This study seeks to examine how a cohort of 30 teenage schoolgirls in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, navigate femininity using social media platforms. Drawing inspiration from new feminist materialism and utilising semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation and vignettes, we conceptualise femininity through a material analysis of both human and more-than-human entities that allows us to understand what girls are able to be, feel and do. The findings show how various intra-active forces contribute to the production of femininity that both enhances claims to heterosexual status while reproducing oppressive gendered norms. Material entities such as branded clothing, iPhones, dress, celebrity and media cultures play a significant role in the claim to heterosexual femininity, although these claims are modulated by race-class inequalities where not all girls are able to meet these ideals of femininity. The sharing of nudes and selfies enhances girls’ status—a pattern of conduct that is not expected from their male counterparts. Girls’ experiences on social media platforms also illustrate the ways in which these sites are male-dominated with older men soliciting sexually explicit content from girls in exchange for gifts or money. The implications for addressing the problematic dynamics surrounding the portrayal of femininity on social media conclude the chapter.

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Social Media, Sexuality and Young Femininity: Insights from Teenage Girls in South Africa

  • Raksha Janak,
  • Talia Govender

摘要

This study seeks to examine how a cohort of 30 teenage schoolgirls in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, navigate femininity using social media platforms. Drawing inspiration from new feminist materialism and utilising semi-structured interviews, photo-elicitation and vignettes, we conceptualise femininity through a material analysis of both human and more-than-human entities that allows us to understand what girls are able to be, feel and do. The findings show how various intra-active forces contribute to the production of femininity that both enhances claims to heterosexual status while reproducing oppressive gendered norms. Material entities such as branded clothing, iPhones, dress, celebrity and media cultures play a significant role in the claim to heterosexual femininity, although these claims are modulated by race-class inequalities where not all girls are able to meet these ideals of femininity. The sharing of nudes and selfies enhances girls’ status—a pattern of conduct that is not expected from their male counterparts. Girls’ experiences on social media platforms also illustrate the ways in which these sites are male-dominated with older men soliciting sexually explicit content from girls in exchange for gifts or money. The implications for addressing the problematic dynamics surrounding the portrayal of femininity on social media conclude the chapter.