The PhD dissertation is about YouTube’s lifestyle channels and female youtubers who identify themselves as “girlbosses”.
“Girlbosses” are self-proclaimed modern feminists and leaders who pursue success through passion and authenticity. Their lifestyle channels create an image of women who are empowered and free and who are responsible for their own success. At the moment there are over 125 million beauty and lifestyle subscribers on YouTube. These examples show, that YouTube has provided a space where women have been able to assume power both as consumers and producers.
Through a multi-sited ethnographic approach, the study sheds light on the lives and experiences of young women online. The research aims at exploring, how lifestyle channels shape both individual and social identities. It also seeks to show the complex negotiations of agency and power while being a “girlboss” in the era of neoliberal media work.
Researcher: Ida Roivainen, ida.roivainen at tuni.fi, 050 318 2558
Funding: The Finnish Cultural Foundation (2022)