What I Wore Today: Gender, Self, and Brand Culture in the Blogosphere Jennifer Marie Whitmer University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [email protected]
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones August 2015 What I Wore Today: Gender, Self, and Brand Culture in the Blogosphere Jennifer Marie Whitmer University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Sociology Commons Repository Citation Whitmer, Jennifer Marie, "What I Wore Today: Gender, Self, and Brand Culture in the Blogosphere" (2015). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 2504. https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations/2504 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Scholarship@UNLV. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones by an authorized administrator of Digital Scholarship@UNLV. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WHAT I WORE TODAY: GENDER, SELF, AND BRAND CULTURE IN THE BLOGOSPHERE by Jennifer M. Whitmer Bachelor of Arts Cleveland State University 2008 Master of Arts Cleveland State University 2009 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy-Sociology Department of Sociology College of Liberal Arts Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas August 2015 Dissertation Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 15, 2015 This dissertation prepared by Jennifer Whitmer entitled What I Wore Today: Gender, Self and Brand Culture in the Blogosphere is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy - Sociology Department of Sociology Simon Gottschalk, Ph.D. Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D. Examination Committee Chair Graduate College Interim Dean David R. Dickens, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Michael Borer, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Barbara G. Brents, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Lynn Comella, Ph.D. Graduate College Faculty Representative ii ABSTRACT What I Wore Today: Gender, Self, and Branding in the Blogosphere by Jennifer M. Whitmer Dr. Simon Gottschalk, Examination Committee Chair Professor of Sociology University of Nevada, Las Vegas Drawing on qualitative research with personal style bloggers, I examine how contemporary social conditions impact the parameters for the presentation of self in gendered ways. I relate these changes to the struggle for recognition in the face of social anxieties and a lack of stable referents for the self. Bloggers are encouraged to think of themselves as brands. The discourse of self-branding promises greater control over one’s image and life chances, but the practice of presenting a cohesive self-brand to an unseen audience destabilizes the self and increases bloggers’ risk of discreditation and invalidation. Bloggers manage their brands through the performance of microcelebrity, whereby bloggers balance the tension between presenting a self the audience perceives as both authentic and blog-worthy, or worthy of visibility. This reproduces inequalities, as bloggers whose bodies are more intelligible within the field of fashion are more readily perceived as worthy of visibility. The strategies which govern the public presentation of self on digital platforms are emblematic of postfeminist gender politics that frame women as ideal self-regulating, self-governing, entrepreneurial subjects. I examine how male style bloggers perform hybrid masculinities while engaging in feminized self-work. Male style bloggers incorporate elements of femininities and subordinated masculinities in their performance of gender. For straight male bloggers, these hybrid masculinities iii strengthen their claims to masculinity in ways which ultimately reinforce gender and sexual differences. Ultimately, the cultural impetus toward visibility destabilizes the self and reproduces inequalities regarding which selves are seen as worthy of being seen. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ v LIST OF IMAGES ................................................................................................ vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................... 1 Research Questions ................................................................................................. 9 Theoretical Orientation .......................................................................................... 9 Methods ................................................................................................................. 12 Organization ......................................................................................................... 12 Why Personal Style Blogs? Sociological Relevance ............................................. 13 CHAPTER 2: SELF BRANDING AND AUTHENTICITY IN HYPERMODERNITY ......................................................................................... 16 Self and Identity in Contemporary Western Culture ............................................. 18 The Postfeminist Sensibility .................................................................................. 30 Self-Branding and Self-Governance ..................................................................... 37 Authenticity and Self-Branding ............................................................................. 42 Summary ............................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 3: METHODS .................................................................................... 48 Digital Ethnography ............................................................................................. 50 Analysis and Validity ............................................................................................ 53 Interviews .............................................................................................................. 55 Content Analysis ................................................................................................... 61 Participant Observation........................................................................................ 63 CHAPTER 4: BLOGGING THE BRANDED SELF: THE PRESENTATION OF SELF IN HYPERMODERNITY .......................................................................... 68 The Presentation of Self Online ............................................................................ 70 Beholden to the Brand .......................................................................................... 76 Self-Branding and the Production of Symbolic Value .......................................... 86 Context Collision and the Imagined Audience...................................................... 94 Summary ............................................................................................................. 104 v CHAPTER 5: “BETWEEN A REGULAR PERSON AND A CELEBRITY”: MICROCELEBRITY AND THE BALANCE BETWEEN AUTHENTICITY AND BLOG-WORTHINESS ............................................................................. 107 Microcelebrity ..................................................................................................... 109 Between “a Regular Person and a Celebrity” ................................................... 112 Individuality vs. Intelligibility ............................................................................. 118 Relatability vs. Aspiration ................................................................................... 124 Accessibility vs. Consistency ............................................................................... 131 Summary ............................................................................................................. 134 CHAPTER 6: “A PROGRESSION AND A REGRESSION AT THE SAME TIME”: HYBRID MASCULINITIES AND ENTREPRENEURIAL SELFHOOD ............................................................................................................................. 137 Hybrid Masculinities and Sexual Aesthetics ....................................................... 140 Consumption and the Masculine Body ............................................................... 142 Masculinities and Entrepreneurial Selfhood ...................................................... 146 The (Hetero)Masculinization of Consumption and the “Typical” Men’s Blog .. 151 Gay Aesthetics and Consumer Masculinities ...................................................... 156 Summary ............................................................................................................. 163 CHAPTER 7: CONCLUSION ........................................................................... 166 Sociological Relevance ....................................................................................... 168 Blogging the Branded Self .................................................................................. 171 Between “a Regular Person and a Celebrity” ................................................... 176 Hybrid Masculinities and Entrepreneurial Selfhood .......................................... 178 Strengths and Weaknesses .................................................................................. 179 Suggestions for Further Research .....................................................................