WE ARE NOT THE SAME, SIS' - DIVA
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‘We are not the same, sis’ A qualitative study of the negotiation of femininity in online spaces Media and Communication Studies: Culture, Collaborative Media, and Creative Industries Two-year master thesis | 15 credits Submitted: VT 2021 | 2021-05-24 Word count: 16 105 Autor: Preslava Petkova Supervisor: Tina Askanius Examiner: Maria Brock
Abstract
The thesis examines how the logics of misogyny and post-feminism have perpetuated the
negotiations of femininity in digital environments. Employing thematic analysis, the study
explores online depictions of the phenomenon Not Like the Other Girls in order to explain its
relation to internalized misogyny. The data has been formed as a case study of Instagram
#Notliketheothergirls and Reddit - r/notliketheothergirls. The result of the analysis unveiled
expression of traditional notions of femininity and post-feminist ideas and be found, resulting
in an paradoxical idea of femninity. Moreover the method has developed three central themes
repeated within the data around the phenomenon of Not Like the Other Girls. Their
significance spur on the opposition between the patriarchal and post-feminist ideal of woman
and discover a new term - internal dichotomies. The constant comparison throughout the
paper requires analysis of the role of ‘the other’. As findings claim, it is an essential part of
finding one’s position and developing a sense of belonging. The overall findings conclude
that internalized misogyny can be explained as the driving power of phenomena such
NLOGs. However, further research should focus on the age aspect of women protagonists of
internalized misogyny, engaging in the negotiations of femininity.
Keywords: #NotLikeTheOtherGirls, internalized misogyny, post-feminism, gender
stereotypes, thematic analysis
1
Abstract 2
1. Introductory chapter 5
1.1 Motivation 5
1.2 Research problem 5
2. Background 7
2.1 Not Like the Other Girls phenomenon 8
2.2 Introduction to misogyny 10
2.2.1 Internalized misogyny 11
2.4 Online spaces 11
2.4.1 Reddit 12
2.4.2 Instagram 13
3. Literature review 13
3.1 Ideas and ideals of femininity 14
3.2 Defining femininity 16
2.3 Online hostility 17
4. Theoretical framework 19
4.1 Misogyny 19
4.2 Post-feminism 20
5. Methodology 21
5.1 Thematic analysis 21
5.1.1 Analysis of memes 22
5.3 Data collection and codebook development 23
5.3.1 Research design 25
5.4 Paradigm 26
5.5 Limitations 27
5.6 Ethics 28
5.7 Researcher reflections 28
6. Key findings and analysis 29
6.1 The paradox of femininity 30
6.2 Internal dichotomies within femininity 33
6.2.1 Tomboy vs. Girly 35
6.2.2 Different vs. Same 36
6.2.3 Pretty vs. Nerdy 37
6.3 The ‘other girl’ 37
6.4 ‘We are not the same, sis :D’ 39
7. Discussion and recommendation 40
8. Conclusion 45
References 48
Appendix 53
2
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1. Examples of the controversial nature of the phenomenon Not Like the Other Girls
Figure 2. The evolution of femininity, taken from the article ‘What does femininity mean in a
post-Covid-19 world?
Figure 3. Example of the process used to develop codes for the datasets
Table 4. Definitions for the codes, dataset N1 (RQ)
Table 5. Definitions for the codes, dataset N2 (sub-Q)
Table 6. Results after coding, dataset 1
Table 7. Results after coding, dataset 1
Figure 8. Illustration of the comparison between Internal dichotomy and a popular dichotomy
Figure 9. The categories of comparison what areas of identity they affect. Table original by
Festinger (1954), edited by Preslava Petkova
Figure 10. The interconnection between different factors involved influencing the image of
femininity, based on personal interpretation from data and previous research from Youtube.
Figure 11-18. Examples of data
Figure 19. Distribution of Instagram users worldwide, as of January 2021 (by age group)
Figure 20. Distribution of Reddit users in the US, as of March 2021 (by age group)
Clarifications
NLOGs - is an abbreviation referring to the phenomenon of ‘Not Like the Other Girls’
SNS - an abbreviation for Social Network Sites
Internal dichotomy - (def.) the existence of opposition within a notion A, meaning that there
might be variations of A (e.g., A1, A2, etc.) that possess mutually exclusive characteristics.
Internalized misogyny - (general def.) phenomenon has been defined as the subconscious
action of women projecting sexist ideas onto other women and even onto themselves.
Popular feminism - (def.) Popular feminism has varied goals and different means of
expression, but a predominant theme about this phenomenon is women’s need for
self-confidence. Examples of the existence of popular feminism are hashtags like
#everydaysexism and ##bringbackourgirls
3
1. Introductory chapter
1.1 Motivation
In a recent conversation among my school peers, the topic of internalized misogyny came
across. Although I have previously encountered the term, it raised curiosity and led to
"friendly" research. While familiarizing myself with the subject, a phenomenon caught my
attention and inspired me to perform a more in-depth academic analysis on it.
While studying the concept of internalized misogyny, I acknowledged my own experience
with this phenomenon. That realization made me curious about whether this phenomenon
currently exists or has been overcome with time. Therefore I decided to conduct a brief
semi-structured interview with the 11-year-old Niya from Bulgaria (my sister). As
Bulgarian's original language, a transcribed full-version in English is endorsed in the
Appendix (see Appendix, Interview). The interview served as inspiration and motivation to
continue with my research, as it proved that the new generation of young girls is also a
subject of internalized misogyny. However, the interview has not been treated as data and
does not provide any insights for the analysis.
1.2 Research problem
The phenomenon that instigated this study is famous under Not Like the Other Girls. It is said
to appear across different media platforms and under various shapes. An excellent way to
describe it could be found in examples from the popular culture of the early 2000s and more
precisely in movies, such as 'Mean girls,' 'She is the man,' 'There is something about Mary', as
well as newer productions like 'Friends with Benefits, 'Black Swan,' 'Transformers' and
countless more (The take, 2019). Often the plot of such movies builds the female character in
opposition to the other females in the movie and enhances it with typically male features,
such as - being one of the guys, drinking beer, enjoying fast food, passion for cars or sports,
dressing casually. At the same time, the appearance is constructed to solely please the male
gaze, creating the 'ideal woman' which is characterized by being effortlessly hot, easy-going,
never mad, or simply put, "not like the other girls" (Luna & Lyon, 2019; Ferguson, 2019; The
take, 2019). These movies share a pattern when the male protagonist’s love interest receives
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the ultimate compliment that she is different or Not Like the Other Girls. The consequences of
those on-screen acts transfer to real-life when girls begin to compare one to another and strive
to be different while sometimes aggressively putting other women down.
Comparing oneself to others is not always driven by malicious intentions; it could be simply
explained as a sense of not belonging to a specific group, but most examples over the Internet
seem to tie 'other girls' to negative connotations or cancel them. There is an even more
intense phenomenon than the NLOGs, referred to as 'Pick me' (Mooknee, 2021; Theresa,
2020). According to definitions from online sources, the’ Pick me’ girl is "a person who begs
for the attention, acceptance, and approval of a certain group in different things they say. In
most cases, it is to attain the attention, acceptance, and approval of the opposite sex." (Urban
Dictionary, 2021; Mooknee, T. 2021; Theresa, 2020). Those phenomena are characterized by
the subconscious or, at times, conscious actions of women projecting sexist ideas onto other
women or even onto themselves. Those actions express a particular form of misogyny, called
internalized misogyny, which is observed in this study.
Thus far, there has not been extensive academic attention to the phenomenon of NLOGs.
Therefore, this research strives to contribute to media and communication by proposing an
analysis of the online conversation about femininity and exploring the logic of internalized
misogyny around it. The overall aim is to identify the role of internalized misogyny in
negotiating femininity within online spaces. To achieve the above-mentioned goal, the paper
uses the theories of post-feminism and misogyny in combination with thematic analysis. As a
way to approach the research, several work questions have been formulated. They consist of
one main research question (RQ), followed by three sub-question. The sub-questions help
operationalize the RQ while unpacking and analyzing the ideals built from discursive
dichotomies around the topic 'Me' versus 'Other girls.' The questions are as follows:
RQ: How is femininity negotiated in the networked online spaces around the phenomenon
Not Like the Other Girls?
Sub-questions:
- What dichotomies are at work?
- Who is 'the Other' in the idea of the other girl?
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- What are the ways that pitch girls/women against each other in NLOG memes?
Moreover, how does that contribute to hostility amongst women?
Before heading to answer those questions, the Literature review presents relevant academic
work, which helps build a contextual frame and identify an existing gap, which the following
paper aims to fulfill. The empirical data illustrates the online negotiations of femininity
surrounding the NLOGs phenomenon. The theoretical concepts presented in the Theoretical
framework shape the study by providing analytical lenses, which will help answer the
research questions. The study utilizes a dataset that has been collected through Social
Network Sites - Reddit and Instagram, aiming to enhance the validity of the thesis with
stronger arguments. The need for a second dataset was established, which led to developing a
set focusing exclusively on memes in the subreddit r/notliketheothergirls.
As already mentioned, the study employs a thematic analysis approached through inductive
logic to analyze the empirical data. The section Methodology explains how the method has
been adopted and put into practice. Furthermore, the paragraph offers an explanation and
example of the logic used in developing coding frames. Following are the Key Findings,
which are the sublime moment of the paper. It brings the most relevant themes out and
showcases how they have been analyzed in dialog with the theoretical concepts and previous
research. The Discussion section provides space for reflection upon the findings while
focusing on aspects that could be further researched. The thesis ends with the Conclusion
section, which is devoted to giving a final answer to the main research problem by drawing
together the different ideas throughout the paper.
2. Background
As an organic continuation of the introduction, several elements require background context
to situate the phenomenon Not Like the Other Girls within the broader academic discussions
regarding online misogynistic and internalized misogynistic behaviors and how women
reproduce them. These fundamental elements are the NLOGs phenomenon and its
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dichotomous nature, Misogyny, focusing on Internalized misogyny, and the Online platforms
- Reddit and Instagram. It is crucial to understand how these concepts explain the
normalization of women vs. woman hostility and the paradox of women’s reproducing
misogynistic behavior. This chapter strives to inform the reader on the needed contextual
background.
2.1 Not Like the Other Girls phenomenon
Considering that the phenomenon has not been a subject of scholarly research, some
references and explanations have been gathered through online articles and videos on the
topic.
The common understanding of what Not Like the Other Girls is, presents it as a cultural
phenomenon instigated by a reaction against typically feminine stereotypes. (Ferguson, 2019;
Luna & Lyon, 2019; Theresa, 2020). At its core, it separates girls, who do not fit the
archetype of women/girls from the female population, hence the phrase “I am not like the
other girls.” The rise of the phenomenon is not recent, as sources state; however, its appearance
has adopted different forms across the decades. Historically, the 1950s had the “greaser girl” - a
response to the staunch conservatism of its time, which later in the 1980-90s transformed to the
“grunge model” type - idolized for her unapologetic attitude towards self-expression and societal
constructs (Luna & Lyon, 2019). According to some, the current version of this phenomenon is a
“quirky-relatable teen.” However, Not Like the Other Girls culture courts controversy, as this
version is not the only one (Figure 1). The girls it portrays as ‘the others’ are responding, making
it harder to establish a clear definition of the phenomenon. Today’s technological development
allows the phenomenon to be fast and easily transmitted in multiple SNS. The most common
online shape is represented through memes. They often clearly picture the distinction between the
two actors - ‘me’ and ‘other girls’ while providing short descriptions of the features.
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Figure 1. Examples of the controversial nature of the phenomenon Not Like the Other Girls
The culture of NLOGs “celebrates young girls for all their interests whether they are; when
conventionally feminine or not, thus giving girls the chance to explore different parts of their
identities without feeling ashamed or needing to categorize themselves into one stereotype”
(Luna & Lyon, 2019).
Modern feminism acknowledges that the Not Like the Other Girls movement carries hints of
internalized misogyny. When girls proudly claim that they “are not like other girls'', it
suggests that the “other” breed of girls refers to the stereotypical ideals of women and
femininity. However, it is not always the case that the girls who adopt the features of the
phenomenon actively try to put down their peers, but the very act of conscious separation
subliminally attacks people who do have “basic” interests. What “basic” seems to imply is some
ordinariness, or perhaps something relatively uncontroversial. Nevertheless, given its vague
parameters, “basic” may just describe women who do not see the external expression as their
primary method of self-identification, making its scope incredibly broad (Luna & Lyon, 2019).
Regardless of these contentious aesthetics, the phenomenon portrays a confusing sense of
femininity and womanhood. The claims of being “not like other girls” can be viewed as
negotiations of femininity, where there is no cryptic collective of “other girls,” and every woman
or girl can find herself in the ‘other girl’ position. The bigger question the phenomenon opens is
spiked by the paradox that there is no comfortable place in femininity and questions the existence
of polarization between women.
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Additionally, the concept of dichotomies can contribute to explaining the distinction between
women that the NLOGs phenomenon portrays. The opposition, which is a prominent
characteristic of the phenomenon, is presented in the following manner: subject A (‘me’)
versus subject Not A (‘other girls’). As suggested in the phrase Not Like The Other Girls,
both subjects identify themselves as members of the female sex. Therefore, this creates the
idea that there might be dichotomies within the female group. Many concepts in the world, as
well the world itself, have been explored as dichotomous. Often the opposition presents
completely different or contradicting characteristics of the two actors involved (Jay, 1981).
By theory, there are three main logical rules, which are the Principle of Identity (if anything is
A, it is A); the Principle of Contradiction (nothing can be both A and Not A); and the
Principle of the Excluded Middle (anything, and everything, must be either A or Not-A) (Jay,
1981, p.42).
2.2 Introduction to misogyny
The origins of the term misogyny date from the mid 17th century: from Greek ‘misisos'
hatred' + gunē' woman.' With that in mind, it seems clear that the concept has a long history,
which has been a subject of discussion by many scholars. In today's society, misogyny is
often positioned as the opposite of feminism and described as 'the police force of sexism'
(Manne, 2017). Feminist theory explores the concept in historical and contemporary settings
to demonstrate that it evolves alongside culture. Guided by a seemingly trivial question:
"Why is misogyny still a thing?" Kate Manne (2017) dives into the logic of misogyny,
exploring examples from popular culture and current events to produce an ameliorative
account of misogyny. That helps her address the problems of misogyny in the modern world
(Manne, 2017, p.57). Although the cases she bases her observations on are often located in
the United States, her conclusions for a phenomenon that, in a variety of ways, structures the
lives of millions around the world are pretty timely and relevant. During her research, Manne
(2017) lists several definitions of it while creating an ameliorative version. What she calls the
'naïve conception' "... is primarily a property of individual misogynists who are prone to hate
women qua women, that is, because of their gender, either universally or at least very
generally" (p.18). Misogyny takes a girl or a woman belonging to a specific social class. It
9then threatens negative consequences if she violates or challenges the relevant norms or
expectations as a member of this gendered class of persons. In the post-feminist era, where
women carry themselves with confidence, even a high-achieving female in politics or any
other sector can be reduced to a whimpering victim (McRobie, 2014). Misogyny could be
listed as one of the reasons for the continual predatory behavior women encounter.
2.2.1 Internalized misogyny
“The psychological nature of internalization makes it difficult to detect and most time
depending on the analyses of actions or decisions that reflect alleged adopted prejudice
against the self.”
(David, 2014 as cited in Lee, 2016,p.3)
The so-called internalized misogyny phenomenon has been defined as the subconscious
action of women projecting sexist ideas onto other women and even onto themselves (Cherry,
2018). In a study conducted by Yu Jeong Lee (2016/2017), the concept of internalized
misogyny is described as the 'female failure to recognize or problematize misogyny, resulting
in female prejudices towards women/females’ (p.2). According to Williams (2012),
internalization occurs through - socialization, intergenerational transmission, and acceptance.
Following the logic of Williams' (2012) theory, children at a young age use their physical
observation to adjust their position in society and the world, which could explain why usually
women, at a young age - such as teenagers - are more prone to adopt traces of internalized
misogyny. Previous works discuss the effects of internalized misogyny on the female
awareness and understanding of individual and cultural gender-based oppression. The
examples from Korea and the U.S. in Yu Jeong Lee's research demonstrate the role of the
phenomenon when it comes to forming a crucial social opinion or decision such as voting
(Lee, 2016-2017, p.2). The concept of internalized misogyny is deeply rooted in the
phenomenon discussed in this thesis - #Notliketheothergirls and others such as #Pickme.
Those are just examples of the merge of digital technologies and misogyny, whereas
internalized misogyny has a more extended history in day-to-day social interactions.
102.4 Online spaces
An introduction to the social media platforms used for this study is crucial for understanding
the larger contribution those platforms have on society. While drawing on some similarities,
the two platforms chosen for this study are quite different. The loose governance of Reddit
allows certain behaviors and content to exist, while Instagram is more strictly controlled and
maintained by the admins. However, it is essential to mention that this study does not
emphasize the affordances of the platforms, whereas it provides an overview of the main
features, the culture, and the type of content those platforms share for the sake of the
contextual background for the context of the thesis.
2.4.1 Reddit
According to Redditinc (2021), “Reddit is home to thousands of communities, endless
conversation, and authentic human connection.”. It is considered a social news website and
forum, where anyone can find its community, amongst the over 100 thousand communities,
based on interests. The name of the website is a play on the words "I read it." (Redditinc,
2021). The platform is entirely dependent on user-submitted and user-created content, which
is socially curated and promoted by site members through voting (Weninger, Zhu & Han,
2013, p. 579). The voting algorithm serves as a way for the highly upvoted material to appear
at the top of the site's front page and receive more attention from users. Posts and comments
are accompanied by some points (score), which translates into a total score across a user's
post-history and is called "karma.” Scholars who have studied Reddit have found that the
karma point and subreddit systems, ease of account creation, and loose governance
structure/policies were creating an environment for “toxic technocultures” to proliferate
(Farrell et al. 2019, p.89). The content type can vary between links, text posts, images, and
videos. The communities of interest mentioned above go by the name of subreddits. Any user
can create and moderate a subreddit at any time, while Reddit administrators rarely interfere
with subreddits (Weninger, Zhu & Han, 2013, p. 580). They often have specific rules that
determine the limitations of what can and can not be posted; for example,
r/notliketheothergirls requires the submissions to be compared. Each of the thousands of
subreddits ranges in participant size from very few to millions of users, while the total daily
users Reddit accommodates exceed 52 million (Redditinc, 2021). The base of user-generated
11content allows the production of misogynistic material. Therefore the platform has been
hosting misogynistic and hateful subreddits, such as r/badwomensanatomy, emphasizing
women’s bodies in a misogynistic way; r/creepshots - photos of unsuspecting women; and
r/beatingwomen, where one can find graphic images of violence against women (Farrell et
al., 2019, p. 93). On the contrary, Reddit also shelters feminist communities supporting each
other and sharing feminist values and behavior, such as r/TwoXChromosomes (Goldman,
2014).
2.4.2 Instagram
Similar to Reddit, Instagram is an online platform that employs photo and video content. In
comparison to Reddit, Instagram provides users with tools to capture and share their life
moments with friends (or followers as the app terms them) through a series of (filter
manipulated) pictures and videos (Hu et al., 2014, p. 595). For the years from 2010, when it
was launched, Instagram has attracted over 1 billion users, who actively access the platform
on a daily basis (Mohsin, 2021). The social media outlet differs from other popular platforms
by its limited functionality in web browsers while focusing on mobile application use (Afnan
et al., 2019, p.2). The main features of Instagram are hashtags and tags, which allow the
spread of the content within specific topics and facilitate the search for information related to
this subject. As Marwick notes, “compared to sites like Facebook [...], Instagram provides
users with a fairly open-ended social media tool, suggesting that individuals could choose to
represent themselves using a range of techniques'' (Marwick, 2015). The platform allows
posts to be accompanied by tagging a location, writing a caption while enabling others to
interact with the content by liking, leaving comments, or saving it (Afnan et al., 2019, p.2).
The importance of tagging on Instagram, for instance, has conceptual and practical links to
the hashtags employed on other SNS such as Twitter. The tags are perceived as functioning as
markers for the main subjects, ideas, events, locations, or emotions featured in tweets and
images alike, allowing an extension for those conversations. Those networked conversations
have facilitated movements as hashtag activism campaigns such as #metoo,
#blacklivesmatter, #strajkkobiet, and many others, which has caught the attention of scholars.
123. Literature review
This thesis engages with the three major studies. The first one discusses the exploration and
negotiation of femininity (Elm, 2009; Whittington, 2006; Barratt, 2018; Experiences, 2021),
while the second investigates Internalized Misogyny and Gender Interactions (Lee,
2016-2017). Furthermore, the final of the three studies is related to the language of the
Internet Memes (Davison, 2012). Although these studies observe the different aspects of this
thesis separately, they help to identify the gap that this thesis is following to cover.
3.1 Ideas and ideals of femininity
“According to Beverley Skeggs(1997), femininity is a category that was created during the
eighteenth century from the attempts to force upon (working class) women a bourgeois
ideal.”
(Elm, 2009, p. 246)
The negotiations of femininity go hand in hand with the evolution of society. While in the
eighteenth century, femininity mainly was focusing on appearance, during the nineteenth
century, it increasingly came to be associated with behavior — a particular way of being a
woman, and currently, it is defined as the general qualities or attributes regarded as
characteristics of women (Elm, 2009; Whittington, 2006). Such ideals can function as
prescriptive, defining the parameters of what is accepted as appropriate in terms of the
perception of females and the determination of limits placed on women's bodies, appearance,
and sexuality (Barratt, 2018, p.18). The ideals of femininity this study will focus on are
borrowed from Feminist studies and literature. They explore the ideals of both
patriarchal/traditional and post-feminist images of women while leaving space for new
emerging categories. The article ‘What does femininity mean in a post-Covid-19 world?’
presents very novel and contemporary ideas about those emerging categories of expression of
femininity (Experiences, 2021). The figure below offers clear definitions of the notions while
also situating them in a time frame where ‘now’ is implied by the middle section, labeled
‘current’(Figure 2).
13Figure 2. The evolution of femininity, taken from the article What does femininity mean in a post-Covid-19 world?
The traditional femininity can be explained by diving into previous research and literature on
gender stereotypes and the patriarchal woman. The core of a female's disadvantages and
position in society is built and maintained through cultural beliefs and stereotypes (Sultana,
2012, p.1; Figes, 1971). Often those stereotypes present more distorted and harmful images
about females than males, which aligns with the concept of patriarchy. The ideals and ideas
about what women should do, be like, or look like are powerful yet subtle vehicles overtaking
control and oppressing females. For feminists, the term 'patriarchy' describes the power
relationship between men and women and names the fount of women's subordination
(Sultana, 2012, p.1). Despite the dedicated efforts of feminist movements fighting for
women's rights and equality, those ideals cans still are found in today's society (Sultana,
2012, p 2).
In the past patriarchal society has enabled men to feel in a position of extreme priority and
control. Compared to the modern world, where it instead creates obstacles for women to
move forward in society. Despite the dedicated efforts of feminist movements fighting for
women's rights and equality, those ideals can still be found in today's society (Sultana, 2012,
p 2). The hierarchical nature of gendered social relations within a patriarchal culture
oppresses women and reflects women's roles and tasks in society and life. Often the
patriarchal woman is required to perform certain forms of emotional, social, domestic, sexual,
and reproductive labor but is supposed to do them in a loving and caring manner or
enthusiastic spirit, as natural as possible. Patriarchy has developed certain stereotypical,
unofficially, feminine-coded roles such as -loving wives, devoted moms, "cool" girlfriends,
14loyal secretaries, good waitresses, and many others (Manne, 2017, p.47). Manne explains
those roles as providing "moral goods," such as sex, care, and attention, which are not only
"morally" valuable but also vital to the organic continuation of the world (Manne, p.48). The
mechanisms of patriarchy leave women with the utmost consequences, varying from
life-threatening violence to subtle social signals of disapproval. These coercive enforcement
mechanisms vis-à-vis patriarchal norms and expectations, and the social roles they govern,
are the functional essence of misogyny (Manne, 2017, p.48).
3.2 Defining femininity
According to researchers and definitions, femininity is the aggregation of characteristics
defining a woman. The portrayal of women in media usually tends to be: submissive, passive,
emotional, and concerned with trivial matters (LeCroy & Daley, 2001). Those characteristics
influence young women and cause them to struggle to be valued for their beauty and become
preoccupied with physical attractiveness. Colliding with those images, girls subconsciously
develop the features of internalized misogyny and begin to compare themselves with the
media representations of women (Theresa, 2019). Recent feminist analyses question the
hegemonic power of media in defining femininity while showing that girls and women
actively criticize and resist dominant images. The active annihilation makes it harder for the
group members to find their position between whom they believe and portrayed (Ballester et
al. 1999). The "impact can be particularly devastating in early adolescence, just when girls
are experiencing a developmental, pubertal fat spurt" (LeCroy & Daley, 2001, p. 15).
Examples of these violent images could be: portraits of beautiful and skinny women, being
able to afford - modern clothing, traveling, or other things often desired by many, which can
affect the development of girls who aspire to live that life. Those damages can be expressed
in struggles with eating disorders or various other means to alter their bodies to fit the media
image of beauty (Milkie, 2002).
In an article by Melissa Milkie (2002), she focuses on how femininity and women in general
are presented by mainstream media and more concrete women's magazines. It explores how
female beauty is represented in magazines and the critique of readers how that can develop
the wrong aspirations in young girls. What is suggested is the employment of ‘real girls’
15instead of models. A vital form of this cultural oppression lies within the positioning of
women in media—magazines, television, film, and the like. Alternatively, dominant groups
such as cis, white, middle-class men are afforded wider, more positive portrayals in media,
providing such persons with a privileged "fit" into cultural frames of what is expected,
acceptable, and rewarded (Kellner 1995). These powerful media representations of genders
enter the discourse and practices of women and men in the everyday on- and offline
negotiation of femininity and masculinity, creating and sustaining gender and gender
stratification (Smith 1990). It is only fair to end the review on previous work with the
following quote:
‘Good’ girls must be pretty but not ‘ self-absorbed’ about their appearance; they must be
attractive to boys but not seen to be ‘slutty’; they must be popular among the ‘right people’
but not a social ‘snob’; independent but not a ‘loner’; and so on.
(Currie et al., 2006, p.429)
2.3 Online hostility
While online media certainly contributes to constructing femininity, it often exudes hostility
and violence towards women. Similar to the social sphere, the online spaces have
stereotypical behaviors typical for certain social actors. Previous research has discussed that
men are more likely to use social media as a source of information, whereas women use
social platforms to connect with people (Atanasova, 2016). As Alexandra Atanasova (2016)
discusses in her article, men are more likely to use media channels to form new networks,
while women are focused on sustaining current relationships. Nevertheless, what appears as a
significant difference is that women receive more often - abusive comments.
Despite the benefits, freedom, and technological advantages brought for the larger societal
group, the emergence of online spaces has certainly provided the tools to affect others'
privacy or violate human emotions and mentality. This paper observes previous work on
online 'hate' culture and, specifically - aggression and hostility towards women to understand
how from the position of “victim,” women move further and adopt some of these behaviors.
In research by Cole (2015), his violence has been monitored and sampled through different
approaches that take place online (e-biles, gender trolling, rape threats, etc.) and is being
16significantly influenced by meme culture and real life. Often online trolls are released with a
dash of humor to cover it up and make it more socially appropriate, e.g., "You should be
raped! LOL'' (Cole, 2015, p.357). Despite using acronyms as 'LOL,' the rape threat is
emblematic of Foucault's disciplinary model, demonstrating how individual bodies can face
violence in a networked power structure. Some male groups respond to the dominant themes
of popular feminism, such as empowerment and confidence, by rearticulating them as
misogynistic statements and practices (Cole, 2015, p.358). The members of those groups are
usually identified as primarily young men, falling into the "geek/nerd" category, whose
campaigns' values overlap with many of the same things that feminists want, including
acceptance of alternative masculinities and expand parenting roles for men (Weiser &
Miltner, 2016, p.171).
Besides all the other “goods” the Internet provides, anonymity is one of the controversial
features. Used to provide a shield for self-expression can allow some to feel more confident,
but expressed through the anonymous culture of misogyny online puts women in danger.
They engage as their authentic selves against the unknown attackers, resulting in excluding,
humiliating, and emotionally injuring women. To protect themselves from the anonymous
threats, women have discovered ways to fight back, resulting in forming the notion of
'feminist digilantism' (Jane, 2016, p.288). According to Jane (2016), this form of
perseverance primarily focuses on naming and shaming approaches, such as establishing
blogs, websites, and hashtags used to republish offensive material that recipients might have
only viewed. Examples include Fat, 'Ugly or Slutty', 'Page O' Hate' and 'Not in the Kitchen
Anymore' as well as the case of Alanah Pearce, who in 2014 tweeted: 'Sometimes young boys
on Facebook send me rape threats, so I have started telling their mothers' (Jane, 2016, p.288).
As said above, media representations affect behavioral patterns (Smith, 1990). Being in the
position of a received of violent comments or ‘rape’ threats could explain why women have
adopted methods such as ‘digilantism’ (Jane, 2016). Perhaps started in a responsive manner
to protect and seek justice from the attackers, it subsequently could have resulted in
projecting traits of internalized misogyny or expressions of phenomena such as ‘Pick me’
(Mooknee, 2021; Theresa, 2020).
174. Theoretical framework
The role of the framework serves as a critical way to analyze the data and to form meanings.
As already mentioned, this study is characterized by primarily relying on feminist media
theory. According to Linda Steiner (2014), responsively, media issues are central to
feminism; much of the controversy within feminism turns specifically on media (p.359).
Significant changes in media representations of women, many pushed by or produced in by
post-feminism as response to feminism, have provoked debates somewhere where one can
locate the negotiations of femininity today. Therefore, the combination of the two prominent
theoretical lenses - Misogyny and Post-feminism is crucial in understanding the role of
internalized misogyny, as an extended form of online misogyny, within the conversation
around Not Like the Other Girls. This section aims to provide the necessary theoretical
background needed to analyze the empirical material.
4.1 Misogyny
Feminist theory explores misogyny historically and in contemporary contexts to demonstrate
hits evolution alongside culture (Farrell et al.,2019, p.88). As part of feminist studies,
misogyny is a concept that concerns feminists as it refers to the oppression of women in
different social spheres (Mantilla, 2013; Moloney & Love 2018; Bennett, 1991). It is
essential to acknowledge that sexism and misogyny are two separate concepts. Misogyny can
be understood as "a social and political phenomenon with psychological, structural, and
institutional manifestations," with its primary function - to punish women who deviate from
patriarchal norms and expectations (Manne, 2017, p.47). In the book, Manne (2017)
discusses the logic of misogyny with a primary focus on the men-women relationship, but in
reality, women could have misogynistic behaviors, referring to internalized misogyny. This
referral helps to formulate that internalized misogyny can be perceived as an extension of
misogyny. Misogyny is thus construed as the series of 'coercive enforcement mechanisms'
that ensure that women stick to their assigned patriarchal roles and that those who deviate
from the script are "punished" (Manne, 2017; Moloney & Love 2018). Due to the lack of a
historical timeline, Manne (2017) seems to hover between two-time frames: an eternity in
which patriarchy has always been the way it is and a present tense defined by the powerful
18contemporary news stories. Those two time-frames perfectly reflect the following ideals of
patriarchal and post-feminist women.
4.2 Post-feminism
Post-feminist discourses and living in a post-patriarchal society encourage women to believe
in the normalization of freedom and are eligible for an unprecedented number of legal and
civil benefits. These current times are explained by some theorists and scholars (McRobbie,
2004; Lewis et al., 2007) as postfeminism, described as an active process for undoing
feminism. Several takes on postfeminism—the first, a theoretical account that portrays
postfeminism as feminism within the poststructuralist theory. Post-feminism is contextualized
by positioning it within feminist histories and its emergence in popular culture, academia, and
politics (Genz & Brabon, 2009). The next observe postfeminism as something produced at
the junctures of a complex set of discourses around gender, feminism, and femininity (Lewis
et al., 2007, p. 215). Therefore postfeminism is treated as a discursive formation that shapes
how one relates to, thinks about, and reacts towards feminism and the transformation of
women's place in contemporary society. Through various machinations, contemporary
popular culture elements appear to be engaging in a well-informed and even well-intended
response to feminism and its values (McRobbie, 2004, p. 255). Post-feminism can be
explored through a double entanglement that comprises the co-existence of neo-conservative
values and liberalization of choice. Although problems such as misogyny and the
disproportionate amount of humiliation, stalking, sexual assault, and intimate partner
violence are still pervasive, the post-feminist woman has acquired a new form. A great
example of the post-feminist woman is Bridget Jones - single, childless, able to enjoy herself
in pubs, living independently and without shame. Despite this attractive package of women, a
product of postfeminism is that the deep fear of loneliness, attention to body image, and
uncertainty for the future are still there.
Understanding postfeminism as a process and a way for women to negotiate their position
and image within the society allows this study to draw on it as a critical concept within the
discourse of femininity online. By deploying post-feminism in these terms, one can develop
code-categories that analyze the female representation on the studied network sites. In
19post-feminist practice, 'choice' is presented as the answer for most women's decisions and
actions - e.g., choosing motherhood over a carrier, dancing on a pole, dressing up as men, or
other examples (Lewis et al. 2007, p.220). When used as a critical concept, postfeminism can
assist in understanding the persistence of inequality within contemporary organizations and
monitoring the discourse on the subjects of female place in society.
5. Methodology
To answer the above-formulated research questions, the employed method is thematic
analysis. Deriving from data with both visual and textual nature, a semantic approach that
produces content-driven codes was used in methodological processes. This form of analysis
uses data to build a codebook and deeper analysis of occurring themes and patterns. The
following sections cover how the method was employed in practice, how the study used the
interpretivist paradigm, what were the limitations and ethical considerations.
5.1 Thematic analysis
As the phenomenon studied in this paper has changed its identity throughout the years, the
beginning date or event can not be identified. Therefore, I use the Youtube video (Ferguson,
2019; The take, 2019) explaining the 'Cool girl trope' to argue that this phenomenon is built
in our culture and has a long-time presence in media and society. In this case, the cultural
background and experiences of the researcher are vital to form an understanding of the data.
Therefore the choice of method has shifted to a thematic analysis, which is often based on the
researcher’s interpretation and heavily reliant on data. It moves beyond counting exact words
or phrases and focuses on identifying and describing both implicit and explicit ideas within
the data, that is, themes. It is a way of examining qualitative data, typically used to analyze a
set of texts, but it may also be used to analyze online discussion forums and online
communities (Guest et al., 2012; Braun et al., 2019). In this case of this thesis, it focuses its
efforts on analyzing the discussions around femininity through online content collected
around the phenomenon NLOGs. Codes are then typically developed to represent the
identified themes and applied or linked to raw data as summary markers for later analysis.
20Such analyses may or may not include comparing code frequencies, identifying code
co-occurrence, and graphically displaying relationships between codes within the data set.
The researcher closely examines the data to identify common themes – topics, ideas, and
patterns of meaning that come up repeatedly. There are various approaches to conducting
thematic analysis, but the most common form follows a five-step process, explained in detail
in the Research Design (5.4)
There are several ways to approach the method, e.g., inductive-deductive or semantic-latent.
Since the data has a combination of visual and textual features, a semantic approach can not
be utilized. Therefore the study uses an inductive approach. It allows the themes to be
strongly reliant on the data (Braun et al. 2019). Using an inductive approach, most of the
collected data will start with explicit content and then move to broader generalizations and
finally to theories. This process ensures that the themes are effectively linked to the data
(Javadi & Zarea, 2016).
5.1.1 Analysis of memes
A particular online phenomenon, which circulates any online space is the meme. In 1979
Richard Dawkins coined the term "meme." Memes are a particular cultural element shared,
parodied, and copied, mainly in the digital world. Usually, memes are characterized by
repetition and their recognizable form of images or visuals with overlaid text. (Cockerill,
2019). In a text produced by Patrick Davison (2012), he compares memes to genes.
According to Davison (2012, p.121), "memes determine the behavior of an organism. Memes
successfully replicate themselves, highlighting one of the critical differences between genes
and memes: transmission speed. Compared to genetic changes (which span generations upon
generations), memetic changes happen in the blink of an eye, where internet memes are even
faster (Davison P., 2012). As they belong to visual culture, they combine text and visual
content as separate and merged (see Appendix, Figure 11-17), which allows the use of
semantic and semiotic analysis to gather data from them. However, as this thesis focuses on
thematic analysis conducted through an inductive approach based on the researcher’s
interpretation deriving from the data, both the semiotic (Barthes, 1964) and semantic aspects
of the data have been taken into account. To explain that in practice, I offer the following
example:
21Figure 3. Example of the process used to develop codes for the datasets
From this example, one can clearly gather the codes - girly/ “normal” girl, same/mainstream,
different/unique, and dark/goth. Although it does not have written “me vs. other girls,” the
meme clearly implies that with explicit contrast between the single girl in the picture below,
which takes the place of ‘me’ (single), and the barbies on the picture below take the place of
‘the other girls’ (plural).
5.3 Data collection and codebook development
The data presented in the following paper does not exceed the time frame of 5 years; on the
contrary, it is gathered within the few months of a current year (2021). Providing current
empirical material contributes to the reliability and trustworthiness of the findings. The
collection of empirical material is unbiasedly produced in a manual, non-selective way. This
study uses two primary datasets. The first one is a combination of empirical material,
manually collected from both Instagram and Reddit, and focuses on any type of content
allocated to the platforms. Considering its existence across different media platforms, data
22selection has been developed strategically by using the last 50 posts from Apr 11, 2021,
backward. The number 50 has been chosen for no specific reason, but it seemed enough to
provide meaningful categories and evidence during the process. Different platforms were
initially set on three, where the third one was - Twitter, but the frequency of data seemed not
enough in the work process. Therefore I limit it to two - Instagram and Reddit. By writing,
Instagram had over 3,000 posts using the #NotLikeTheOtherGirls, while the Reddit page
r/notliketheothergirls had been created in Created Sep 24, 2017, and been visited by over
650.000 users. The choice of working with two different media outlets was inspired by the
theory exploring the interconnection between different media and the idea that a conversation
around the same topic can exist in multiple outlets, and how this conversation may or may
not differ in those spaces (Castells, 2014).
Dataset N1
Platform Content
Reddit (r/notliketheothergirls) 50 posts
Instagram (#notliketheothergirls) 50 posts
While observing the data from the first dataset, it became apparent that on Instagram, the
hashtag #notliketheothergirls has not been used quite explicitly to juxtapose one type of girl
versus another. It is instead used in a wider variety of settings. Therefore, a second dataset
has been developed, focusing strictly on memes. This strategic sample was limited to a single
online channel - Reddit, where the rules require the submitted materials to be compared,
which facilitated my efforts. The section has been done by logging into the Reddit page
r/notliketheothergirls on Apr 22, 2021, and choosing the last 50 memes that include a
comparison translated into the theme' me' vs. 'other girls.' I argue that 50 offers diversity and
enough to lead to a conclusion.
Dataset N2
Platform Content
Reddit (r/notliketheothergirls) 50 memes
23As already mentioned, the study employs two datasets. While the coding process for both has
been conducted similarly, it is crucial to present the details to the reader to build a cohesive
understanding of the researcher’s path. Therefore, it is crucial to say that the RQ uses the
empirical material of Dataset N1, and the Sub-questions focus on the material gathered
through the Dataset N2. To find the codes developed for both datasets, please see Appendix,
Table 4 and 5.
5.3.1 Research design
The research design of this thesis is focused on establishing a solid base for a holistic final
analysis of all the gathered data. The chosen thematic analysis method allows the researcher
to use personal interpretations in unison with the empirical material. In practice, the thematic
analysis followed an adapted order of steps, serving the purposes of the study. They were
conducted as follows:
● Familiarization: It is a crucial step, providing an overall view of the dataset. It helps
the researcher to take notes and establish some general findings and ideas from the
data. During this stage, the researcher collects first-hand observations about the
datasets’ content. Figure 3 presents the way of familiarizing with the data and
gathering notes which in the next step will form the codes.
● Coding: The data gathered from the online platforms and grouped in datasets being
classified into cades. The codebook is the framework that dictates which data is
valuable for the research and what its purpose is. It is the first step in the process of
transforming the "raw" data from Reddit and Instagram into analyzable and tangible
data in the form of codes. The first dataset identified sixteen codes, whilst the second
data set has thirteen (see Appendix, Table 4 and 5). To help the coding and sampling
process, software (QCA Map) has been used. To code the data, I have followed the
logic presented in Figure 3.
● Generating themes: The themes have been concluded in a continuous and iterative
recording of reflections and comments regarding the data during collection and
processing. The choice of what themes are presented in the Key Findings is formed
either as a combination of patterns and redundant data or as researchers opinion as
contributing or central to the study.
24● Defining and naming themes: The initial analysis phase. Qualitative data was
evaluated and examined in order to define patterns into higher-order constructs,
concepts, and discourses. This is done in dialogue with the recorded and coded
sample, providing quantifiable and empirical support. This phase also entailed
identifying similarities, relationships, and, most importantly, differences in the data.
● Writing up: This stage mostly appears in the Analysis, when the researcher presents
the chosen themes - those deemed most relevant to the study, with the highest
potential to answer the research questions and illuminate necessary and fascinating
findings within the data. In this stage it is essential to inform the reader how often
those themes appeared in the data or why they are relevant for the study, while
providing a sufficient number of examples as evidence.
5.4 Paradigm
This study aims to gain an understanding of what is the role of internalized misogyny in the
negotiations of femininity online. Therefore, it adheres to the research paradigm called
interpretivism. According to Blaikie and Priests (2017, p. 98), the interpretivism paradigm
explains areas of social life by immersing in them and learning how their inhabitants
conceptualize and understand them.
To produce meanings of femininity, this thesis observes the content produced by the users in
the subreddit community r/notliketheothergirls and the users in Instagram who have
mentioned the hashtag NotLiketheOtherGirls. Interpretivism provides certain assumptions
and ways of relating to data, which has helped guide the research. Those assumptions discuss
the social reality as socially constructed. The positions taken by the paradigm are founded on
the theoretical belief that reality is socially constructed and fluid. Thus, what is known is
always negotiated within cultures, social settings, and relationships with other people as a
necessary part of everyday life (Angen, 2000; Blaikie & Priest, 2017, p. 101). However, a
particular social reality is already interpreted before the researcher arrives, which means that
the researcher must grasp these interpretations in order to understand and explain the aspects
of social life.
255.5 Limitations
The first and foremost limitation to this study concerns the employed method. At the
beginning of the research process, the study utilized a qualitative content analysis which later
was adapted to thematic analysis. Therefore the reduced time spent with the thematic analysis
can result in the more interpretative and adapted nature of the method. This is not considered
to affect the results and findings as they have been formed in a content- (or data)driven way.
(Guest et al., 2012, p.7), continuing to the next area of limitation, which concerns the
interpretative nature of conducting the method. It is important to emphasize the importance of
the researcher’s cultural and personal background to interpret the data. Perhaps if the same
study was conducted by someone else, the themes or categories might differ.
Another possible limitation is the online nature of the conversations captured by this study
and the form and source of data. As online behavior is accompanied by the shield of
anonymity, it sometimes might differ from real-life interactions, affecting the transferability
of the findings and patterns of this study to real-life experiences. Although there are cases of
repetition of empirical material in both Reddit and Instagram, the restriction to two social
media platforms does not provide a base to generalize conclusions. The choice of only two
SNS for the purposes of this thesis is based on the straightforward and uncomplicated ground
for gathering the needed material.
The study focuses on the idea for opposition between women. However, it was beyond the
scope of this thesis to draw any conclusions about user profiles and authenticity and
demographic features such as age group (besides the one required by Reddit or Instagram,
themselves), location, or gender. To support this decision I have formed two reasons. The first
observes the idea that if the data has been gathered through the #notliketheothergirls or the
r/notliketheothergirls it suggests that the content represents comparison between females and
moreover targeted at females. Moreover, this study is concerned with the discourse of visual
content shared by the users rather than the users themselves. The second concerns the spaces
for collection of material. Often social media profiles can not be considered valid as the users
might choose to use fake names or assign themselves a fake gender, therefore for the
purposes of this study further investigations on the demographics have not been considered
26necessary. It instead aims to provide a more general and less exclusive overview of the online
conversations around the studied phenomenon of NLOGs.
As for the purposes of the study and based on previous research, the phenomenon NLOGs is
taken as an instantiation of internalized misogyny. However, if contextualized in a different
setting the study can be used as a representation of different concepts.
Lastly the study does not account for any possible misspellings of the hashtag
#notliketheothergirls.
5.6 Ethics
As part of the role of the researcher, one must consider the ethical issues that may come into
play when dealing with any type of data. For this study, the data used is collected via Social
Networked Sites - such as Instagram and Reddit. The most evident ethical issue, in this case,
revolves around privacy, anonymity, and consent (Blaikie & Priest, 2019, p.280). Given the
evolving nature of the Internet and the amount of online mediated research, one has to
acknowledge the variations in individual and cultural understandings of privacy (Blaikie &
Priest, 2019, p. 280). According to Blakie and Priest (2019, p.280), pursuing unobtrusive
qualitative research (where the researcher passively analyzes online content), subjects as
informed consent and confidentiality can emerge as particularly unclear and complex.
Additionally, confidentiality and the maintenance of privacy require attention when personal
online accounts are included in qualitative research. As anonymity and privacy are essential
when conducting research, the following paper has complied with the requirements and kept
it hidden by erasing usernames and avoiding sharing personal information. Therefore, there is
no revealing of the personal data of the participants. The private and public boundaries are
fragile, especially in studies employing data generated online. However, when the material
has been gathered through publicly available platforms, therefore informed consent and
privacy have not been addressed as issues for this paper.
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