Paper short abstract:

The paper examines the twofold subjectification of present-day competition formats that simultaneously promote an authentic and a competitive self, and shows that competitions are thus a particularly interesting example of the performance of the relationship between inner self and appearance.

Paper long abstract:

In the last decades much academic work has been done about how competition in different contexts affects the subjectivities of the competitors involved. This kind of subjectification includes the incorporation of competitive principles, the reinforcement of the traits of maximization, calculation and egoism, or the striving for competitiveness and competitive edge. Thus, these studies have examined how competition produces competitive subjects.

However, as many of these studies indicate, though do not elaborate, competition may not only produce one form of subjectivity but actually two. This twofold subjectification of competition is bound to the peculiar form of competitive formats, in which form and content of competition may diverge strongly. This is especially true for the many present-day competition formats that promote an authentic self, e.g., competitions in the artistic field, in media formats such as the subgenre of reality television called "reality competition," or on social media platforms such as Tinder or Instagram. While the content of these competitions calls for authentic subjects, the form demands competitive subjects. Thus, subjectification as a competitive subject does not somehow corrupt a pre-existing authentic subject, but competition produces both, a competitive subject and an authentic subject, which are subsequently in an unresolved tension and pose a dilemma for competitors. Competitions thus represent a particularly interesting example of the performance of the relationship between inner self and appearance.

In this paper I want to present qualitative empirical examples from the research project "SPACE - Spatial Competition and Economic Policies" for this twofold subjectification of competition.