Reconceptualising Judith Butler’s theory of ‘grievability’ in relation to the UK’s ‘war on obesity’: Personal responsibility, biopolitics and disposability

Abstract

How does Judith Butler’s theory of ‘grievability’ relate to the neoliberal imperative to assume personal responsibility for one’s actions? And how can this be conceptualised in relation to a broader biopolitics of disposability that renders some lives dispensable and others worthy of protection? Focusing on the particular case of obesity and the UK government’s drive to reduce obesity rates in response to COVID-19, this article shows how conditions that are seen to arise from poor lifestyle ‘choices’ complicate Butler’s articulation of grievability by revealing how state and public investment can coincide with a general consensus of apathy that renders those lives both grievable and ungrievable. By simultaneously straddling the two subject positions, I argue that people living with obesity are often rendered failures within a neoliberal context that equates grievable life with productive life, thus giving way to a new ontology that renders life valuable only when it is not directly harming, or is in the service of, others.

Protest, race and grievability: What does it mean for lives to matter?

“…Other strands of work have examined how lives are rendered as more, or less, grievable in relation to structures of social class in India (Varman et al, 2020), and recently, work has begun to consider grievability in relation to narratives of health. Spratt (2022) examines contemporary Western health discourse, critiquing the neoliberal narrative of personal responsibility for health and examining grievability in relation to the UK 'war on obesity', whilst Maďarová et al (2020) explore constructions of vulnerability and grievability in Western political discourses during the early months of the Covid 19 pandemic. Studies have also emphasised the significance of public acts of memorialisation (E.g.…”

Fat shaming under neoliberalism and COVID‐19: Examining the UK’s Tackling Obesity campaign

“…We begin by outlining how the ideological underpinnings of ‘health’ have been transformed under neoliberalism. We then consider the problematic use of fat shaming language that is often used as a tool to promote ‘healthy’ lifestyle choices by those who view it as not only an acceptable way of communicating the health risks associated with obesity but also a productive way of motivating people with obesity to lose weight ( Brown & Baker, 2013 ; Spratt, 2022 ). Drawing on Graham Scambler’s theoretical framework regarding shame and blame (2020), we discuss how ‘heaping blame on shame’ has become a ‘wilful political strategy’ under neoliberalism, particularly in relation to individuals with excess weight or obesity.…”