In this article, we analyze the use of #MeToo and #HimToo in response to the hearings on sexual a... more In this article, we analyze the use of #MeToo and #HimToo in response to the hearings on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. We explore the use of these hashtags within the context of popular feminism and employ a qualitative thematic analysis of a purposeful sample of Tweets that include the hashtags #MeToo (n = 730) and #HimToo (n = 124) collected between September 23 and 27, 2018. We find that four themes are mirrored in both #MeToo and #HimToo tweets: personal experience; identification and disidentification; calls to action; and discursive appropriation. Although the sample size was limited and the relative popularity of these oppositional hashtags must be considered, these findings offer support for Banet-Weiser's suggestion that popular feminism is structurally mirrored by popular misogyny. Thus, although there is evidence that individuals link their deployment of these two hashtags to explicit political calls to action, we suggest that the ease with which popular feminist discourse can be rhetorically inverted is a limitation of popular feminist hashtag activism.
Since 2010, the Food Network has introduced a series of female-hosted, daytime shows that emphasi... more Since 2010, the Food Network has introduced a series of female-hosted, daytime shows that emphasise conservative regions of the United States and glamorise traditional gender roles. I discuss the shared characteristics of such shows and explain how this kitchen-centred neoconservatism emanates from a culture of national anxiety, as well as the parallel shifts to traditionalism incited by foodie culture, post-feminism and neo-liberalism. I contend that the ways in which home cooking is presented on these shows may work to conflate the pleasures of food with the pleasures of gendered and racial neoconservatism in the United States.
The analysis revealed that personalized action frames were evident in the organizational framing ... more The analysis revealed that personalized action frames were evident in the organizational framing of the protest on Womensmarch.com through the diverse and broadly defined "unity principles," and in five additional action frames that emerged spontaneously at the march: (1) unity, (2) women as powerful agents of resistance, (3) reappropriating pussy and words for the vagina, (4) criticisms of Trump, and (5) defining and critiquing feminism. Implications for social movement research and for the study of collective and personalized action frames are discussed.
In this paper, I explore the popular feminism that is expressed through teen girl fashion blogs. ... more In this paper, I explore the popular feminism that is expressed through teen girl fashion blogs. Popular feminism is a nascent movement which displaces postfeminism as the dominant discourse of feminism in popular culture and, while it is a varied movement, I view one important tenet of popular feminism as the connection wrought between creative media production, precocious girlhood and feminism. Drawing on a sample of fteen teen fashion blogs, I identify the de ning themes of this genre before exploring the integration of popular feminism into the performance of the girl blogger identity. I see popular feminism as being incidentally inserted into the performance of girlhood and, notwithstanding the sincerity of the feminism performed by these bloggers, I ultimately raise concerns about the exclusive investment of popular feminism within a media and corporate-de ned performance of idealized girlhood which is currently fetishized as novel but understood as a transient condition of the female subject.
New media platforms enable new forms of the feminine style. For political candidates, these media... more New media platforms enable new forms of the feminine style. For political candidates, these media may be used strategically to enact unique forms of public intimacy influenced by the norms of relational labor and self-disclosure that govern social media. These arguments are illustrated through a case study of Hillary Clinton's Twitter account, which shows that she is able to use the political feminine style to great effect by softening her image through digital intimacy and interactivity while still preserving elements of her traditional forensic style. In this way, Clinton enacts a second-wave feminist persona that is substantively political without being seen as extreme or strident. This case study informs how female political candidates can strategically enact femininity. In this article, we study the transcription of the digital feminine style to the new media platform of Twitter and its potential use by female political candidates to escape the prejudices, double binds, and structural disadvantages bestowed by their socially sanctioned gender roles. We argue that the feminine style may be deployed more advantageously on new media platforms, even in comparison to television, which is highly complementary for the feminine style, because the self-disclosure and interactivity expected of celebrities on social media is inherently feminizing. By personalizing political issues, the political feminine style flourishes because female candidates can be considered feminine even while discussing traditionally nonfeminine political topics. Moreover, female candidates can afford to be curt and confrontational, without fear of being labeled strident or inappropriately didactic, because the norms of new media favor and even sometimes require this fragmented and abrupt discursive style.
The styling and online circulation of food photography has become a phenomenon endemic to social ... more The styling and online circulation of food photography has become a phenomenon endemic to social media. In this article, I explore this digital “food porn” within the feminized space of food blogs and contextualize it within a postfeminist culture rife with contradictions about women’s bodies, consumption, and sexuality. Drawing on postfeminist and feminist corporeal theory, I historicize the longstanding associations between food and the female body, eating and sex. I then analyze digital “food porn” as a form of women’s media production that draws on conventional representations of the female body in pornography, fashion, and popular culture. It is these qualities that distinguish digital “food porn” from “food porn” on other media platforms, and allow it to offer useful insights into the postfeminist subject’s construction of digital femininity. I maintain that digital “food porn” can be read as a playful, pleasurable, and entrepreneurial response to postfeminist contradictions.
In this article, I discuss a postfeminist ‘turn to interiority’ which takes place in US postfemin... more In this article, I discuss a postfeminist ‘turn to interiority’ which takes place in US postfeminist television from 2005 onwards. Drawing on the theoretical critiques of postfeminist retreatism and girlie femininity, this turn is characterised by a concern with interior spaces – reviving domesticity and the importance of finding and securing a home – as well as internalised consumption – replacing forms of material consumption with the quest for self-actualisation, particularly through eating and expressions of the authentic self. I analyse this shift through a comparative analysis of the television shows Sex and the City, Girls and The Mindy Project. I argue that the turn to interiority is a product of the US cultural context, but also that this examination evidences the malleability and longevity of postfeminist ideology. Accordingly, I argue for the continuing importance of critical scholarship on postfeminism as an insight into the failures and pervasiveness of neoliberal politics.
Child beauty pageants in popular culture depict the competing discourses of girlhood and motherho... more Child beauty pageants in popular culture depict the competing discourses of girlhood and motherhood that arise in the post-feminist context. These pageants portray hyperbolic femininity as a meritocratic practice of gendered discipline and consumption that yields material rewards, conflating girl power with subscription to the current social fetishisation of girl power. Moreover, this representation of girlhood highlights the irrelevance of older generations, in a way that speaks to the post-feminist—and third wave—repudiation of second wave feminism. Specifically, I analyse the TLC reality television show Toddlers and Tiaras as a text that represents the mother–daughter dyad so as to make mothers obsolete and a hindrance to the potential of their dynamic and empowered daughters. This allows post-feminist girlhood to triumph as the most relevant and desirable model for young women, while scapegoating monstrous moms for the problematic, exploitative aspects of the show. When such mother–daughter relations are highlighted, diametrically opposed and negatively portrayed, they recall the symbolic logic of contemporary feminist movements and their rejection of the experiences and knowledge of older generations of feminists. I argue that destroying the rich historical legacy of feminism further distances post-feminist subjects from the potential of future political coalitions.
In this paper I use an ecofeminist and a postfeminist framework to assess two images from the lon... more In this paper I use an ecofeminist and a postfeminist framework to assess two images from the long-running ‘I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). I find that, while sexism persists in these ads, the postfeminist context illuminates a specific problem in the way that hypersexualised models are not only objectified for men, but are positioned as celebrated exemplaries, whom other women should aspire to be. This exploits not just the naked models, but all women, as it falsely links sexualisation as imperative to animal protection and perpetuates female responsibility for the burden of care. Ultimately, I seek to show how a greater consideration and awareness of the overlapping struggles fought by social movements might strengthen their affinity coalitions.
In this article, we analyze the use of #MeToo and #HimToo in response to the hearings on sexual a... more In this article, we analyze the use of #MeToo and #HimToo in response to the hearings on sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. We explore the use of these hashtags within the context of popular feminism and employ a qualitative thematic analysis of a purposeful sample of Tweets that include the hashtags #MeToo (n = 730) and #HimToo (n = 124) collected between September 23 and 27, 2018. We find that four themes are mirrored in both #MeToo and #HimToo tweets: personal experience; identification and disidentification; calls to action; and discursive appropriation. Although the sample size was limited and the relative popularity of these oppositional hashtags must be considered, these findings offer support for Banet-Weiser's suggestion that popular feminism is structurally mirrored by popular misogyny. Thus, although there is evidence that individuals link their deployment of these two hashtags to explicit political calls to action, we suggest that the ease with which popular feminist discourse can be rhetorically inverted is a limitation of popular feminist hashtag activism.
Since 2010, the Food Network has introduced a series of female-hosted, daytime shows that emphasi... more Since 2010, the Food Network has introduced a series of female-hosted, daytime shows that emphasise conservative regions of the United States and glamorise traditional gender roles. I discuss the shared characteristics of such shows and explain how this kitchen-centred neoconservatism emanates from a culture of national anxiety, as well as the parallel shifts to traditionalism incited by foodie culture, post-feminism and neo-liberalism. I contend that the ways in which home cooking is presented on these shows may work to conflate the pleasures of food with the pleasures of gendered and racial neoconservatism in the United States.
The analysis revealed that personalized action frames were evident in the organizational framing ... more The analysis revealed that personalized action frames were evident in the organizational framing of the protest on Womensmarch.com through the diverse and broadly defined "unity principles," and in five additional action frames that emerged spontaneously at the march: (1) unity, (2) women as powerful agents of resistance, (3) reappropriating pussy and words for the vagina, (4) criticisms of Trump, and (5) defining and critiquing feminism. Implications for social movement research and for the study of collective and personalized action frames are discussed.
In this paper, I explore the popular feminism that is expressed through teen girl fashion blogs. ... more In this paper, I explore the popular feminism that is expressed through teen girl fashion blogs. Popular feminism is a nascent movement which displaces postfeminism as the dominant discourse of feminism in popular culture and, while it is a varied movement, I view one important tenet of popular feminism as the connection wrought between creative media production, precocious girlhood and feminism. Drawing on a sample of fteen teen fashion blogs, I identify the de ning themes of this genre before exploring the integration of popular feminism into the performance of the girl blogger identity. I see popular feminism as being incidentally inserted into the performance of girlhood and, notwithstanding the sincerity of the feminism performed by these bloggers, I ultimately raise concerns about the exclusive investment of popular feminism within a media and corporate-de ned performance of idealized girlhood which is currently fetishized as novel but understood as a transient condition of the female subject.
New media platforms enable new forms of the feminine style. For political candidates, these media... more New media platforms enable new forms of the feminine style. For political candidates, these media may be used strategically to enact unique forms of public intimacy influenced by the norms of relational labor and self-disclosure that govern social media. These arguments are illustrated through a case study of Hillary Clinton's Twitter account, which shows that she is able to use the political feminine style to great effect by softening her image through digital intimacy and interactivity while still preserving elements of her traditional forensic style. In this way, Clinton enacts a second-wave feminist persona that is substantively political without being seen as extreme or strident. This case study informs how female political candidates can strategically enact femininity. In this article, we study the transcription of the digital feminine style to the new media platform of Twitter and its potential use by female political candidates to escape the prejudices, double binds, and structural disadvantages bestowed by their socially sanctioned gender roles. We argue that the feminine style may be deployed more advantageously on new media platforms, even in comparison to television, which is highly complementary for the feminine style, because the self-disclosure and interactivity expected of celebrities on social media is inherently feminizing. By personalizing political issues, the political feminine style flourishes because female candidates can be considered feminine even while discussing traditionally nonfeminine political topics. Moreover, female candidates can afford to be curt and confrontational, without fear of being labeled strident or inappropriately didactic, because the norms of new media favor and even sometimes require this fragmented and abrupt discursive style.
The styling and online circulation of food photography has become a phenomenon endemic to social ... more The styling and online circulation of food photography has become a phenomenon endemic to social media. In this article, I explore this digital “food porn” within the feminized space of food blogs and contextualize it within a postfeminist culture rife with contradictions about women’s bodies, consumption, and sexuality. Drawing on postfeminist and feminist corporeal theory, I historicize the longstanding associations between food and the female body, eating and sex. I then analyze digital “food porn” as a form of women’s media production that draws on conventional representations of the female body in pornography, fashion, and popular culture. It is these qualities that distinguish digital “food porn” from “food porn” on other media platforms, and allow it to offer useful insights into the postfeminist subject’s construction of digital femininity. I maintain that digital “food porn” can be read as a playful, pleasurable, and entrepreneurial response to postfeminist contradictions.
In this article, I discuss a postfeminist ‘turn to interiority’ which takes place in US postfemin... more In this article, I discuss a postfeminist ‘turn to interiority’ which takes place in US postfeminist television from 2005 onwards. Drawing on the theoretical critiques of postfeminist retreatism and girlie femininity, this turn is characterised by a concern with interior spaces – reviving domesticity and the importance of finding and securing a home – as well as internalised consumption – replacing forms of material consumption with the quest for self-actualisation, particularly through eating and expressions of the authentic self. I analyse this shift through a comparative analysis of the television shows Sex and the City, Girls and The Mindy Project. I argue that the turn to interiority is a product of the US cultural context, but also that this examination evidences the malleability and longevity of postfeminist ideology. Accordingly, I argue for the continuing importance of critical scholarship on postfeminism as an insight into the failures and pervasiveness of neoliberal politics.
Child beauty pageants in popular culture depict the competing discourses of girlhood and motherho... more Child beauty pageants in popular culture depict the competing discourses of girlhood and motherhood that arise in the post-feminist context. These pageants portray hyperbolic femininity as a meritocratic practice of gendered discipline and consumption that yields material rewards, conflating girl power with subscription to the current social fetishisation of girl power. Moreover, this representation of girlhood highlights the irrelevance of older generations, in a way that speaks to the post-feminist—and third wave—repudiation of second wave feminism. Specifically, I analyse the TLC reality television show Toddlers and Tiaras as a text that represents the mother–daughter dyad so as to make mothers obsolete and a hindrance to the potential of their dynamic and empowered daughters. This allows post-feminist girlhood to triumph as the most relevant and desirable model for young women, while scapegoating monstrous moms for the problematic, exploitative aspects of the show. When such mother–daughter relations are highlighted, diametrically opposed and negatively portrayed, they recall the symbolic logic of contemporary feminist movements and their rejection of the experiences and knowledge of older generations of feminists. I argue that destroying the rich historical legacy of feminism further distances post-feminist subjects from the potential of future political coalitions.
In this paper I use an ecofeminist and a postfeminist framework to assess two images from the lon... more In this paper I use an ecofeminist and a postfeminist framework to assess two images from the long-running ‘I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur’ campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). I find that, while sexism persists in these ads, the postfeminist context illuminates a specific problem in the way that hypersexualised models are not only objectified for men, but are positioned as celebrated exemplaries, whom other women should aspire to be. This exploits not just the naked models, but all women, as it falsely links sexualisation as imperative to animal protection and perpetuates female responsibility for the burden of care. Ultimately, I seek to show how a greater consideration and awareness of the overlapping struggles fought by social movements might strengthen their affinity coalitions.
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