Embodiment in Dissent: The eye-roll as an interactional practice

This paper investigates a recognisable embodied practice for displaying dissent: the ‘eye-roll’, whereby the eyes are rolled up or sideways in their sockets as a response to something said or done. On a corpus of videoed interaction, it shows that: 1. the eye-roll may be only the most salient – visible – element of a constellation of practices embodying dissent; and 2. it can be quite specific in its selection of recipients, and can be used to pursue affiliation with another party. Investigation suggests that the eye-roll is in fact a protest in response to someone going too far. As an expression of stance that may not be visible to the party whose action it targets, the eye-roll is collusive for those who witness it: in its ambivalent status lies its value as an interactional object. Data are in British and American English.