Bozzi, Nicola ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1506-8078 (2020) Tagging aesthetics: from networks to cultural avatars. A Peer-Reviewed Journal About Research Networks (APRJA), 9 (1). pp. 70-81. ISSN 2245-7755 (doi:10.7146/aprja.v9i1.121490)

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Abstract

Social media have given social movements unprecedented tools for self-representation, however emancipatory identity politics are drowned out by the white noise of neoliberal self-branding practices. In response to this highly-aestheticised, de-politicised environment, we need a cultural re-negotiation of online categorisation. Rather than focusing on networks, this essay frames tagging as an everyday gesture of social media users that participates in the collective performance of identity. I argue this performance gives way to the materialisation of'cultural avatars'–collective identity figures that lie beyond coherent representation and can reinforce reductive social stereotypes or inspire politically critical figurations. Apart from offering a cultural critique of tagging itself, the essay discusses a range of creative approaches to tagging that de-naturalise processes of online categorisation by drawing critical attention towards them.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	tagging; social media; identity politics; identity labelling; self-branding; aesthetics
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BH Aesthetics N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR N Fine Arts > NC Drawing Design Illustration
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Design (DES)
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	10 Sep 2024 11:19
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/47820

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