[Air-L] Book on eBay, brand cultures, and identities

Michele White mwhite at michelewhite.org
Fri Dec 21 09:14:52 PST 2012


 
Hi Folks,
 
While we are considering the ways femininities, feminism,
and postfeminism are incorporated into Internet cultures, I thought that I
should mention my recent book: Buy It Now: Lessons from eBay (Duke University
Press, 2012). 

 
I have chapters on the ways members respond to eBay’s
normative conceptions of identity by selling their wedding dresses, “gay
interest” underwear, and gay and “lesbian interest” vintage photography. I also
consider how women self-represent and their sexualities are regulated on
craigslist. Thanks to all the AoIR people who supported this project!
 
Here is the book description and chapter list:
 
In Buy It Now, Michele White examines eBay and its emphasis
on community and social norms, revealing the cultural assumptions about gender,
race, and sexuality that are reinforced throughout the site. She shows how
instructional texts, rule systems, and advertisements "configure the
user," allowing eBay to indicate how the site is supposed to function
while also upholding particular values and practices. White details how eBay
reinforces stereotypes about gender and sexuality, looking, for example, at
descriptions included in wedding dress listings, and how eBay directs
individuals to the "Adult Only" part of the website when they use the
search terms "gay" and "lesbian." She discloses the ways
that eBay promises a caring community but its "Black Americana" category
reproduces racism by allowing sellers' narratives that excuse and romanticize
slavery and insult African Americans. White also looks at how participants
challenge eBay's categories, rules, and values, examining widely used
strategies of resistance by sellers and buyers in the lesbian and gay interest
listings. By analyzing the organizational and cultural logics present in eBay,
White emphasizes how other Internet settings, including craigslist, are not as
transparent, community-oriented, and empowering as they claim. She proposes
methods for researching and reconceptualizing new media sites.
 
Introduction. Lessons and Methods from eBay
1. Between Security and Distrust: eBay's Brand, Fan, and
Virtual Communities
2. Pins, Cards, and Griffith's Jacket: Producing Identity
and Brand Communities through eBay Live! Conferences and Collecting
3. You Can "Get It On" eBay: Selling Gender,
Sexuality, and Organized Logic through the Interface
4. eBay's Visible Masculinities: "Gay" and
"Gay Interest" Listings and the Politics of Describing 
5. eBay Boys Will Be Lesbians: Viewing "Lesbian"
and "Lesbian Interest" Vintage Photography Listings 
6. Re-collecting Black Americana: "Absolutely
Derogatory" Objects and Narratives from eBay's Community
Afterword. Everything in Moderation: The Regulating Aspects
of craigslist and the Moral Assertions of "Community Flagging"
 
Warmly,
Michele


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