Welcome to the Coven: Organising Feminist Activism in the Connective Era
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Welcome to the Coven: Organising Feminist Activism in the Connective Era Verity Anne Trott ORCID 0000-0002-0288-4044 Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) School of Culture and Communication Faculty of Arts University of Melbourne January 2019 1 Abstract The highly publicised protest wave of the early 2010s triggered a reconceptualization of the organisational practices and structures of contemporary activism. Prior research was focused on analysing the new sociality of the internet, primarily organisational websites and forums, and how this was affecting, influencing, and extending collective action (Bimber et al., 2005; Chadwick, 2007; Earl, 2010). The traditional model of collective action was found to no longer account for the full range of actions that were occurring in digitised spaces. In response to this shift, Bennett and Segerberg (2012, 2013) proposed the logic of connective action to account for new models of protest organising with social and digital technologies. However, their large- scale networked analysis, while insightful, fails to capture the finer-grained relationships between activists particularly within less transparent networks. In addition, since the development of their theory, there has been an explosion of feminist protests epitomised by the recent #MeToo movement. The scale, reach, and seeming permanence of these feminist actions demands further examination. Thus, this thesis provides a theoretical account of the organisational structures and practices occurring behind the scenes of contemporary feminist actions. Drawing on a social media ethnographic approach, this thesis documents the post- digital and hybrid feminist social movement repertoire that is resulting in a globalisation of feminist protests. The research is based on in-depth interviews with feminist activists and focuses on three case studies of feminist protests: the original Hollaback! campaign hosted on a photoblog, the series of #TakeDownJulienBlanc post-digital protests, and the solidarity feminist hashtag #EndViolenceAgainstWomen. The thesis also incorporates a discussion of the #MeToo movement due to its significance in the contemporary political climate. Its key contributions are challenging the myth of structurelessness within contemporary protests; reaffirming the hybridity of organisational practices; and conceptualising the franchising of feminist activism. Overall, the thesis identifies the profoundly feminist issues that impact contemporary organisational structures and practices, resulting in an expansion and partial contestation of Bennett and Segerberg’s (2013) connective action typology. 2 Statement of Original Authorship The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made. Signature: Date: 29-01-2019 Sections of this thesis have been published elsewhere. Early theoretical work and findings from the research were published as ‘Connected Feminists: Foregrounding the interpersonal in connective action,’ published by the Australian Journal of Political Science, vol. 53, no. 1. Further, findings from Chapter Six have been used in the book chapter ‘Connective Crowds: The organisational structure of a feminist crowd in the #TakeDownJulienBlanc campaign’ in From sit-ins to #revolutions, edited by Olivia Guntarik and Vicki Grieves, which is currently in print. I would also like to acknowledge the copyediting and proofreading work provided by Capstone Editing, in accordance with the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national ‘Guidelines for Editing Research Thesis’. 3 Acknowledgements First of all, I thank my supervisors for their consistent support throughout the whole PhD journey. I am grateful we all had such easy going supportive relationships. Thank you Scott Wright for introducing me to the world of big data and digital media research. Your passion and enthusiasm for teaching methods is contagious. Beth Driscoll, thank you for always having a calming presence and for helping me develop a narrative for my research and career. To each of the people I interviewed for this research: thank you. Thank you for your time, knowledge, insights and encouragement. There would be no thesis without you and I appreciate all of the unpaid labour you do. I would also like to acknowledge the inspiration I gathered from my colleagues and now friends at all of the conferences and workshops I attended and how their talks provoked moments of clarity in my own work. I appreciate the national and international community of researchers that made me feel welcome. A simple acknowledgement isn’t enough to recognise the time and support my mum and partner have provided me over the past few years. From being diagnosed with “bad luck” to breaking several bones; you both provided endless support when my body was failing me. Your care allowed me to focus on my work and it is a credit to you that I have finished. 4 Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... 2 Statement of Original Authorship ........................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................... 4 Contents ..................................................................................................................... 5 List of Figures ............................................................................................................ 8 List of Tables ............................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................... 10 1.1 Contextualising Contemporary Feminist Protests ........................................... 11 1.2 Research Questions and Research Design ...................................................... 15 1.3 Thesis Argument and Original Contributions ................................................. 18 1.4 Chapter Overview ........................................................................................... 22 Chapter 2: Reconceptualising Collective Action in the Digital Age .................. 27 2.1 Revisiting Collective Action ........................................................................... 28 2.1.1 Reconceptualising Collective Action Theory .......................................... 30 2.2 Understanding Connective Action Theory ...................................................... 32 2.2.1 Critiquing Connective Action .................................................................. 34 2.2.2 The Role of Individual Activists ............................................................. 36 2.2.3 A Categorical Approach to Internet Activism ......................................... 41 2.3 Hybridity ......................................................................................................... 42 2.4 Franchising Activism ...................................................................................... 45 2.5 Post-digital and the Legitimisation of Clicktivism ......................................... 47 2.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 3: Understanding the Structure of Feminist Activism ........................ 54 3.1 Structurelessness ............................................................................................. 55 3.2 Technofeminism .............................................................................................. 61 3.3 Digital Feminist Activism ............................................................................... 63 3.3.1 Online Actions and Physical Mobilisations ............................................ 63 3.3.2 Blogging, Online Spaces and Feminist DIY Culture .............................. 68 3.3.3 Large-Scale Feminist Actions and Affective Labour .............................. 75 3.4 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 78 Chapter 4: Methodology ......................................................................................... 81 4.1 Method and Methodology ............................................................................... 81 4.2 The Methodological Approach ....................................................................... 82 4.3 Method ............................................................................................................ 85 4.3.1 Social Media Ethnography ...................................................................... 85 4.3.2 Case Studies ............................................................................................. 88 4.3.3 Semi-Structured Interviews ..................................................................... 92 4.3.4 Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 97 4.4 Limitations ...................................................................................................... 99 5 4.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................