"#houstonstrong": Resisting and reifying the neoliberal public. Issue 3 (September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Wingard, Jennifer
• Other Names: Asen Robert guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Communication and the public. Volume 3:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 218
• Page End: 231
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Subjects: #houstonstrong -- Houston -- Hurricane Harvey -- neoliberalism -- personal responsibility -- privatization -- publics; Communication -- Periodicals; Communication -- Social aspects -- Periodicals; 302.2
• DOI: 10.1177/2057047318794961
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2057-0473

Abstract

This article argues that during and after Hurricane Harvey, Houstonians used the hashtag #houstonstrong as a way of creating a public. This public functioned much in the ways defined by scholars as a means to forward collective action outside the confines of the state. Although it formed adjacent to state mandates, this public never agitated against state practices. Instead, #houstonstrong became not only a way to organize civilian and privatized rescue during the storm but also a point of pride for Houstonians and businesses across Houston. Therefore, I argue that even though #houstonstrong functioned as a traditional public in many ways, its adherence to neoliberal logics makes it a complex form of publicity that challenges the binary between traditional and neoliberal definitions of public behavior.