WhatShouldWeCallMe? Self-Branding, Individuality and Belonging in Youthful Femininities on Tumblr

As the use of social networks becomes increasingly commonplace, scholars have observed that associated requirements arise relating to how one‘s digital self is practised, worked on, and disseminated (Cover; Miller; Papacharissi). Since the earliest forms of online interaction, scholars have tracked the importance of the question of ―realness‖ in identity and social groupings (Burkhalter; Donath; O‘Brien). More recently, as people become more connected, connect-able and subject to peer (as well as corporate and government surveillance) (van Zoonen), digital media cultures have increasingly demanded the performance of authenticity as part of the work of belonging online (Banet-Weiser; Keller). Drawing on Banet-Weiser‘s and Keller‘s work in particular, ―authenticity‖ is defined here as the quality of being considered consistently ―true to oneself‖ in a way which is socially legitimated. I suggest, online, that this demand for authenticity is manifested through two poles of authenticity: authentic individuality and authentic belonging.