Displaying and negotiating identity through the hair bow: A case study of child celebrity JoJo Siwa and her social media fans

Abstract

Abstract This cultural case study examines the hair bow as a key element of identification and gender performance for child celebrity JoJo Siwa and her fans. Siwa fans are represented as exclusively female and include girls (newborn–12 years old) and their mothers identifying from the geographical locations of United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. The methods of this research include social semiotic discourse analysis complemented by archival research. Between 8 July and 11 October 2017 fan and celebrity interactions were observed on the Siwa official Facebook page and collected. To complement and contextualize these observations, news media reports, and observations of Siwas official YouTube channel and Instagram accounts were collected from 2 January to 13 November 2017. The data were examined with two key sets of interdependent questions in mind: How is the hair bow depicted by Siwa and how do the fans depict the bow? How is the relationship between Siwa and her fans depicted on social media through the bow? The findings suggested three key themes of meaning attached to the hair bow: gender, innocence and empowerment. The findings suggest that the hair bow signals femininity, but that this historically is not limited to a female body. The JoJo Bow Facebook fan community limits femininity as exclusively female. For these fans the JoJo Bow signifies an exclusive mother–daughter bond. Social meanings attached to the hair bow (including the JoJo Bow) both enable and constrain ways of being for the wearer.