Description
Book SynopsisIn
Just Like Us: Digital Debates on Feminism and Fame, Caitlin E. Lawson examines the rise of celebrity feminism, its intersections with digital culture, and its complicated relationships with race, sexuality, capitalism, and misogyny. Through in-depth analyses of debates across social media and news platforms, Lawson maps the processes by which celebrity culture, digital platforms, and feminism transform one another. As she analyzes celebrity-centered stories ranging from “The Fappening” and the digital attack on actress Leslie Jones to stars’ activism in response to #MeToo, Lawson demonstrates how celebrity culture functions as a hypervisible space in which networked publics confront white feminism, assert the value of productive anger in feminist politics, and seek remedies for women’s vulnerabilities in digital spaces and beyond.
Just Like Us asserts that, together, celebrity culture and digital platforms form a crucial discursive arena where postfeminist logics are unsettled, opening up more public, collective modes of holding individuals and groups accountable for their actions.
Trade Review"An incisive look at the role of technology and celebrity culture during the #MeToo moment and beyond. In key case studies, Lawson shows how 21st-century strides for women have been confronted by misogynistic backlash, enabled by digital platforms. A critical read at this pivotal moment for women’s rights."
-- Andrea McDonnell * co-author of Celebrity: A History of Fame *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Rise of Celebrity Feminism
1 Hacking Celebrity: Sexuality, Privacy, and Networked Misogyny in the Celebrity Nude Photo Hack
2 Staging Feminism: Negotiating Labor and Calling Out Racism at the 2015 Academy Awards
3 Nasty Women, Silly Girls: Feminist Generation Gaps and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Presidential Campaign
4 Platform Vulnerabilities: Fighting Harassment and Misogynoir in the Digital Attack on Leslie Jones
5 TIME’S UP: Celebrity Feminism after #MeToo
Conclusion: Celebrity Feminist Futures
Acknowledgments
Notes
References
Index
