Feminist activists discuss practices of monetisation: Digital feminist activism, neoliberalism and subjectivity

Abstract

This article explores the politics of ‘freelance feminism’ by drawing on 30 qualitative in-depth interviews with digital feminist activists. By documenting and analysing the different ways in which digital feminist activism can be monetised, the article shows that the potential to generate income is frequently discussed by, and contemplated among, activists. As this article argues, the monetisation of digital feminist activism goes beyond the application of market principles to political protest movements. When activism is monetised, activists’ emotional investments and passion become mobilised and tied to income generation. At the same time, and through emphases on self-branding and ‘authenticity’, activists’ selves are formed and rearranged in line with neoliberal values of entrepreneurialism and market competition. This article therefore shows that the workings of neoliberalism in digital feminist activism play out on an economic level, and also on the levels of affect and subjectivity.

Are we all influencers now? Feminist activists discuss the distinction between being an activist and an influencer

“…As I have mentioned before, my aim is not to call out research participants for having double standards. Indeed, as I demonstrate in more detail elsewhere (Scharff, 2023a), the research participants were aware of and critically reflected on the ways in which their activism was driven by market principles. Many, for example, discussed the felt need to self-brand on social media in order to gain visibility, but simultaneously shared their unease because they were critical of the capitalist logics underpinning selfbranding.…”

“…The research participants' distinction between influencers and activists, and the attribution of monetisation and commercial orientation to influencers, struck me as interesting considering the wider findings from this study. As I have shown in detail elsewhere (Scharff, 2023a), the research participants became feminist activists because of deeply held feelings and convictions. At the same time and resonating with wider research on digital feminist activism (Novoselova and Jenson, 2019;Mendes, 2021), the monetisation of feminist activism was not a marginal but rather quite a central phenomenon.…”

“…The wider study that this article is based on explores the different forms of labour that are involved in doing digital feminist activism (for a more detailed discussion, see: Scharff, 2023a). Due to the focus on labour in the larger project, I approached feminist activists who were active in the field of care work and, more specifically, mothering/parenting.…”

“…More generally, the article adds to recent scholarly debates on 'influencer creep' (Bishop, 2022) by exploring the extent to which influencing culture creeps into various practices and forms of work, including political activism. My analysis also adds to the growing scholarly and public interest in the entanglements between contemporary forms of political activism and influencer culture (Novoselova and Jenson, 2019;Brown, 2022;Navarro and Villegas-Simón, 2022;Semenzin, 2022;Dean, in press), which in turn sheds light on the interplay between digital feminist activism and neoliberalism (Baer, 2021;Scharff, 2023a). My approach to neoliberalism is Foucauldian and informed by analyses which have demonstrated that neoliberalism entails the expansion of market principles to all areas of life.…”