Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War: Embodied Fantasies of the Ethical Warrior in Contemporary Gun Culture

Research output: Book/ReportBook

Abstract / Description of output

Gun Rights Activists and the US Culture War is a political anthropology book which explores how firearms can become associated with processes of identity formation, as well as acting as symbols of national belonging and embodied safety.

Based on 12 months of participant observation at gun ranges, activist meetings, handgun courses, and political events, as well as interviews with gun rights activists in San Diego County, this book argues that US conservative identity is saturated with concerns about ethics, gender, and who can wield violence legitimately. The book focuses on two gun rights organisations; the first a conservative, predominantly white and male political action committee; the second a pro-LGBTQ+ firearms training group run by trans women. This book demonstrates how gun ownership gives Americans the perceived means to enact their political will through the threat of, or actual, organized violence, and that this perceived capacity explains why guns remain objects that continue to inspire such devotion and debate.
Original languageEnglish
Place of PublicationNew York
PublisherRoutledge
Number of pages150
Edition1st
ISBN (Electronic)9781032560038
ISBN (Print)9781032560021, 9781032560038
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Feb 2024

Publication series

NameAnthropology of Now
PublisherRoutledge

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • guns
  • United States
  • anthropology
  • gun rights
  • politics

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