“Katrina That Bitch!” Hegemonic Representations of Women's Sexuality on Hurricane Katrina Souvenir T-Shirts

Abstract

I N MARCH 2006, THE AUTHORS ATTENDED THE ANNUAL MEETING OF THE Southern Sociological Society held in New Orleans, Louisiana, just seven months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. As we walked along Decatur Street, a popular tourist street lined with storefront shops selling New Orleans souvenirs, we saw dozens of t-shirts hanging on store entrance doors, in storefront windows, and as part of sidewalk displays. The majority of these t-shirts referenced Hurricane Katrina. Some criticized the government for slow relief efforts. Others poked fun at Mayor Ray Nagin’s references to New Orleans as a ‘‘Chocolate City.’’ Some t-shirts even joked about the postdisaster civil unrest, mocking the infamous looting incidents. Presumably, these shirts provided a light-hearted take on recent events for tourist products and may serve as a way to recover financially after the economic destruction that New Orleans faced. Indeed, it is common to use humor in response to tragic events (Oring; Schafer). In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, one of the ways that souvenir t-shirt makers found