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ABSTRACT Title of Document: DIGITAL ROOMS OF THEIR OWN: WOMEN’S VOICES ONLINE ABOUT THE POLITICS OF WOMEN, FAMILY AND MATERNITY IN FOUR WESTERN DEMOCRACIES Kristin (Stine) Dagmar Eckert, Doctor of Philosophy, 2014 Directed By: Professor Linda Steiner Philip Merrill College of Journalism Assistant Professor Kalyani Chadha Philip Merrill College of Journalism This dissertation examined the experiences of 109 women with varying backgrounds who blog or write online about the politics of women, family and maternity in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. This dissertation argues that a broader definition of what counts as political needs to be applied to the voices of women online to capture their political expressions in Western democracies. An analysis of in-depth interviews found that 84 percent of interviewees considered their blogging to be political. A statistically significant relationship was found to exist between women bloggers/writers online who identified as feminist and who considered their blogging to be political. Rather than categorizing the personal styles of women who blog/write online (in and outside my sample) as “just” “personal journaling,” the fluidity of topics they address needs to be recognized as a feature of fluid public clusters online, which are tied to their lives offline. This dissertation argues that it is necessary to amend the theories of public spheres to capture the political expressions and experiences of women who use social media to write about their concerns publicly. This dissertation suggests a new theory of fluid public clusters. This new theory expands on the idea of a multitude of publics rather than the often-criticized singularity of the original Habermasian public sphere. It emphasizes that publics are messy, overlapping and changing over time. It also highlights that offline social hierarchies of power and identities migrate online. This dissertation concludes that national contexts shape the expressions of women bloggers/writers online and that these were particularly apparent in the fluid public clusters that were salient in each country. One key finding was that Switzerland differed significantly from the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany. In the latter three countries women – across a wide variety of backgrounds – have (or at least are not denied) ample opportunities to make their voices heard. In Switzerland, women’s voices online have been constrained in number and range of perspectives to center around traditional understandings of motherhood while feminist/progressive views remain rare. While 73 percent of interviewees said they had negative experiences due to blogging/writing online, all 109 interviewees said they had at least one positive experience due to blogging/writing online. These included personal, professional and, in some cases, also commercial benefits. Interviewees cherished having a digital room of their own to write what they want in a space for which they set the rules. Interviewees dealt with negative experiences mostly on a personal level, as police, state and lawmakers have been slow in recognizing and prosecuting online discrimination and abuse leveled against women. Positive experiences are nearly guaranteed but negative interactions remain and are more likely to happen to women who identify as feminists and/or say that their writing is political. This dissertation offers insights into the discourse among women about the democratization of democracies via social media. Seventy-two percent of interviewees remained skeptical about the democratic potential of social media. Most interviewees had concerns about internet access, internet literacy, online harassment and which voices get heard or amplified. Yet, interviewees also shared examples of starting or contributing to (national) public debates over issues of their concern. The democratic potential of social remains haphazard. Finally, this dissertation argues that women, who have been under-represented and misrepresented in (news) media content and production, need to keep blogging, tweeting and writing online. By doing so, women will tap into the haphazard democratic potential of social media. This will make Western democracies more democratic. To encourage women to blog, this dissertation offers recommendations to women on managing blogs/sites (safely). DIGITAL ROOMS OF THEIR OWN: WOMEN’S VOICES ONLINE ABOUT THE POLITICS OF WOMEN, FAMILY AND MATERNITY IN FOUR WESTERN DEMOCRACIES By Kristin (Stine) Dagmar Eckert Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Advisory Committee: Professor Linda Steiner, Co-Chair Assistant Professor Kalyani Chadha, Co-Chair Associate Professor Ira Chinoy Professor Sarah Oates Assistant Professor Sahar Khamis Associate Professor Ashwini Tambe (non-voting member) © Copyright by Kristin (Stine) Dagmar Eckert 2014 Dedication For all people who identify as women and who blog or write online ii Acknowledgements Many people helped and supported me in completing this dissertation. It is difficult to know where to start. It would have been impossible without the help of 109 women bloggers and online writers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. They generously gave their time and thoughts in long interviews, recommended other bloggers and encouraged my project. Many felt that this research project is important in getting the voices of women recognized in society. This dissertation was also only possible with the help of my “doctor mothers,” as women dissertation chairs are called in German: Linda Steiner and Kalyani Chadha. I call them my “doctor mothers” not only because I am German but also because it better reflects the tremendously nurturing role they have played in my development as a scholar. They shaped and encouraged my dissertation from the start. Both have been wonderfully supportive in all the research I have conducted in collaboration with them and which eventually led me to this dissertation research project. It is difficult to put in words how profoundly thankful I am to both for their kindness, wisdom, patience and the fun I have had working with them. I am also very grateful for the valuable input from my other committee members: Ira Chinoy inspired me to start the conclusion of my dissertation with the “So what?”-question to make sure I really translate the results of my research into larger meanings. Sarah Oates took the time to pre-read chapters of this dissertation during the writing process. She gave me very useful pointers as to where the “gems” lay and to not forget to see the forest for the trees. I also had the pleasure to discuss iii my dissertation idea in a class on gender, media and culture in the Communication Department with Sahar Khamis. Afterwards she graciously agreed to serve on my dissertation committee despite her busy schedule. I also want to thank Ashwini Tambe in the Women’s Studies Department. Not only did readings from her class help me develop questions for my interviews, she also agreed to act as Dean’s Representative. I also want to thank Carol Rogers who repeatedly invited me to her class to give guest lectures on my research. These lectures were great opportunities to practice presenting my results and to see which ones resonate most with students. Sometimes it feels like I have become a “magnet” for texts on anything that touches on women, gender, media and journalism. My fellow students kept tweeting and e-mailing me articles, websites and projects that they thought might be helpful. I want to thank them for their thoughtfulness, especially Micha and Joanna. I also thank Sally Ann and Candi for their mentoring on how to navigate academia. I also thank my friends for encouraging my work with their many kind words and for giving me places to stay and food to eat while on research or conference trips. I especially thank Dunja who never fails to keep me grounded as to what really matters in life. I thank Nina for her relentless support of and advice for my (academic) journey. I thank Julia for reminding me how precious time is and to never forget thinking about how we want to spend it. I thank Dori and Sharon for showing me that with tenacity in goals but flexibility in tactics we can adapt to what life can throw at us. iv I also thank my parents in Germany who always let me know that they are proud of me; their many care packages have provided me with German chocolate, books and magazines. Albeit both, my own grandpa – “mein Opa“ – and my husband’s grandpa Hoyt, have passed before they could witness the completion of my dissertation; they also deserve much thanks. “Mein Opa“ was the first person who encouraged me to pursue a doctoral degree when I was a teenager. He was also the one who put me on track for studying in the United States. Little did he know that eventually I would complete a doctoral degree at a U.S. university. Hoyt was among my first supporters when I applied to doctoral programs. Throughout my studies he encouraged me. He always asked helpful questions, discussed current news media coverage and sent me links, books and magazines on U.S. journalism. They are both dearly missed, especially at this moment. Finally, I thank my husband Jerone from the bottom of my heart for all his love and unwavering support. He had to hear about my research every day and never got tired of enthusiastically discussing with me anything that remotely touched on women and society. He also reminded me that there is life outside my dissertation. My interviewees reminded me how important it is to show solidarity. This dissertation lists one author but indeed it has many collaborators who helped bring it to fruition. v Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................
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