The Northern Irish hunger strikers as cultural icons

The aim of this article is to discuss hunger strikers as cultural icons. Fasting is a non-violent way of communicating a message or achieving a goal. It is a process that includes and reveals poignant cultural values, and can be regarded as a symbolic gesture. It is also a phenomenon recognised by many cultures. As the nature of this recognition can vary between different cultures, wider cross-cultural aspects of iconicity can be reached.

This article examines the 1981 Northern Irish hunger strike to find out what iconic attributes are connected with the hunger strikers. A special focus is given to the role of international news media as an intensifier of iconicity.