ABSTRACT

This article analyses the use of minority identity as a popular feminist self-branding strategy on Instagram. Zooming in on the internet celebrities, Julie Vu, a Canadian transgender model, beauty queen and makeup artist, and Madeline Stuart, an Australian photo/runway model with Down syndrome, we explore the ways in which they both engage in building and strengthening their self-branding practices by actively drawing on their own self-representational identity work as minorities. We situate Vu and Stuart within a framework of contemporary branding culture and popular feminism, and map their journeys as users of different social media platforms, as well as their locations within online celebrity categories, leading to an analysis of their current engagements with Instagram as their main self-branding platform. The article argues that minority identity, as it is expressed in the cases of Vu and Stuart, has become a significant, if not essential, element in the broader landscape of self-branding practices and strategies on social media.

摘要

本文分析了使用少数族裔身份作为 Instagram 上流行的女权主义自我品牌战略。聚焦互联网名人、加拿大跨性别模特、选美皇后和化妆师 Julie Vu，以及患有唐氏综合症的澳大利亚照片/跑道模特 Madeline Stuart，我们探讨了他们都参与建立和加强自我的方式- 通过积极利用自己作为少数群体的自我代表身份来进行品牌推广。我们将 Vu 和 Stuart 置于当代品牌文化和流行女权主义的框架内，并绘制他们作为不同社交媒体平台用户的旅程，以及他们在网络名人类别中的位置，从而分析他们目前与 Instagram 的互动作为他们的主要的自主品牌平台。