Cupcakes, Pinterest, and ladyporn: feminized popular culture in the early twenty-first century

297 Pages·2017·1.893 MB·English

by  Levine, Elana

Feminized
Popular Culture
in the Early
Twenty-First Century
Elana Levine
EDITED BY
Cupcakes, Pinterest, and Ladyporn
FEMINIST MEDIA STUDIES
Edited by Carol Stabile
Series Editorial Board
Mary Beltrán, Department of Radio-Television-Film,
University of Texas–Austin
Radhika Gajjala, American Cultural Studies, Bowling Green University
Mary L. Gray, Department of Communication and Culture, Indiana University;
Senior Researcher, Microsoft Research
Bambi Haggins, Arizona State University, Tempe
Mary Beth Haralovich, University of Arizona, Tucson
Heather Hendershot, Massachusett s Institute of Technology
Michele Hilmes, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Nina Huntemann, Suff olk University
Elana Levine, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Robin Means-Coleman, University of Michigan
Mireille Miller-Young, UC Santa Barbara
Isabel Molina-Guzman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lisa Nakamura, University of Michigan
Laurie Ouellett e, Communication Studies, University of Minnesota
Carrie Rentschler, McGill University
Kim Sawchuk, Concordia University
Leslie Steeves, University of Oregon
Rebecca Wanzo, Washington University
Natalie Wilson, California State San Marcos
A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book.
CUPCAKES, PINTEREST,
and LADYPORN
Feminized Popular Culture
in the Early Twenty-First Century
edited by
ELANA LEVINE
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS PRESS
Urbana, Chicago, and Springfi eld
© 2015 by the Board of Trustees
of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cupcakes, pinterest, and ladyporn : feminized popular
culture in the early twenty-fi rst century / edited by Elana
Levine.
pages cm. — (Feminist media studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-252-03957-7 (cloth : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-252-08108-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-252-09766-9 (e-book)
1. Sex role. 2. Popular culture. 3. Feminism. 4. Women in
popular culture. 5. Women and mass media.
I. Levine, Elana, 1970–
hhhqqq11007755..c86 2015
305.3—dc23 2015004609
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Feminized Popular Culture
in the Early Twenty-fi rst Century 1
Elana Levine
PART I: PASSIONS
1. Fift y Shades of Postfeminism: Contextualizing Readers’
Refl ections on the Erotic Romance Series 15
Melissa A. Click
2. ABC’s Scandal and Black Women’s Fandom 32
Kristen J. Warner
3. Television for All Women? Watching Lifetime’s
Devious Maids 51
Jillian Báez
4. Women, Gossip, and Celebrity Online: Celebrity Gossip Blogs
as Feminized Popular Culture 71
Erin A. Meyers
PART II: BODIES
5. Mothers, Fathers, and the Pregnancy App Experience:
Designing with Expectant Users in Mind 95
Barbara L. Ley
6. Fashioning Feminine Fandom: Fashion Blogging and the
Expression of Mediated Identity 116
Kyra Hunting
7. Women’s Nail Polish Blogging and Femininity:
“Th e girliest you will ever see me” 137
Michele White
8. Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance, Dance All Night!
Mediated Audiences and Black Women’s Spirituality 157
Berett a E. Smith-Shomade
PART III: LABORS
9. Working Girls: Th e Precariat of Chick Lit 177
Suzanne Ferriss
10. Aft er Ever Aft er: Bethenny Frankel, Self-Branding,
and the “New Intimacy of Work” 196
Suzanne Leonard and Diane Negra
11. Keeping Up with the Kardashians: Fame-Work
and the Production of Entrepreneurial Sisterhood 215
Alice Leppert
12. Pinning Happiness: Aff ect, Social Media,
and the Work of Mothers 232
Julie Wilson and Emily Chivers Yochim
13. Sweet Sisterhood: Cupcakes as Sites of Feminized
Consumption and Production 249
Elizabeth Nathanson
Contributors 269
Index 273
Acknowledgments
My greatest appreciation goes to this volume’s contributors, who were not only
willing to share their impressive research but were prompt, responsive, and
always pleasurable to work with. Th anks also to Ron Becker and Michael Z.
Newman, important sounding boards for me as I developed this project, and
to Rick Popp, for his engaged inquiries about its progress. Carol Stabile was
such an enthusiastic supporter; I’m honored to be included in the Feminist
Media Studies series she edits. I am grateful to the anonymous manuscript
readers who advised the contributors and me in making this book as strong as
possible. Larin McLaughlin, Dawn Durante, and Amanda Wicks were helpful
and supportive in their editorial duties at the press. Th anks to all of the above
for helping to make my vision of this project such an exciting reality.

Cupcakes, Pinterest, and Ladyporn