"Taking her (counter)cue from that celebrated sitcom of American life, 'The Reagan Years,' Lauren Berlant makes an exhilarating argument for a theory of 'comedic' citizenship. What happens when the collusive myths of the 'common culture' become obsessed and estranged by the fraying and freeing of the American people--plurally identified, demographically diverse, sexually ambivalent, culturally mongrel? Berlant's wit and insight lie in going with the 'silliness' of everyday existence, inhabiting its persuasive, popular forms, and then, in ways you least expect, throwing up a devastating picture of the way we live now."--Homi K. Bhabha

Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: The Intimate Public Sphere 1
1 The Theory of Infantile Citizenship 25
2 Live Sex Acts (Parental Advisory: Explicit Material) 55
3 America, "Fat," the Fetus 83
4 Queer Nationality (written with Elizabeth Freeman) 145
5 The Face of America and the State of Emergency 175
6 The Queen of America Goes to Washington City: Notes on Diva Citizenship 221
7 Outtakes from the Citizenship Museum 247
Notes 261
Bibliography 289
Index 303