Postfeminist Digital Cultures

"Dobson's remarkable book on girls' and young women's digital culture could not be more relevant for the current moment. Covering a wide range of digital media, from SNS self-representations to YouTube videos to sexting, Dobson offers us an indispensable resource for thinking through how girls and young women navigate the conditions of post- and popular feminism in contemporary culture. Crucially, Dobson refuses to generalize about digital practices and instead reveals the complexities of gendered self-representation in digital culture, calling on us to carefully and constructively analyze dynamics of power rather than make quick moral judgments about girls' and young women's media use. This clear and deeply engaged book is an essential guide for understanding the complex ways in which girls and young women represent themselves in digital culture." - Sarah Banet-Weiser, Professor and Director, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California, Annenberg, USA "This is a beautifully written and cool-headed approach to the social media practices of young women today. Dobson finds the perfect line between respecting girls as cultural producers and asking some hard questions about their digital cultures as ways of 'getting by' in postfeminism. She deftly turns the camera back to feminist cultural studies, offering some welcome reflection about the work of critique in politically complicated times. A rigorous, impressive, and important book that cuts through the debate about what girls are doing online, and what we should be doing about it. Dobson's work is right where we need to be." - Anita Harris, Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Monash University, Australia

This book explores the controversial social media practices engaged in by girls and young women, including sexual self-representations on social network sites, sexting, and self-harm vlogs. Informed by feminist media and cultural studies, Dobson delves beyond alarmist accounts to ask what it is we really fear about these practices.This book explores the controversial social media practices engaged in by girls and young women, including sexual self-representations on social network sites, sexting, and self-harm vlogs. Informed by feminist media and cultural studies, Dobson delves beyond alarmist accounts to ask what it is we really fear about these practices.