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Towards a Performative Understanding of Deservingness: Merit, Gender and the BBC Pay Dispute
Simpson, Ruth Kumra, Savita Lewis, Patricia Rumens, Nick
Simpson, Ruth
Kumra, Savita
Lewis, Patricia
Rumens, Nick
Date
2020
Advisor
Type
Peer-Reviewed
Article
Postprint
Article
Postprint
Degree
Description
Abstract
Drawing largely on a high-profile case of unequal pay at the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) as an illustrative example, this conceptual paper considers differences and interrelationships between merit and deservingness, where the latter captures how, through appropriate performances, merit is given recognition and value. We propose a performative understanding of deservingness that highlights its gendered and embodied dimensions. Informed by Judith Butler’s account of gender performativity, we show that, while merit is conventionally conceptualized as a relatively fixed set of attributes (qualifications, skill) ‘attached’ to the individual, deservingness captures how, in gendered terms, value and recognition are both claimed and conferred. As we argue, a gendered, deserving subject does not pre-exist but is performatively constituted through embodied practices and performances of what is seen as worthy in a particular time and place.