Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet
Chapter 6: The Buys and Selling of Labour-Power”
How do race and gender dynamics influence the economic and labor aspects of digital fashion blogging?
Form for Jaclyn’s Talk
Lecture Notes
How do race and gender dynamics influence the economic and labor aspects of digital fashion blogging?
To Read
Minh-Ha T. Pham's "Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet”
Summary: "Asians Wear Clothes on the Internet" by Minh-Ha T. Pham explores personal style blogging among Asian women. The book examines the intersection of race and fashion, highlighting how these bloggers navigate racial identities in a space influenced by Western norms. Pham discusses the economic aspects of blogging, including monetization and its impact on content. She also addresses gender dynamics, emphasizing female bloggers' agency in a patriarchal digital landscape. The work provides insight into the complexities faced by Asian bloggers, focusing on how race, gender, and economics intertwine in the digital fashion world.
- Digital Fashion Economy: The economic system that encompasses all aspects of fashion in the digital realm, including online retail, digital marketing, and social media influence.
- Intersectionality: A framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities (gender, race, class, sexuality, ability, etc.) combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege.
- Commodity Fetishism (
review): A Marxist concept referring to the distorted perception of the social relationships involved in production, where commodities are imbued with value independent of their labor context. This term helps in analyzing how personal style and fashion are commodified in the digital realm. - Hegemony: The dominance of one group over others, often maintained through cultural means. This is relevant in discussing how certain racial and gender norms dominate the digital fashion industry and influence content creation and reception.
- Neoliberalism: An economic and political ideology favoring free-market capitalism, deregulation, and reduction in government spending. This term is important for understanding the broader economic context in which digital fashion blogging and influencer culture operate, especially in terms of monetization and market dynamics.
To Watch
Student Facilitation
Chapter 6: The Busying and Selling of Labour-Power
Questions
Labor-Power in Digital Economies: How does Marx's concept of the buying and selling of labor-power in Chapter 6 of "Capital" relate to the labor dynamics observed in Pham's discussion of fashion blogging? Consider how personal style bloggers monetize their digital presence and the implications this has for understanding labor in the digital economy.
Commodification of Self in Digital Spaces: Marx discusses the commodification of labor in industrial settings. How does this concept apply to the commodification of identity and self-representation in digital spaces, as seen in Pham's exploration of fashion blogging and the use of platforms like TikTok and YouTube shorts?
Digital Labor and Workers' Rights: Considering Marx's analysis of workers' rights and conditions in Chapter 6, how do you think these concepts apply to the digital laborers Pham describes, who often work in unregulated, gig-based online economies?
Evolving Notions of Labor and Exploitation: How do Marx's insights into the exploitation of labor in the factory setting compare to the challenges and forms of exploitation encountered by the fashion bloggers in Pham's work, especially considering the physical and mental demands of maintaining an online presence?