“No Geek Girls”: Boundary-Work and Gendered Identity in the Israeli Geek Community

Authors

  • Hadas Gur-Ze'ev The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  • Neta Kligler-Vilenchik The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Keywords:

participatory culture, fan communities, boundary-work, geeks, gender

Abstract

Boundary-work theory describes the discursive efforts of groups to limit access to membership and collective symbolic capital. In this article, we explore the gendered nature of boundary-work within an online community of Geeks—a subcultural identity that has been culturally and historically constructed as male dominated. Employing in-depth interviews and qualitative content analysis of posts on the Israeli Facebook group The Geekery, we examine how different voices negotiate the Geek identity. We identify 3 distinct spaces of struggle within which these negotiations occur: the group’s collective identity, the self-identity of members, and the group’s identifying of “others.” In each space, we find a similar struggle between voices protecting the male-hegemonic identity and voices attempting to challenge the status quo. By identifying the emancipatory potential of boundary-work, the research thus contributes to a wider understanding of the relationship between digital technologies and gendered power relations.

Author Biographies

Hadas Gur-Ze'ev, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Hadas Gur-Ze'ev (M.A. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem) is a Ph.D. student in Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests focus on negotiations of gendered power relations in digital environments.

Neta Kligler-Vilenchik, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Neta Kligler-Vilenchik (Ph.D. University of Southern California) is Associate Professor of Communication at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research interests focus on political expression and participation in the changing media environment.

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Published

2022-01-14

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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