Enjoying the Betwixt and Between: Liminoid identity construction on Twitter

Abstract

Prior research predominantly portrays states of ‘betwixt and between’ in identity construction as unsettling, given the ambiguity and uncertainty they raise. However, our study suggests that in-betweenness can be experienced with comfort. To characterize such process of identity construction, we appeal to Turner’s concept of liminoid, involving optionality, in contrast to the concept of liminal, involving obligation. Using an extensive dataset of interviews and observations on Twitter, we show how journalists comfortably construct online identities ‘betwixt and between’ as they exert autonomy in this process and learn to skilfully balance the freedom they enjoy with the constraints they still face. By reintroducing the underexplored concept of liminoid and extending it through the notion of autonomy, we clarify prior research conflating different identity construction processes with the concept of liminality. Furthermore, we provide a nuanced picture that takes into account structural constraints by showing that to ensure the comfort of their experience individuals must develop a liminoid competence.

Jostling Discourses of Competition: Women leaders self-positioning

“…The women leaders’ struggles with ambiguity reflect competition as a powerful, toxic and gendered social process, which is both harmful and aspirational. However, we also illustrate ‘how seemingly “negative” characteristics of in-betweenness’ (Lê & Lander, 2023, p. 1534) can have positive impact. An important contribution is how the women demonstrate agency, choosing different positions for various contexts, continually repositioning ‘in an instant’ (Ellis & Ybema, 2010, p. 300) by skilfully using interconnected strategies of ‘denying’, ‘masking and reframing’, ‘moving on’ from and ‘diverting’ competition, as liminal practices to convey the ‘right types’ of competition.…”

“…Whereas Lê and Lander (2023, p. 1534) propose that in-betweenness and being betwixt and between can be experienced with comfort, if ‘individuals intentionally mobilise them with some level of control’. They call for future research to explore ‘how seemingly “negative” characteristics of in-betweenness can be more positively exploited’ (Lê & Lander, 2023, p. 1534). Further, Simpson and Carroll (2020) suggest that leadership is a site of ‘perpetual liminality’ (p. 502).…”

Dialectical Emotional Labour in Digital Person-branding: The case of digital influencers

“…Likewise, to what extent is this mode of emotional labour ingrained in other professional work where workers are expected to undertake personbranding, and where boundaries between public and private self appears difficult to maintain (Lair, & Cheney, 2005). It would be interesting to explore whether this dialectical mode also happens in other types of person-branding work such as in academia, where young scholars increasingly depend on their person-brand to become tenured (Close, Moulard, & Monroe, 2011) or in journalism, where journalists use social media to construct a desired identity (Lê & Lander, 2023).…”

Somewhere Between a Stopwatch and a Recording Device: Ethnographic Reflections From the Pool

“…In contemporary times, the concept of liminality continues to thrive and is still widely employed in a range of anthropological and sociological research, and within social science writing more generally (see e.g., Mälksoo 2012). In sociology, it is often used to describe a person’s temporary or transitional status, for example, when undergoing training at a pre-qualification stage for entry to a profession or occupation (Bamber et al 2017), undergoing transition rituals in youth groups (Corsaro and Johannesen 2014), constructing journalist identities on Twitter (Lê and Lander 2023), and moving transnationally (Jones 2013), to give just some examples from this wide-ranging literature. It can also be used to describe a temporary, in-between condition where organizational structures and systems are “suspended” (Bamber et al 2017; Sturdy et al 2006), and has also been applied to liminal spaces, such as changing rooms, where individuals transition from, for example, their everyday selves (and clothing) into a sporting or leisure role (Evans and Allen-Collinson 2023).…”