Explores the perils and
promise of feminist social media activism
Social
media has become the front-and-center arena for feminist activism.
Responding to and enacting the political potential of pain inflicted
in acts of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse, Asian American and
Asian Canadian feminist icons such as rupi kaur, Margaret Cho, and
Mia Matsumiya have turned to social media to share their stories with
the world. But how does such activism reconcile with the platforms on
which it is being cultivated, when its radical messaging is at total
odds with the neoliberal logic governing social media?
Pain
Generation troubles this phenomenon by articulating a “neoliberal
self(ie) gaze” through which these feminist activists see and
storify the self on social media as “good” neoliberal subjects
who are appealing, inspiring, and entertaining. This book offers a
fresh perspective on feminist activism by demonstrating how the
problematic neoliberal logic governing digital spaces like Instagram
and Twitter limits the possibilities of how one might use social
media for feminist activism.