Under the Influence: Gendered Subjectivity and the Politics of Instagram Influence in South Africa

Abstract

The social media influencer, who continues to function as a cultural, political and economic tastemaker, glamourises and normalises particular ideas of gendered subjectivity. Given the transnational circulation of neoliberal and postfeminist ideals of gendered subjectivity, it is vital to understand the impact influencers have on their followers, particularly the ways in which followers interpret, replicate, repurpose, contest and also reject influencer performances of neoliberal and postfeminist subjectivities, particularly in the South African context, where issues of gender, economic and social inequality remain deeply entrenched.

This project, by conducting a feminist qualitative study, will investigate the manner in which a select group of female South African Instagram followers engage with the content of two historically marginalised female South African Instagram influencers. Premised on the understanding that influencer-follower performances and relationships are shaped by contemporary neoliberal and postfeminist ideologies, this project will employ a thematic and critical discourse analysis to investigate expressions of subjectivity, gender norms and gender performances and the larger ideological implications these ideas of gendered subjectivity carry in the South African context.

This project also draws on the work of Stuart Hall and Henry Jenkins to frame insights into how South African followers engage with issues of authenticity, (digital) surveillance and discipline on Instagram.