Date of Award

2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Konkol, Margaret

Keywords

Rookie Mag, Girls, Digital Community, Digital Identity

Area of Concentration

Literature

Abstract

This thesis explores four methods of autobiographical writing found on Rookie Mag, a digital and physical publication occupying the intangible space between girls searching for community on the internet. The interface of the site, coupled with the refraction of self made possible through the computer screen, allows readers to absorb others’ stories, broadening the definition of girlhood. Rookie Mag prioritizes autobiographical, confessional writing to make public the private experiences understood to be “universal” for Rookie readers and, in doing so, instigates bonds between readers and writers who may never meet in the physical world. On Rookie, advice columns build community through the identification of communal problems through the presentation of individuals’ issues. The dynamic “I” as well as mundane aspects of daily life represented in diary entries fosters a reader’s connection to any one of the many narratives presented. Unsolicited advice columns assert the possibilities of the representative nature of the uniqueness of a single life. Personal growth essays work as both mirrors and bridges, reflecting back truth to the writers and offering moments of connection. This confessional writing normalizes traditionally private experiences as issues of communal interest and provides the framework to begin to understand the effects of representing developing identities on the internet in intangible digital communities. Together, these methods of autobiographical, confessional writing offer a glimpse into the development of the digital identity of both individuals as well as a dynamic, strong community.

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