Constructing the digital self in the Global South | Culture and communication in digital worlds

Author(s): Baird Campbell, Nell Haynes

Year of publication: 2020

Keywords: Digital selfhood, Global South, Gender and sexuality, Online spaces, Self-making practices

Methodology/Sample: _/_

Reference: Campbell, B., & Haynes, N. (2020). Constructing the digital self in the Global South. Journal of Language and Sexuality, 9(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1075/jls.00006.cam

Abstract

The papers in this special section examine how people in various contexts of the Global South “construct the self” in online spaces. With examples from Chile, Senegal, and Trinidad, the papers show the wide range of discursive practices, encompassing the textual and the aesthetic, which individuals use to enact gendered and sexual selves online. By privileging gender and sexuality as central components of selfhood, we draw from the longstanding attention paid to gender and sexuality in linguistic studies of identification (see Bucholtz & Hall 2004). In placing this concept within digital worlds, we pay attention to the ways in which daily life is now lived and experienced online. Authors in this issue think critically about practices of self-formation and the performance of gender and sexuality that differ from those that have normalized in the Global North, considering both revolutionary possibility, and re-entrenchment of constraint.

> Summary

The paper examines how individuals in the Global South construct their identities in online spaces through various discursive practices.
It highlights the significance of gender and sexuality in the self-making process within digital environments.
The authors analyze diverse examples from countries like Chile, Senegal, and Trinidad to illustrate these practices.
The research emphasizes the interplay between textual and visual representations in shaping online identities.
It critiques the differences in self-formation practices between the Global South and the Global North.

> Problem statement

The paper examines how individuals in the Global South construct their identities in online spaces, focusing on gender and sexuality.
It highlights the tensions between local sensibilities and globalized media expectations.
The authors discuss the impact of global economic systems on local gendered and sexual norms.
The research addresses the interplay of local and global phenomena in self-formation practices.
It critiques the normalization of self-formation practices in the Global North compared to those in the Global South.

> Methods used

The paper examines discursive practices in constructing selfhood online, focusing on textual and aesthetic methods.
It explores photography, captioning, meme-making, and sharing as methods of self-construction.
The authors analyze how individuals shape their identities through various digital posts.
The research emphasizes the interplay of local and global phenomena in self-making practices.

> Practical implications

The paper highlights the significance of digital self-making in constructing gendered and sexual identities in the Global South.
It discusses the interplay of local and global identification practices on media platforms.
The authors emphasize the role of visuality in self-representation and its implications for social identity.
The research suggests that digital platforms enable diverse expressions of selfhood, impacting social norms.
It critiques the constraints and possibilities of self-formation in online spaces, particularly in non-Western contexts.