Branding the self as an “authentic feminist”: negotiating feminist values in post-feminist digital cultural production

Abstract

Freelancers who produce creative content online work in an increasingly precarious neoliberal economy, which requires self-branding, self-promotion, and constant audience engagement to succeed. Creating feminist content in a digital environment thus requires the negotiation of individual self-branding and promotional activities alongside the advancement of collective feminist politics. In this study, interviews with 11 feminist online writers reveal that they reconcile the individualistic undertakings required to succeed in the digital economy and their collective feminist values in three ways. Firstly, they incorporate “authentic feminism” into their personal branding endeavors; secondly, they redefine feminism to more closely match the values of post-feminism; and, thirdly, they advance peripheral collective goals in their creative communities. It is through these strategies that feminist values are negotiated and reworked, enabling producers to succeed as feminists in a digital economy that is more closely aligned with post-feminism.