Summary

An authentic picture of class politics can only be achieved leading into the last decades of the twentieth century by finally recognizing the concerns of marginalized Americans such as women, blacks, and poor whites. President Richard Nixon, as a representative of politicians of the time, claimed to represent the middle class American homeowners who worked hard and expected little from the federal government.

Poor whites who managed to climb the social ladder began to reconstruct their image. They no longer referred to themselves as a distinct breed of people, but instead as an ethnic identity to be celebrated. This notion asserts that the white trash identity does not permanently hinder one’s ability to advance in society. However, the idea of sexual deviance was widely associated with this white trash identity. Isenberg calls on the violent...