In recent years a growing number of Finnish social media influencers have started to discuss poli... more In recent years a growing number of Finnish social media influencers have started to discuss political questions and even actors known for light lifestyle content have become vocal about social justice issues. In this paper, we explore how popular Finnish influencers experience the new expectations set for them and how they handle the mixture of intimate and algorithmic logics of Instagram. Our analysis draws from online observations of a wide range of lifestyle influencers and eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews with influencers and influencer agency representatives. Theoretically, we use Lauren Berlant’s (2008) analysis of ‘intimate publics’ to examine Instagram as a platform for vague intimacy, where feelings and commercial exchange flourish and circulate in proximity to the political. Our investigation into influencers’ experiences of politicised Instagram through the concept of vague intimacy reveals the complex interplay of authenticity, politics, values, commercialised...
This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth q... more This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social media accounts, the article asks how influencers negotiate the feeling rules that govern maternal femininity on social media and attempt to cope with the emotional weight of precarious social media work. The article argues for using the affective practice of anxiety as a theoretical concept to explore the influencers’ routinized emotional behaviour in their attempts to decrease the discrepancy between their emotions and cultural expectations. The article suggests that although anxiety can be considered a negative side effect of stressful social media work, sharing it on social media can also be understood as a tactic that plays a central role in the lifestyle influencer industry. Drawing on Loveday’s analysis of the ‘neurotic academic’, the article suggests that the construction of an entrep...
Social media have changed the ways in which we connect and experience the world around us. The ar... more Social media have changed the ways in which we connect and experience the world around us. The article dissertation explores the affective, ambiguous power of social media parenting culture in contemporary Finland. The study asks how motherhood is lived, experienced, and felt through social media. The study demonstrates how networked media engages mothers affectively and produces new knowledge about parenting and the growing impact of social media. The dissertation is a qualitative, multimethod study built around cultural theory, affect inquiry, feminist media studies, and internet research. The dissertation contains an introduction and four different case studies. The methodological body of the study is developed around an analytically selective ethnographic approach named ‘reparative flow’. Reparative flow is an experimental, ethnographic approach that brings together two methodological principles, namely the concept of ‘flow’ as a contextually situated means of moving through, an...
This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth q... more This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social me...
The Digital Networks, Digital Pub(l)ics panels (two in total) develop a critical conversation aro... more The Digital Networks, Digital Pub(l)ics panels (two in total) develop a critical conversation around the themes of intimacy, sexuality and embodiment and explore the ways in which these concepts are experienced, invoked and interrogated by different groups, communities and individuals in digital contexts. Speaking to the theme of the 2017 conference, the papers collectively identify, map and seek to understand the formation of publics constituted through paradigms and practices of gender and sexuality. In this panel, scholars come together to explore the manifold ways in which digital publics and social networks are formed around the politics, pleasures and practices of gender, sexuality and embodiment. Collectively, the papers explore: the formation of Feminist counter-publics; digital embodiment in network culture; the uses of digital networks by men; and the use of digital media by Russian queer men.
This article explores the concept of a good mother in a reality tv-show called ”The war of the mo... more This article explores the concept of a good mother in a reality tv-show called ”The war of the mothers”. It examines how this concept is constructed in the speech of the participants and how the program format guides these definitions. The article also discusses how the definitions relate to the theory of cruel optimism by Lauren Berlant (2011). This article is data based media analysis and the data consists of all ten episodes of the tv-show. In the programme good motherhood is defined through three intertwined virtues. They are genuine presence of the mother, family dinners and clean, child friendly home. Interestingly, the participants’ definitions carry a clear ambivalence. In each definition there can be found a contradiction and in these contradictions the cruel optimism becomes visible. Still, despite of the programme’s militant title, women are demanding mostly towards themselves. To each other, they appear friendly and understanding.
Through in-depth qualitative interviews of four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation... more Through in-depth qualitative interviews of four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social media accounts, the presentation asks how influencers negotiate the feeling rules that govern (maternal) femininity on social media and attempt to cope with the emotional weight of precarious social media work. My data do not allow for the possibility of generalization but are rich, nuanced, and offer insight into ambivalent lived experiences and emotional pressures of ‘do what you love and love what you do’ ethic where emotional investment in one’s work encompasses all areas of life. The talk suggests that although anxiety can be considered a negative side effect of stressful social media work, sharing it on social media can also be understood as a tactic that plays a central role in the lifestyle influencer industry. I argue for using the affective practice (Wetherell, 2012, 2014) of anxiety as a theoretical concept to explore the influencers’ routinized emotional beha...
On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparke... more On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparked a social media debate over mothers nursing in public. By analyzing Instagram posts and a discussion forum thread, this article explores the affective body politics involved in this short-lived yet intense social media debate. It examines the power of hashtags and images in mobilizing motherhood as a site of political agency. Concurrently, it investigates how social media users negotiated the appropriate public presentations of the female body and how the celebrity’s gayness became an object of negative affect. The analysis of the incident makes visible how social norms concerning motherhood and heteronormativity are articulated in social media. It also demonstrates how affect sticks to images, texts, and bodies and becomes a binding force in social media discussions concerning them. The article argues that Instagram’s hashtag practices facilitated affective engagement for those followi...
In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politic... more In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politics in the context of social media. Bringing together two theoretical concepts, the notion of “body politics” and that of “affective politics,” we direct attention to the carnal ways in which bodies experience practices of governance, how they affect and are affected by other bodies. The introduction maps out some of the interdisciplinary voices that study affect online, provides an overview of the papers in this special issue, and concludes by considering ideas for further discussion.
In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites wher... more In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites where mothers air their negative feelings about motherhood. Analysing four posts of two Finnish mommy blogs and their comments, the article explores the affective power of a "bad mom" figure in relation to the contemporary experience of parenting in Finnish settings; settings which have become increasingly child-centred. The article investigates how these popular blogs mobilise their readers through self-reflective yet ambivalent confessions and ironic criticisms of normative motherhood. The article argues that while the emotional work of the bloggers might not be able to dismantle the myth of the perfect mother, the figure of a bad mom can be seen as an attempt to make sense of the frictions and contradictions triggered by the exhausting nature of the gendered, intensive parenting culture. It further argues that in this process the figure of the bad mom transforms into a new "normal" while the notion of motherhood remains both affective and polarised.
Lähikuva – audiovisuaalisen kulttuurin tieteellinen julkaisu, 2018
Sosiaalisen median keskusteluissa tunteilla on keskeinen sija. Tunnereaktiot, aina ärtymyksestä s... more Sosiaalisen median keskusteluissa tunteilla on keskeinen sija. Tunnereaktiot, aina ärtymyksestä sympatiaan ja koukkuun jäämisestä tylsistymiseen, kuuluvat olennaisesti sosiaalisen median kohtaamisiin. Lähikuva lähestyy sosiaalisen median ilmiöitä affektin käsitteen kautta. Erikoisnumerossa osallistutaan keskusteluun affektin merkityksistä analysoimalla trollausta, verkkokeskustelun tunneintensiteettejä, affektiivista mainontaa, selfieitä ja e-urheilua.
This article investigates the affective power of social media by analysing everyday encounters wi... more This article investigates the affective power of social media by analysing everyday encounters with parenting content among mothers. Drawing on data composed of diaries of social media use and follow-up interviews with six women, we ask how our study participants make sense of their experiences of parenting content and the affective intensities connected to it. Despite the negativity involved in reading and participating in parenting discussions, the participants find themselves wanting to maintain the very connections that irritate them, or even evoke a sense of failure, as these also yield pleasure, joy and recognition. We suggest that the ambiguities addressed in our research data speak of something broader than the specific experiences of the women in question. We argue that they point to the necessity of focusing on, and working through affective ambiguity in social media research in order to gain fuller understanding the complex appeal of platforms and exchanges.
asiantuntijapuhe hallinta media äitiys älylaitteet Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen susaka[a]utu.fi FM, k... more asiantuntijapuhe hallinta media äitiys älylaitteet Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen susaka[a]utu.fi FM, kulttuurihistoria Koulutussosiologian tutkimuskeskus, RUSE Turun yliopisto Mari Lehto mari.t.lehto[a]utu.fi YTM, mediatutkimus Turun yliopisto Artikkelissa analysoimme, miten vanhempien älylaitteiden käyttöä on käsitelty asiantuntijalausuntoihin tukeutuvassa mediajulkisuudessa vuosina 2013-2018. Tarkastelemme aineistossa esiintyviä puhetapoja äitien toimijuutta säätelevänä hallinnan tai jopa kontrollin muotona. Analysoimme aineistoa historiallistavalla ja kriittisellä media-analyysilla. Esille nousee kolme teemaa, joihin ongelmalähtöisyys tyypillisimmin kiinnittyy: riskipuhe, kiintymyssuhteen häiriintyminen ja älylaitteiden käytön määritteleminen riippuvuudeksi. Äitien älylaitteiden käytön riskit esiintyvät asiantuntijapuheessa moraalin muotona, jolla pyritään luomaan käyttäytymismalleja tietynlaisen ihannevanhemmuuden saavuttamiseksi. Osoitamme, että jo aiemmin äitiyttä käsittelevissä tutkimuksissa havaittu huolipuhe ja ongelmalähtöisyys ovat aivan erityisellä tavalla läsnä silloin kun puhutaan äitien teknologiasuhteista.
In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites wher... more In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites where mothers air their negative feelings about motherhood. Analysing four posts of two Finnish mommy blogs and their comments, the article explores the affective power of a “bad mom” figure in relation to the contemporary experience of parenting in Finnish settings; settings which have become increas- ingly child-centred. The article investigates how these popular blogs mobilise their readers through self-reflective yet ambivalent confes- sions and ironic criticisms of normative motherhood. The article argues that while the emotional work of the bloggers might not be able to dismantle the myth of the perfect mother, the figure of a bad mom can be seen as an attempt to make sense of the frictions and contradictions triggered by the exhausting nature of the gendered, intensive parenting culture. It further argues that in this process the figure of the bad mom transforms into a new “normal” while the notion of motherhood remains both affective and polarised.
In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politic... more In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politics in the context of social media. Bringing together two theoretical concepts, the notion of “body politics” and that of “affective politics,” we direct attention to the carnal ways in which bodies experience practices of governance, how they affect and are affected by other bodies. The introduction maps out some of the interdisciplinary voices that study affect online, provides an overview of the papers in this special issue, and concludes by considering ideas for further discussion.
On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparke... more On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparked a social media debate over mothers nursing in public. By analyzing Instagram posts and a discussion forum thread, this article explores the affective body politics involved in this short-lived yet intense social media debate. It examines the power of hashtags and images in mobilizing motherhood as a site of political agency. Concurrently, it investigates how social media users negotiated the appropriate public presentations of the female body and how the celebrity’s gayness became an object of negative affect. The analysis of the incident makes visible how social norms concerning motherhood and heteronormativity are articulated in social media. It also demonstrates how affect sticks to images, texts, and bodies and becomes a binding force in social media discussions concerning them. The article argues that Instagram’s hashtag practices facilitated affective engagement for those following #teriniitti. It further argues that the affective dynamics of the case demonstrate how affective intensities stick on gay bodies and lactating bodies as objects of disgust, fascination, and desire.
In recent years a growing number of Finnish social media influencers have started to discuss poli... more In recent years a growing number of Finnish social media influencers have started to discuss political questions and even actors known for light lifestyle content have become vocal about social justice issues. In this paper, we explore how popular Finnish influencers experience the new expectations set for them and how they handle the mixture of intimate and algorithmic logics of Instagram. Our analysis draws from online observations of a wide range of lifestyle influencers and eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews with influencers and influencer agency representatives. Theoretically, we use Lauren Berlant’s (2008) analysis of ‘intimate publics’ to examine Instagram as a platform for vague intimacy, where feelings and commercial exchange flourish and circulate in proximity to the political. Our investigation into influencers’ experiences of politicised Instagram through the concept of vague intimacy reveals the complex interplay of authenticity, politics, values, commercialised...
This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth q... more This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social media accounts, the article asks how influencers negotiate the feeling rules that govern maternal femininity on social media and attempt to cope with the emotional weight of precarious social media work. The article argues for using the affective practice of anxiety as a theoretical concept to explore the influencers’ routinized emotional behaviour in their attempts to decrease the discrepancy between their emotions and cultural expectations. The article suggests that although anxiety can be considered a negative side effect of stressful social media work, sharing it on social media can also be understood as a tactic that plays a central role in the lifestyle influencer industry. Drawing on Loveday’s analysis of the ‘neurotic academic’, the article suggests that the construction of an entrep...
Social media have changed the ways in which we connect and experience the world around us. The ar... more Social media have changed the ways in which we connect and experience the world around us. The article dissertation explores the affective, ambiguous power of social media parenting culture in contemporary Finland. The study asks how motherhood is lived, experienced, and felt through social media. The study demonstrates how networked media engages mothers affectively and produces new knowledge about parenting and the growing impact of social media. The dissertation is a qualitative, multimethod study built around cultural theory, affect inquiry, feminist media studies, and internet research. The dissertation contains an introduction and four different case studies. The methodological body of the study is developed around an analytically selective ethnographic approach named ‘reparative flow’. Reparative flow is an experimental, ethnographic approach that brings together two methodological principles, namely the concept of ‘flow’ as a contextually situated means of moving through, an...
This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth q... more This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social me...
The Digital Networks, Digital Pub(l)ics panels (two in total) develop a critical conversation aro... more The Digital Networks, Digital Pub(l)ics panels (two in total) develop a critical conversation around the themes of intimacy, sexuality and embodiment and explore the ways in which these concepts are experienced, invoked and interrogated by different groups, communities and individuals in digital contexts. Speaking to the theme of the 2017 conference, the papers collectively identify, map and seek to understand the formation of publics constituted through paradigms and practices of gender and sexuality. In this panel, scholars come together to explore the manifold ways in which digital publics and social networks are formed around the politics, pleasures and practices of gender, sexuality and embodiment. Collectively, the papers explore: the formation of Feminist counter-publics; digital embodiment in network culture; the uses of digital networks by men; and the use of digital media by Russian queer men.
This article explores the concept of a good mother in a reality tv-show called ”The war of the mo... more This article explores the concept of a good mother in a reality tv-show called ”The war of the mothers”. It examines how this concept is constructed in the speech of the participants and how the program format guides these definitions. The article also discusses how the definitions relate to the theory of cruel optimism by Lauren Berlant (2011). This article is data based media analysis and the data consists of all ten episodes of the tv-show. In the programme good motherhood is defined through three intertwined virtues. They are genuine presence of the mother, family dinners and clean, child friendly home. Interestingly, the participants’ definitions carry a clear ambivalence. In each definition there can be found a contradiction and in these contradictions the cruel optimism becomes visible. Still, despite of the programme’s militant title, women are demanding mostly towards themselves. To each other, they appear friendly and understanding.
Through in-depth qualitative interviews of four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation... more Through in-depth qualitative interviews of four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social media accounts, the presentation asks how influencers negotiate the feeling rules that govern (maternal) femininity on social media and attempt to cope with the emotional weight of precarious social media work. My data do not allow for the possibility of generalization but are rich, nuanced, and offer insight into ambivalent lived experiences and emotional pressures of ‘do what you love and love what you do’ ethic where emotional investment in one’s work encompasses all areas of life. The talk suggests that although anxiety can be considered a negative side effect of stressful social media work, sharing it on social media can also be understood as a tactic that plays a central role in the lifestyle influencer industry. I argue for using the affective practice (Wetherell, 2012, 2014) of anxiety as a theoretical concept to explore the influencers’ routinized emotional beha...
On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparke... more On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparked a social media debate over mothers nursing in public. By analyzing Instagram posts and a discussion forum thread, this article explores the affective body politics involved in this short-lived yet intense social media debate. It examines the power of hashtags and images in mobilizing motherhood as a site of political agency. Concurrently, it investigates how social media users negotiated the appropriate public presentations of the female body and how the celebrity’s gayness became an object of negative affect. The analysis of the incident makes visible how social norms concerning motherhood and heteronormativity are articulated in social media. It also demonstrates how affect sticks to images, texts, and bodies and becomes a binding force in social media discussions concerning them. The article argues that Instagram’s hashtag practices facilitated affective engagement for those followi...
In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politic... more In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politics in the context of social media. Bringing together two theoretical concepts, the notion of “body politics” and that of “affective politics,” we direct attention to the carnal ways in which bodies experience practices of governance, how they affect and are affected by other bodies. The introduction maps out some of the interdisciplinary voices that study affect online, provides an overview of the papers in this special issue, and concludes by considering ideas for further discussion.
In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites wher... more In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites where mothers air their negative feelings about motherhood. Analysing four posts of two Finnish mommy blogs and their comments, the article explores the affective power of a "bad mom" figure in relation to the contemporary experience of parenting in Finnish settings; settings which have become increasingly child-centred. The article investigates how these popular blogs mobilise their readers through self-reflective yet ambivalent confessions and ironic criticisms of normative motherhood. The article argues that while the emotional work of the bloggers might not be able to dismantle the myth of the perfect mother, the figure of a bad mom can be seen as an attempt to make sense of the frictions and contradictions triggered by the exhausting nature of the gendered, intensive parenting culture. It further argues that in this process the figure of the bad mom transforms into a new "normal" while the notion of motherhood remains both affective and polarised.
Lähikuva – audiovisuaalisen kulttuurin tieteellinen julkaisu, 2018
Sosiaalisen median keskusteluissa tunteilla on keskeinen sija. Tunnereaktiot, aina ärtymyksestä s... more Sosiaalisen median keskusteluissa tunteilla on keskeinen sija. Tunnereaktiot, aina ärtymyksestä sympatiaan ja koukkuun jäämisestä tylsistymiseen, kuuluvat olennaisesti sosiaalisen median kohtaamisiin. Lähikuva lähestyy sosiaalisen median ilmiöitä affektin käsitteen kautta. Erikoisnumerossa osallistutaan keskusteluun affektin merkityksistä analysoimalla trollausta, verkkokeskustelun tunneintensiteettejä, affektiivista mainontaa, selfieitä ja e-urheilua.
This article investigates the affective power of social media by analysing everyday encounters wi... more This article investigates the affective power of social media by analysing everyday encounters with parenting content among mothers. Drawing on data composed of diaries of social media use and follow-up interviews with six women, we ask how our study participants make sense of their experiences of parenting content and the affective intensities connected to it. Despite the negativity involved in reading and participating in parenting discussions, the participants find themselves wanting to maintain the very connections that irritate them, or even evoke a sense of failure, as these also yield pleasure, joy and recognition. We suggest that the ambiguities addressed in our research data speak of something broader than the specific experiences of the women in question. We argue that they point to the necessity of focusing on, and working through affective ambiguity in social media research in order to gain fuller understanding the complex appeal of platforms and exchanges.
asiantuntijapuhe hallinta media äitiys älylaitteet Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen susaka[a]utu.fi FM, k... more asiantuntijapuhe hallinta media äitiys älylaitteet Suvi-Sadetta Kaarakainen susaka[a]utu.fi FM, kulttuurihistoria Koulutussosiologian tutkimuskeskus, RUSE Turun yliopisto Mari Lehto mari.t.lehto[a]utu.fi YTM, mediatutkimus Turun yliopisto Artikkelissa analysoimme, miten vanhempien älylaitteiden käyttöä on käsitelty asiantuntijalausuntoihin tukeutuvassa mediajulkisuudessa vuosina 2013-2018. Tarkastelemme aineistossa esiintyviä puhetapoja äitien toimijuutta säätelevänä hallinnan tai jopa kontrollin muotona. Analysoimme aineistoa historiallistavalla ja kriittisellä media-analyysilla. Esille nousee kolme teemaa, joihin ongelmalähtöisyys tyypillisimmin kiinnittyy: riskipuhe, kiintymyssuhteen häiriintyminen ja älylaitteiden käytön määritteleminen riippuvuudeksi. Äitien älylaitteiden käytön riskit esiintyvät asiantuntijapuheessa moraalin muotona, jolla pyritään luomaan käyttäytymismalleja tietynlaisen ihannevanhemmuuden saavuttamiseksi. Osoitamme, että jo aiemmin äitiyttä käsittelevissä tutkimuksissa havaittu huolipuhe ja ongelmalähtöisyys ovat aivan erityisellä tavalla läsnä silloin kun puhutaan äitien teknologiasuhteista.
In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites wher... more In recent years, there has been a growing number of mommy blogs and other social media sites where mothers air their negative feelings about motherhood. Analysing four posts of two Finnish mommy blogs and their comments, the article explores the affective power of a “bad mom” figure in relation to the contemporary experience of parenting in Finnish settings; settings which have become increas- ingly child-centred. The article investigates how these popular blogs mobilise their readers through self-reflective yet ambivalent confes- sions and ironic criticisms of normative motherhood. The article argues that while the emotional work of the bloggers might not be able to dismantle the myth of the perfect mother, the figure of a bad mom can be seen as an attempt to make sense of the frictions and contradictions triggered by the exhausting nature of the gendered, intensive parenting culture. It further argues that in this process the figure of the bad mom transforms into a new “normal” while the notion of motherhood remains both affective and polarised.
In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politic... more In this introduction to special issue, we elaborate our use of the concept affective body politics in the context of social media. Bringing together two theoretical concepts, the notion of “body politics” and that of “affective politics,” we direct attention to the carnal ways in which bodies experience practices of governance, how they affect and are affected by other bodies. The introduction maps out some of the interdisciplinary voices that study affect online, provides an overview of the papers in this special issue, and concludes by considering ideas for further discussion.
On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparke... more On New Year’s Day 2016, a photograph of a breastfeeding woman taken by a Finnish celebrity sparked a social media debate over mothers nursing in public. By analyzing Instagram posts and a discussion forum thread, this article explores the affective body politics involved in this short-lived yet intense social media debate. It examines the power of hashtags and images in mobilizing motherhood as a site of political agency. Concurrently, it investigates how social media users negotiated the appropriate public presentations of the female body and how the celebrity’s gayness became an object of negative affect. The analysis of the incident makes visible how social norms concerning motherhood and heteronormativity are articulated in social media. It also demonstrates how affect sticks to images, texts, and bodies and becomes a binding force in social media discussions concerning them. The article argues that Instagram’s hashtag practices facilitated affective engagement for those following #teriniitti. It further argues that the affective dynamics of the case demonstrate how affective intensities stick on gay bodies and lactating bodies as objects of disgust, fascination, and desire.
Uploads
Papers by Mari Lehto