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YouTube beauty vlogs: How social media blurs social boundaries

Stoltenow Petersen, Kelsi K.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523368597591707

Abstract Details

2018, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Arts Administration, Education and Policy.
This dissertation is an instrumental case study and philosophical inquiry that explores YouTube beauty vlogs. My methods are rooted in the epistemology of interpretive qualitative research; I also draw on the writing and data-gathering techniques pioneered by New Journalists in the 1960s and 1970s and on case study methodologies. For the case study aspect of this research I spent approximately 30 hours observing and interviewing Kristin Gehm, a YouTube beauty vlogger based in Northeastern Wisconsin. I then interviewed five additional beauty vloggers and one makeup artist connected to Kristin through their work on YouTube. My data collection also included analyzing approximately 200 YouTube beauty vlogs themselves, and the content of the vlogs’ comment sections. The case study revealed just how contradictory the terms “social” and “media” are. Never before have individuals from all over the world been able to connect regularly, bonding over shared interests and the creation of innovative content. But as YouTube has grown so have options for monetizing one’s vlogging, turning what was once a medium for intimate social interaction into a platform to launch a (potentially) lucrative career. In this contradictory space many traditional social boundaries are blurred, like the boundary separating social and commercial behavior. Many viewers of beauty vlogs aren’t sure if they’re friends with vloggers, or simply customers of their YouTube channels. I also saw YouTube users re-negotiating the gender norms (a particular set of social boundaries) that dictate who can beautify to make themselves look classically glamorous. Intrigued by this boundary, I launched a philosophical inquiry. The philosophical inquiry is rooted in Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and Virginia Postrel’s theory of glamour. My chief finding for this inquiry is that by being, for example, black, older than 40, a man, or plus-size, some beauty vloggers regularly defy gender norms. Furthermore, inherent in their positions as YouTube beauty vloggers is status as gurus. By broadcasting themselves on YouTube, then, these individuals also position themselves as experts in the visual and material culture of glamorous-beauty, which I consider a mis-citation of traditional gender norms as well. It was also important for me to use insights I gleaned from this research to consider how higher education professionals can equip young adults with the critical and analytical skills they need to navigate social media culture. In the last chapter I present a curriculum for such a college class, which I simply call Social Media Criticism. The curriculum for Social Media Criticism is grounded in Neil Postman’s theories of media epistemology.
Shari Savage, Dr. (Advisor)
Jennifer Richardson, Dr. (Committee Member)
Christine Ballengee Morris , Dr. (Committee Member)
258 p.
Art Education; Communication; Education; Mass Communications
YouTube; beauty vlogs; gender performativity; glamour

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Stoltenow Petersen, K. K. (2018). YouTube beauty vlogs: How social media blurs social boundaries [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523368597591707

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Stoltenow Petersen, Kelsi. YouTube beauty vlogs: How social media blurs social boundaries . 2018. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523368597591707.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Stoltenow Petersen, Kelsi. "YouTube beauty vlogs: How social media blurs social boundaries ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1523368597591707

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1523368597591707
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.