansion of Affect Theory
  • Jennifer Purvis integrates affect theory with feminist theory, emphasizing how emotions like shame and disgust shape subjectivity and politics.
  • Builds on Sara Ahmed’s concept of affective economies, arguing that the circulation of shame is tied to power structures and can be reconfigured for political resistance (Ahmed, 2004).
• Engagement with Kristeva’s Concept of Abjection
  • Extends Julia Kristeva’s Powers of Horror by exploring the intersection of abjection with systemic injustices and gendered experiences.
  • Highlights the dual role of abjection as both regulative (enforcing norms) and disruptive (a site of potential resistance) (Kristeva, 1982).
• Critique of Gender Normativity in Feminist Theory
  • Challenges the association of femininity with shame and abjection, showing how these dynamics reinforce binary gender systems.
  • Incorporates Simone de Beauvoir’s insights from The Second Sex on the processes of “becoming woman” and the body’s role in gendered subjectivity (Beauvoir, 1989).
• Intersectionality and Abjection
  • Brings an intersectional lens to theories of abjection, emphasizing its racialized, gendered, and sexualized dimensions.
  • Cites examples like the “welfare queen” trope to illustrate how abjection functions within systems of oppression (Tyler, 2013).
• Queer Theory and Reclamation of Shame
  • Contributes to queer theory by framing shame as a transformative affect, capable of fostering alternative identities and counterpublics.
  • Aligns with Judith Butler’s critique of norms in Bodies That Matter and Kathryn Bond Stockton’s exploration of shame in queer contexts (Butler, 1993; Stockton, 2006).
• Feminist Political Praxis
  • Proposes a feminist politics of shame, suggesting that shame can be reconfigured as a resource for collective action and resistance.
  • Draws on examples like the #MeToo movement and SlutWalk to illustrate how public shame can challenge patriarchal power.
• Critique of Neoliberalism and Biopolitics
  • Examines the role of shame and disgust in maintaining neoliberal ideologies and biopolitical control.
  • Builds on Foucauldian insights into techniques of power and self-regulation, linking these to the abjection of marginalized groups (Foucault, 1978).
• Contribution to Posthumanism
  • Challenges traditional humanist categories by interrogating the boundaries between the human and the abject.
  • Aligns with Kristeva’s semiotic exploration of corporeality and suggests possibilities for rethinking human/nonhuman binaries.
• Literary and Artistic Applications
  • Explores how feminist and queer art, such as Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party and Emma Sulkowicz’s Carry That Weight, use abjection and shame to subvert dominant narratives.
  • Highlights the generative potential of abjection in literature, visual art, and performance as tools for exposing systemic injustices.
• Revising the Politics of Pride
  • Questions the limits of pride in liberation movements, advocating instead for a nuanced understanding of shame as a site for political engagement.
  • Builds on critiques of simplistic reversals from shame to pride in the work of Elspeth Probyn and Sally Munt (Probyn, 2000; Munt, 2007).

Examples of Critiques Through “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

Literary Work	Themes/Elements Analyzed	Application of Purvis’ Framework	Key Insights/Implications
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein	Themes of monstrosity and abjection.	– The creature represents abjection as described by Kristeva and Purvis, being cast out as “not-I” and embodying societal fears. – Abjection shapes the boundaries between humanity and otherness.	Highlights how the creature’s abjection reinforces human identity and societal norms while exposing their fragility and cruelty.
Toni Morrison’s Beloved	Intersections of shame, trauma, and motherhood.	– Explores the abjection of Sethe as a mother who disrupts societal norms by reclaiming agency over her child’s life. – Connects shame and maternal subjectivity to systemic racism and gender oppression.	Illustrates how abjection can be both a source of trauma and a site of resistance against systemic racial and gendered violence.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper	Gendered abjection and the repression of female subjectivity.	– Applies the notion of shame tied to the protagonist’s confinement and her perceived mental illness. – Examines how abjection enforces gender norms and sustains patriarchal control.	Reveals how abjection isolates women and pathologizes their resistance, but also allows space for feminist critique of these structures.
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray	Shame, morality, and aestheticism.	– Dorian’s portrait embodies abjection, externalizing his moral degradation and acting as a site of disgust and shame. – Links abjection to the queer subtext and societal rejection of non-normative identities.	Demonstrates how Wilde critiques societal norms through the abjection of Dorian’s hidden self and the queer undertones in the novel.

Criticism Against “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

Representative Quotations from “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis with Explanation

Quotation	Explanation
“The abject not only informs structures of knowledge and power that govern how subjectivities…are founded but provides elements of fluidity and ambiguity…”	This quotation highlights the dual role of abjection in creating and destabilizing societal norms. It underscores the opportunity for resistance and redefinition within the rigid systems of power, making abjection a site of both oppression and potential liberation.
“Shame, read in connection with abjection, provides rich terrain from which to examine the workings of affect…”	This connects shame to affect theory, framing it as a tool to understand and challenge societal structures. By engaging with shame rather than avoiding it, Purvis argues for its political and feminist potential.
“Disgust…proves particularly difficult to metabolize, as Audre Lorde explains.”	Referring to Lorde, Purvis distinguishes between shame and disgust, emphasizing the latter’s resistance to transformation. This differentiation sets the stage for her focus on shame’s transformative possibilities.
“Shame’s association with Kristevan abjection draws upon its fluidity and ambivalence…”	Purvis ties shame to Julia Kristeva’s concept of abjection, illustrating how its ambiguous nature can foster new forms of political and social organization.
“We must investigate and dismantle the workings of horror, disgust, and shame…”	This calls for a critical examination of affective economies to dismantle oppressive systems, reflecting Purvis’s emphasis on shame as a tool for exposing and resisting power dynamics.
“Affective economies organize humanity according to gender, race, sexuality, ability, and class…”	Purvis situates shame and abjection within affective economies, stressing their role in maintaining societal hierarchies. Her critique extends to how bodies are commodified or excluded.
“The powers of horror are redeployed, and the horrors that lie in power are exposed…”	She advocates for using the unsettling aspects of shame to challenge dominant power structures, turning negative affects into tools for political engagement.
“Through a politics of shame, the powers of horror are redeployed, and the horrors that lie in power are exposed…”	Shame is framed as a political tool capable of confronting and transforming systems of power, emphasizing its potential beyond the personal realm into collective activism.
“Much like the openings created by the interplay of reception and production…abjection can be painful as well as a site of meaningful change and possibility.”	By exploring the discomfort and transformation tied to abjection, Purvis aligns it with creative resistance, stressing its potential for generating new social and political paradigms.
“Shame can mobilize the self and communities into acts of defiant presence…”	This demonstrates the constructive side of shame, which, when harnessed correctly, can transform individual and collective identities, fostering resistance against oppressive norms.

Suggested Readings: “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame” by Jennifer Purvis

1. Purvis, Jennifer. “Confronting the Power of Abjection: Toward a Politics of Shame.” PhiloSOPHIA 9.2 (2019): 45-67.
2. Lipschitz, Ruth. “Abjection.” The Edinburgh Companion to Animal Studies, edited by Lynn Turner et al., vol. 1, Edinburgh University Press, 2018, pp. 13–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctv2f4vjzx.6. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
3. Higgs, Paul, and Chris Gilleard. “Understanding Abjection.” Personhood, Identity and Care in Advanced Old Age, 1st ed., Bristol University Press, 2016, pp. 57–72. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1t89766.8. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
4. Hogle, Jerrold E. “Abjection as Gothic and the Gothic as Abjection.” The Gothic and Theory: An Edinburgh Companion, edited by Jerrold E. Hogle and Robert Miles, Edinburgh University Press, 2019, pp. 108–26. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3366/j.ctvggx38r.9. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.