“Live Through This”

Feminist Care of the Self 2.0

Abstract

This article takes Rookie, an interactive website for teenage girls, as a case study for theorizing the constitution and care of the female self in the digital realm. While critical media scholars have discussed new forms of interactivity, sharing and self-representation as a cultural dimension of neoliberalism, we feel that this overarching framework overlooks the extent to which digital technologies can also be harnessed to engage in everyday practices of feminist self-making and care. Drawing on Foucault’s work on ethics and care of the self, we situate the Rookie website, its social media extensions, and particularly the “Live Through This” column, as a collaborative practice of self-making and mutual care.