University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 1-1-2014 Sell (It) Yourself: Marketing Pleasure in Digital DIY Tara Janine Liss-Marino University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Communication Commons Recommended Citation Liss-Marino, Tara Janine, "Sell (It) Yourself: Marketing Pleasure in Digital DIY" (2014). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 1347. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1347 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1347 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Sell (It) Yourself: Marketing Pleasure in Digital DIY Abstract DIY (do-it-yourself) craft is in the midst of a North American renaissance, and the reasons attributed to the phenomenon's meteoric rise are manifold. Thrift, conspicuous consumption, politics, environmental activism, nostalgia, individuality, community: each in turn has been cited as the driving force behind handicraft's recent blossoming. In this dissertation I examine the work of professional and semi-professional crafters through an alternative explanatory lens, one that is noticeably absent from academic investigations of DIY and underutilized in the scholarship on creative work at large: the rhetoric of pleasure. Through an examination of in-depth interviews with Etsy sellers and DIY bloggers, textual analysis of promotional materials from individual crafters and from Etsy.com, and participant observation at indie craft fairs and local knitting groups, I trace pleasure's effect on the chronology of commercial handicraft. irF st, drawing on Roland Barthes's distinction between jouissance and plaisir, as well as Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's concept of "flow," I argue that the pleasure crafters derive from the act of making DIY is itself bifurcated, at once concretizing and destabilizing their sense of self. I then direct my attention to the handcrafted object's sale, maintaining that both jouissance and plaisir are folded into the professional crafters' marketing narratives to build their personal brands and signal their creative authenticity. Finally I consider interactions between individuals in the craft community and the nature of the Etsy exchange, suggesting that commercial handicraft functions simultaneously as gift nda commodity. However the primacy of pleasure throughout the sale of DIY obscures the challenges that creative entrepreneurship engenders. But in considering these oft unrecognized hardships- -the loneliness and isolation; the endless administrative burdens; the pressures of a saturated marketplace--it becomes clear that there is a deep-seated irony at work: the more successful a maker becomes and the bigger her business grows, the farther away she moves from personally experiencing jouissance. I conclude by arguing that this paradox is emblematic of neoliberal creative work at large and points to the limits of the creative class thesis. I suggest that the surest path to the pleasures of creative production might in fact lie outside its professionalization. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Communication First Advisor Sharona Pearl Keywords craft, DIY, do-it-yourself, Etsy, neoliberal creative work, pleasure This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1347 Subject Categories Communication This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/1347 SELL (IT) YOURSELF: MARKETING PLEASURE IN DIGITAL DIY Tara Liss-Mariño A DISSERTATION in Communication Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2014 Supervisor of Dissertation ______________________________ Sharrona Pearl, Assistant Professor of Communication Graduate Group Chairperson ______________________________ Joseph Turow, Robert Lewis Shayon Professor of Communication Dissertation Committee: Sharrona Pearl, Assistant Professor of Communication Katherine Sender, Professor of Media, Film, and Television Joseph Turow, Robert Lewis Shayon Professor of Communication SELL (IT) YOURSELF: MARKETING PLEASURE IN DIGITAL DIY COPYRIGHT 2014 Tara Liss-Mariño iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to my advisor, Sharrona Pearl, whose prodigious intellect is matched only by her unending kindness. Her keenly insightful (and, at times, dauntingly quick!) feedback constantly pushed me to think about my work in new ways, helping me to write a dissertation I would have not been able to write otherwise. She has been a challenging critic, a generous teacher, a supportive mentor, and a wonderful friend. It has been a tremendous honor to call myself her first Annenberg graduate, and I am profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to work with her. I am also indebted to the other members of my dissertation committee. Katherine Sender was my advisor for the first half of my graduate career, and it is thanks to her steadfast support that I dared venture into research topics outside the traditional bounds of communication studies. She advocated tirelessly on my behalf and introduced me to the joys of academic collaboration. Joseph Turow’s passion for his research has been an inspiration. He always asked the hard questions and encouraged me to draw connections between my work and the discipline of communication at large. This dissertation is all the better for both of their contributions. Although at times my project takes a critical view of professional DIY, I have a deep respect for the crafters who have boldly pursued their creative dreams and a great appreciation for those who took time out of their (all too) busy lives to tell me their stories. I am especially thankful to the women of Penn Knitters and Stitch ‘n Sip-NoLibs for warmly welcoming such an abysmal knitter into their communities. I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to develop as a scholar at the Annenberg School for Communication, an exceptional institution that is made so in large part by its committed faculty and staff. Amy Jordan, David Eisenhower, Litty Paxton, and Peter Decherney are some of the most compassionate teachers with whom I have had the privilege of working and models of the kind of mentor to which I aspire. Joanne Murray, Bev Henry, Rose Halligan, Deb Porter, Donna Edwards, Sharon Black, Min Zhong, Lizz Cooper, and Cory Falk have all been enormously helpful as I have navigated the logistical and technical challenges of researching and writing this project. My mentors outside the program have been equally instrumental in helping me see this dissertation to completion. Emma Kafalenos, my undergraduate thesis advisor, first introduced me to Barthes and what it means to be a scholar. It is thanks to her encouragement that I embarked on my doctoral adventure, and many years later, I still find myself returning to what I learned from her. I also grateful for the support and friendship of other Washington University in St. Louis faculty, including Sharon Stahl, Mary Laurita, Angela Miller, Elizabeth Childs, and Georgia Binnington. Nights hanging iv out with Ryan Keytack and Tonya Jung were a life saver during some of my dissertation’s roughest patches and their professional support helped me imagine a life beyond it. Bob Griffin’s wisdom was invaluable; his sound judgment and continual reassurance helped me stay a (sometimes very rocky) course. I was also incredibly fortunate to have experienced graduate school in the company of friends both brilliant and kind. Thanks especially to Laura Gibson, Ali Perelman, Lauren Kogen, Chloe Lee, Susanna Dilliplane, Andrew Crocco, Pitor Szpunar, Jeff Gottfried, Aymar Jean Christian, Heidi Khaled, Brooke Duffy, Matt Lapierre, Nora Draper, Lyndsey Beutin, Chelsea Schafer, and Kevin Gotkin for all of the support and laughs. Emily Thorson and Sarah Vaala were my officemates throughout most of my time at Annenberg and have become lifelong friends. They have inspired me in ways large and small and made my time in Philadelphia a joy. I am forever grateful to have had a seat in Office 141. Of course I owe my deepest gratitude to my family: to my oldest and closet friend, Kimberly Linton, for the innumerable cards, care packages, cross-country visits and phone calls when they were most needed—and for reminding me that if graduate school didn’t work out, I could always try business school. Maureen and Carlos Mariño provided support both emotional and comestible, keeping my kitchen regularly stocked with wine and empanadas. My sister Jennifer Launchi and my brother-in-law John are the best siblings I could ever hope for. I owe an extra thank you to my sister for coming to every single one of my (many) graduations and for cheerfully keeping me company at some very humid craft fairs. My parents, Abby and Steven Liss, have always been my biggest fans and sacrificed so much to make sure that I had every educational opportunity possible. My love of learning is entirely thanks to them; words cannot express my boundless appreciation and love. Finally, this dissertation would not have been possible without the endless love, support, motivation, and daily sacrifices of John-Carlos, my husband and partner in all things silly and serious. He is my rock and my home, and it is to him that this dissertation is dedicated. v ABSTRACT SELL