Barack Obama and the Choreographed Performance of Racial and Gender Identity

• In Event: The Presidency, Democratic Mobilization, and the State

Abstract

The American president acts as head of government and as a symbol of the nation. Their performance informs and is informed by social norms and public expectations of the office. To the extent that precedent shapes and constrains the performance of proceeding presidents, such performances establish unwritten law. It is thus noteworthy that of the 45 men who have held the office, all can be identified as Christians, most have been wealthy, and only one has had non-European ancestry. Famously, Obama weaved together a broad coalition of white and minority voters to win the presidency in 2008 and reelection in 2012. This is remarkable, given the prevalence of anti-black attitudes among the American electorate. How was Obama able to navigate a political landscape polarized by racial attitudes, such as to garner substantial support from white voters while also securing unprecedented support and enthusiasm from black voters? I contend that the first black president eluded costly stereotypical preconceptions by strategically modulating his performance of racial and gender expression to assuage voters of his competence and priorities. In other words, he used the technology of strategic norm adherence and norm violation to pursue political advantage. I test this hypothesis using a mixed-method approach. Drawing on six open-ended, semi-structured interviews with Obama administration officials, including senior advisors Valerie Jarrett, David Axelrod, and Peter Rouse, I explore how Obama and his advisors understood and responded to the exigencies of presidential norms. I further investigate the dynamics of Obama’s performance of racial and gender identity through a nationally representative survey experiment.

Author

• Chandler James, University of Oregon