Described as a “stealth revolution” (Wendy Brown) and “body snatching” (André Lepecki), neoliberalism in the United States currently extends beyond the initial 1970s government deregulation of private enterprise into our lived corporeal experience. Neoliberalism saturates our relationship with our bodies and through this permeation redefines our subjectivity. This paper proposes that neoliberal values guide our relationship with our bodies through enforcing a dichotomy of the pain experience—good and bad, glorified and shamed.
How is the glorification of good pain as a means of self-propelled transformation into the ideal neoliberal subject incorporated in marketing materials? How is the individual tasked with bad pain management? Building on the political analysis of David Harvey, Wendy Brown, and Giorgio Agamben, this paper will explore the dichotomy of pain through close examination of two sets of advertisements—ads for American luxury fitness brands such as Equinox, Pure Barre, and Soul Cycle, as well as ads for over-the-counter pain relief brands.
Good pain works to continually remake the subject into an efficient, energetic, self-propelled individual with performances of sweat and soreness used as metrics of achievement. If endured, good pain offers a return on investment—a stronger, more efficient and high functioning body. Bad pain inhibits this transformation. Emphasis on personal achievement and celebration of the entrepreneur have led to an internalization of these values that glorify good pain and shame bad pain as well as relegating all pain management responsibility to the individual.
About the presenterLaura Smith
Laura Smith researches the role of performance in legitimizing emerging medical specialties in the 19th century. Her dissertation project connects past performances of medical authority to contemporary Black feminist performances which critique 19th century medicine’s dependence on slavery. She is a recipient of the 2021 Selma Jeanne Cohen Award from the Dance Studies Association. She is a PhD candidate at UCLA and has a MA in Performance Studies from NYU.