Thoughts on the ending

Sklar, Jonathan

doi:10.4324/9780429472190-11

Cited by 1 publication

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“…Introducing a bit more distance between me and my ability to earn a living is definitely going to be beneficial for my mental health. (Clark, 2018) In a video released the following year titled A letter to myself ten years ago, Simon describes how as a vlogger his 'lived existence on Earth was a commodity. Something to be bottled, refined, and sold' (Clark, 2019).…”

Section: 'I Have Long Resented Being the Product': Making Content Ver...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The intimacy triple bind: Structural inequalities and relational labour in the influencer industry

Glatt

2023

European Journal of Cultural Studies

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The careers of social media content creators, or influencers, live or die by their ability to cultivate and maintain an invested audience-community. To this end, they are encouraged to practise what has been framed as ‘emotional labour’ (Hochschild, 2002 [1983]) and ‘relational labour’ (Baym, 2018), commodifying their personalities, lives and tastes in order to build ‘authentic’ self-brands and intimacy with audiences. Drawing on an ethnographic study of the London influencer industry (2017–2023), this article examines emotional/relational labour through an intersectional feminist lens, foregrounding the ways in which structural inequalities shape relationships between creators and their audiences. The tolls of managing audience relationships are higher for marginalised creators – especially those making stigmatised and less brandable content genres – who find themselves on an uneven playing field in the challenges they face as well as the coping strategies at their disposal. These creators are in an intimacy triple bind, already at higher risk of trolling and harassment, yet under increased pressure to perform relational labour, adversely opening them up to further harms in the form of weaponised intimacy. This article explores four key tactics that creators employ in response to such conditions, as they navigate relational labour and boundaries with audiences: (1) leaning into making rather than being content; (2) (dis)engaging with anti-fans through silence; (3) retreating into private community spaces, away from the exposure of public platforms; and, in parallel, (4) turning off public comments. The adverse experiences of marginalised creators who speak about their identities and experiences online raise serious concerns about the viability of content creation as a career for these groups, as well as the lack of accountability and responsibility that platforms show towards the creators who generate profit for them.

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Section: 'I Have Long Resented Being the Product': Making Content Ver...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Introducing a bit more distance between me and my ability to earn a living is definitely going to be beneficial for my mental health. (Clark, 2018)…”

Section: Relational Labour and Boundaries: An Intersectional Analysis...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The intimacy triple bind: Structural inequalities and relational labour in the influencer industry

Glatt

2023

European Journal of Cultural Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Thoughts on the ending

Cited by 1 publication

References 0 publications

The intimacy triple bind: Structural inequalities and relational labour in the influencer industry

The intimacy triple bind: Structural inequalities and relational labour in the influencer industry

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