Reading Women's Autobiographical Blogs

The Agency of Anonymity: Reading Women’s Autobiographical Blogs Emma Deeks Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Edge Hill University July 2016 Abstract This thesis uses previously unstudied female authored blog narratives to explore the role the author’s anonymity plays in the way they textually construct themselves and their offline experiences. It thereby reconceptualises not only what it means to be anonymous online, but also how anonymity is utilised by users regardless of their perceived level of hiddenness. Unlike previous research into the genre, it considers blogs as part of the trajectory of life- writing, which includes autobiography and diaries, and therefore examines the narratives using close textual literary analysis. The thesis also acknowledges the fact that the content of blogs is inherently influenced by the form itself, and therefore looks at the texts in the context of their online platform and its technological features. It subsequently shows blogs to be a constantly updated example of contemporary culture, which represent not just an individual voice, but new ways of examining broader social realities. The analysis examines how the blogosphere could specifically offer a platform for women, who are often discouraged from speaking up in the offline public sphere, to share their stories and have a ‘public’ voice online. It therefore provides a detailed insight into a selection of female authors who have chosen this medium, interrogates the ways in which they utilise the potential anonymity that the online world offers them, and demonstrates to what extent the blogosphere could therefore be regarded as a space where women can represent alternative, and potentially transgressive, performances of self. Its methodology and theoretical framework mean that the analysis provides a more detailed insight into how and why women are seen to dominate this platform than existing research has thus far been able to. The findings therefore go beyond previous conceptualisations of female blog users, and of the blogosphere more broadly; highlighting the extent to which the medium of blogging represents a powerful place for women to write themselves. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I am grateful to my Director of Studies Mari Hughes-Edwards, without whom I would never have imagined undertaking a PhD, much less completing one. Her support, both enthusiastic and challenging, has been invaluable in developing me as an academic. In the course of my research I have also been lucky enough to receive the wisdom of several other academics, namely Rachel Hann, Lynnette Turner and Elke Weissmann, who have all provided valuable guidance and support. Many thanks also go to my fellow steering group members of the Postgraduate Contemporary Women’s Writing Network, who have shared in the ups and downs of PhD study, and provided some of the most enjoyable moments of my academic career so far. I am also grateful to my brilliant friends and family, who have been enthusiastic and understanding throughout. A special mention goes to my brother Steven, who is the font of all computer knowledge - thank you for answering my endless questions and fixing things when they broke. Last but not least, my biggest thank you goes to my wonderful and encouraging parents; without them none of this would have been possible. Table of Contents Introduction p. 1 Critical Context p. 4 Breakdown of Thesis Structure p. 25 Methodology Research Scope and Methodology p. 27 Ethical Considerations p. 32 List of Primary Source Blogs p. 35 Theoretical Framework for Analysis p. 38 Section One: The Users of the Blogosphere Chapter One: The Bloggers Anonymous: To Be, Or Not to Be p. 49 Why Blog? p. 57 First Impressions p. 60 The ‘About Me’ p. 65 The Body in the Text p. 72 Disembodiment p. 79 Beyond the Body p. 81 Textually Constructing a Female Self p. 85 Chapter Two: The Readers Interactivity, Participation and Engagement p. 90 Connectedness and Community p. 97 Comments and Communication p. 105 The Agency of Readers p. 109 Re-Blogging and the Communal Blogosphere p. 118 Section Two: Blogging Life Chapter Three: Emotional Experiences The Emotional Blogger p. 123 Sharing and Self-Disclosure p. 127 Happiness and Despair p. 131 The Performance of Emotion p. 134 Transgressive Emotions p. 138 Chapter Four: Past, Present and Future Blogs as Archives p. 144 Recording and Remembering in the Blogosphere p. 150 Living in the Past p. 153 Leaving the Past Behind p. 159 The Future Self p. 161 Conclusion p. 166 Bibliography p. 177 Appendix p. 192 Introduction As part of a 2006 reference text on New Media, journalist Ed Power states that ‘99% of blogs tend towards indulgent dross, churned out by writers who remain amateur for the straightforward reason that they aren’t very good’.1 Although his text acknowledges that there are amazing things being written within the blogosphere, he suggests that the bloggers who ‘matter’, comprise only a ‘tiny percentile’ of the online world.2 The condescension in his attitude towards blog narratives epitomises the widespread perception of blogs as unworthy of academic exploration or analysis. He also argues that the success of blogs should be measured by the author’s ability to become a professional blogger; ignoring the possibility that those writing within the blogosphere may be motivated by other factors, such as community, creativity, or confession. Ten years have passed since Power’s text was published, but the mainstream cultural-characterisation of blogs and bloggers has not significantly changed, although picture-blogging sites like Instagram and micro-blogging site Twitter now over-shadow the text based blog in media representations. Despite this, personal journal style blogs are still attracting huge numbers of authors and readers, and their popularity shows no sign of diminishing.3 This thesis argues against reductive views of the blogosphere such as that of Power, and explores in detail the blog narratives that are being produced. It specifically examines seventeen female authored primary source blogs, captured between 13th June 2013 and 13th June 2014, and what this sample represents about women’s use of the platform, and the blogosphere more broadly. The personal journal style blogs are considered as part of a trajectory of life writing, which includes autobiography and diaries, both on and offline. By framing them as individual literary texts, and examining them using close textual analysis, the research offers new insights into the online platform, and its implications for women’s writing and female self-representation. Although often cited as criticisms of blogging, the immediacy and accessibility of the platform demonstrate how blogs have developed beyond any previous autobiographical forms. This is also emphasised by the possibilities of audience within the blogosphere, which are seen to challenge and disrupt traditional conceptualisations of the author/reader relationship. The content of blogs is inherently influenced by their online platform, and therefore the narratives are also examined in the context of their online setting and the technological features offered to users. The focus of the analysis is specifically on the role of 1 Ed Power, ‘The Blog Revolution and How It Changed the World’ in The Reference Shelf: New Media ed. by Albert Rolls (New York: H. W. Wilson, 2006), pp. 9-15 (p. 9). 2 Power, p. 12. 3 The statistics of Wordpress state that over 409 million people view more than 22.3 billion pages each month. Wordpress ‘Activity’ Tracker, <https://wordpress.com/activity/> [Accessed 8th June 2016] 1 anonymity in the construction of blog narrative self-representations. Anonymity is often represented in the media as a dangerous feature of the online world, and many prominent people in the computer industry have spoken out against it.4 However, rather than demonising those who choose to conceal their identity, this thesis explores the way that anonymity influences the primary source bloggers’ textually constructed self; specifically, the persona that they perform through the narrative, and the level of self-disclosure evident in this performance of self. The analysis is focused on the extent to which anonymity can offer users the ability to disassociate their narrative from their offline lived reality, and therefore potentially allow them to write with a greater perceived level of freedom. The exploration of the narratives looks at whether the decision to write anonymously is explicitly addressed by the primary source blogs, which allows for a comparison between the individual approaches of each author, regardless of their perceived anonymity. This exploration therefore goes beyond traditional conceptualisations of anonymity as something that is either present or absent, and offers a new way of understanding it as a spectrum of ‘hiddenness’. Although the blogosphere currently holds the potential for average users, such as the primary source bloggers of this thesis, to achieve anonymity simply through the use of a pseudonym, the increase in cyber-bullying and trolling has caused a growing number of online platforms to call for an increased level of accountability for users. Given the current climate of online security breaches and the growing calls for transparency, the current availability of anonymity could soon diminish, and become impossible for the average user. This thesis contributes to the understanding of the ways in which anonymity is utilised online, and why it may or may not be important to maintain. Given the patriarchal nature of contemporary society, this anonymity has particular significance for women, who may use it to write outside the limitations and expectations of their gender.5 By focusing on women’s experience of the blogosphere, the analysis also explores the gendered nature of the online world. Although Internet technology is not exclusively accessible to male users, and therefore not inherently patriarchally serving, the social context in which it exists means that many features still reflect unequal opportunities for women to gain access.

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