Description
Book SynopsisMinh-ha T. Pham examines the phenomenal rise and influence of elite Asian personal style superbloggers such as Susie Bubble and Bryanboy. Situating blogging within the historical context of gendered racial fashion work and global consumer capitalism, Pham analyzes how race, class, gender, and sexuality affect bloggers' work, opportunities, and rewards.
Trade Review"[A] deeply engaging and sophisticated discussion of the race and gender dynamics that affect Asian fashion labor." -- Christine Wu * Japan Times *
"Pham’s book is sharp, punchy and eminently readable. It is full of shrewd visual and textual analysis of the content of blogs and puts forward a muchneeded critique of the kinds of critiques that bloggers themselves tend to have launched at them. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed reading
Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet, and I would recommend it to any scholar interested in blogging, social media, personal style, creative labour or race and gender politics in fashion today."
-- Brent Luvaas * International Journal of Fashion Studies *
"With
Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet, Pham makes a significant contribution to scholarship on fashion, race, gender, and online media by eloquently demonstrating the ambivalent outcomes when Asianness becomes productive of economic and cultural value. While Asian superbloggers serve as evidence that the previously marginalized can gain entry into fashion’s highest status venues, Pham deftly shows that behind the veneer of this apparent democratization lies an unpaid or underpaid, racialized labor force." -- Ann Marie Leshkowich * Media Industries *
"
Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet makes an important scholarly contribution not only to the field of media and cultural studies but to ethnic, gender, and queer studies as well. In this sense, it is an excellent example of intersectional, feminist digital culture research that continues to be needed in order to better understand how the visibilities and movement of embodied identities work across digital culture." -- Jessalynn Keller * Cinema Journal *
"Pham’s is one of the first of its kind in offering a critical investigation of the personal-style blogosphere.... Though the work of creating selfies and writing blog entries about clothing is often considered more within the realm of leisure than labor, Pham convincingly argues that the work of being a superblogger is highly labor intensive." -- Anita Mannur * American Quarterly *
"
Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet is a compelling book to read, deserving critical acclaim for its originality and insightful contribution to digital fashion media studies concerning the dynamic relations of race, gender, class, and labor. It is good for researchers who are interested in, and classes where the focus is on, fashion studies; digital media; and critical cultural analysis of race, gender, and class." -- Sara Liao * Journal of Asian Studies *
"This is an ambitious project, but Pham is up to the task. Pham’s attention to the blog as both a cultural form and a commercial project is supported with textual and visual evidence garnered from blogs themselves. In doing so, she not only makes her argument, she demonstrates a model of digital analysis that is both traditional and novel at the same time. After reading this book, it will be hard to argue against the merits of 'blog studies.'” -- Erin M. Arizzi * Feminist Media Studies *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Introduction. Asian Personal Style Superbloggers and the Material Conditions and Contexts of Asian Fashion Work 1
1. The Taste and Aftertaste for Asian Superbloggers 41
2. Style Stories, Written Tastes, and the Work of Self-Composure 81
3. "So Many and All the Same" (but Not Quite): Outfit Photos and the Codes of Asian Eliteness 105
4. The Racial and Gendered Job Performances of Fashion Blogger Poses 129
5. Invisible Labor and Racial Visibilities in Outfit Posts 167
Coda. All in the Eyes 193
Notes 201
Bibliography 219
Index 247
