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Explores the perils and promise of feminist social media activism
Social media has become the front-and-center arena for feminist activism. Responding to and enacting the political potential of pain inflicted in acts of sexual harassment, violence, and abuse, Asian American and Asian Canadian feminist icons such as rupi kaur, Margaret Cho, and Mia Matsumiya have turned to social media to share their stories with the world. But how does such activism reconcile with the platforms on which it is being cultivated, when its radical messaging is at total odds with the neoliberal logic governing social media?
Pain Generation troubles this phenomenon by articulating a “neoliberal self(ie) gaze” through which these feminist activists see and storify the self on social media as “good” neoliberal subjects who are appealing, inspiring, and entertaining. This book offers a fresh perspective on feminist activism by demonstrating how the problematic neoliberal logic governing digital spaces like Instagram and Twitter limits the possibilities of how one might use social media for feminist activism.
"A committed and engaged account of how neoliberal logics limit and shape feminist activism on social media. The book offers tantalizing concepts to use in feminist media studies, chief among them the ‘neoliberal self(ie)gaze.’ While Ayu Saraswati sees the trouble in turning to social media to do feminist work, she nevertheless locates a space to engage in collective acts of resistance, solidarity, self-love, and accountability through what she calls ‘vigilant eco-love.’ The book itself is an act of ‘vigilant eco-love’ —thinking about how social media platforms and their ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’ limit intersectional feminist and anti-racist work and channel our pain toward self-care and personal responsibility over accountability and structural change. While passionately non-judgmental and attentive to how these pitfalls challenge our feminist work, Pain Generation provides a framework for doing feminist work online as vigilant eco-loving warriors."
"The analyses are incisive and the theories applicable far beyond the specific examples, especially for those promoting social activism in digital spaces. Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals."
— CHOICE
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This book is a compelling read for scholars interested in feminism, digital media, online activism, and for activists themselves. It reveals that many online practices or expressions used by activists – such as self-love for example –, have been neoliberalized. Ayu Sarawasti provides new concepts to think about the challenges of
online feminist activism, and she suggests clear directions, solutions, and hope for social justice, so that feminist activism will not be exploited by the neoliberal machine. What makes this book very engaging is its thorough focus on the role of neoliberalism, but one might wonder if some of the complex dynamics described in the book might not be linked to other issues than only neoliberalism, for example the way that sexual violence is viewed as an individual issue and not a systemic one. The comprehensive study of the all-encompassing impact and influence of neoliberalism is nonetheless absolutely nuanced and definitely illuminating.
— InMedia Journal