Aleana - Final Project

BLOG LINK:
http://fightforyourrighttotumble.tumblr.com/

ARTIST STATEMENT:
When asked to produce an activist media artifact that takes a stance on a pressing social,
political and/or cultural issue, I immediately thought of Tumblr. Tumblr is a social media site
that is chock full of activism due to its anonymous nature. Unlike other social media websites,
users on Tumblr can choose to only be known by their blog username, and not their real world
identity. This creates a social media environment in which users feel free to speak their minds on
issues, creating the activist culture of Tumblr. The culture of Tumblr is incredibly unique and
liberal, and blog posts of the encouragement of social change and betterment of society are
relevant in almost every blog on the site. Feminism something that is greatly blogged about on
Tumblr, as it is a pressing social, cultural and political issue in today’s society.

There are many class concepts addressed in the blog I made for this project. The beauty
myth is the first topic conveyed. The beauty myth is the idea that beauty is not something we
innately recognize, it is simply a social construct that we all buy into. The media facilitates this
construct (Wolf, 1991). The feminist posts on my Tumblr actively cut down this construct,
bringing light to its existence. Most users on Tumblr in my opinion also participate in believing
in Queer Theory. This is an interdisciplinary perspective that seeks to disrupt socially
constructed systems of meaning surrounding human sexuality and relationships in general
(Goldberg). Many Tumblr users’ ‘reblog’ and blog about taking down the social constructs
concerned with gender and gender stereotypes. Some of these posts are shown in my blog.
Tumblr users also participate in discursive construction. This is the idea that the ways people talk
about a topic create the ‘truth’ of the topic. Tumblr cultivates a specific culture and certain ideas
(Ceralvo, 2011). Participants of this social media site all form very similar opinions after seeing
countless posts of that opinion on their ‘dashes’. After a while, the ideas constructed through
discourse on Tumblr regarding feminism and male privilege seem to be seen as fact, and not as a
popular opinion on the site. People then become invested in these ideas and will fight people in
online discourse on these issues.

The blog created for this project encompasses many of the ideas that I have regarding
feminism and societies social constructs. I believe that feminism is something that everyone
should support. The inequality of the sexes is shown in many more ways than society’s typical
stereotypes. Male dominance seeps into every aspect of society whether it is in everyday life, the
work force, or at home. It is important to support equality of the sexes.

References
Wolf, Naomi. 1991. The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women. New
York: W. Morrow.
Goldberg, Michael. Queer Theory. University of Washington.
https://faculty.washington.edu/mlg/courses/definitions/queer.htm
Ceralvo, Bianca. 2011. How is Tumblr Culture Different From Twitter?
https://www.quora.com/How-is-Tumblr-culture-different-from-Twitter