Glatt, Z. (2024). The intimacy triple bind: Structural inequalities and relational labour in the influencer industry. European Journal of Cultural Studies, 27(3), 424–440.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1177/13675494231194156
Open access: Yes
Notes: It has long been noted that content creators—in their efforts to cultivate engaged (and hence profitable) audiences—are subjected to extraneous forms of emotional and relational labour. Moreover (and as I have discussed plenty in previous reviews), visibility online has been noted to often come at the cost of exposure to online harassment, especially for those already marginalized or vulnerable. In this article, Glatt connects these two conceptual threads. Through ethnographic work of content creators, the authors outlines four key practices through whcih marginalised creators manage and negotiate boundaries with their audiences: (1) leaning into making rather than being content, (2) (dis)engagement with anti-fans through silence, (3) retreating into private community spaces and (4) turning off public comments. The combinations of these circumstances result in what Glatt conceptualizes as the intimacy triple bind, defined as “creators from historically marginalised groups – and especially those in stigmatised content verticals – are already at higher risk of trolling and harassment, yet under increased pressure to perform relational labour to sustain their income, which adversely opens them up to further harms.” (p. 426).
Abstract: The careers of social media content creators, or influencers, live or die by their ability to cultivate and maintain an invested audience-community. To this end, they are encouraged to practise what has been framed as ‘emotional labour’ (Hochschild, 2002 [1983]) and ‘relational labour’ (Baym, 2018), commodifying their personalities, lives and tastes in order to build ‘authentic’ self-brands and intimacy with audiences. Drawing on an ethnographic study of the London influencer industry (2017–2023), this article examines emotional/relational labour through an intersectional feminist lens, foregrounding the ways in which structural inequalities shape relationships between creators and their audiences. The tolls of managing audience relationships are higher for marginalised creators – especially those making stigmatised and less brandable content genres – who find themselves on an uneven playing field in the challenges they face as well as the coping strategies at their disposal. These creators are in an intimacy triple bind, already at higher risk of trolling and harassment, yet under increased pressure to perform relational labour, adversely opening them up to further harms in the form of weaponised intimacy. This article explores four key tactics that creators employ in response to such conditions, as they navigate relational labour and boundaries with audiences: (1) leaning into making rather than being content; (2) (dis)engaging with anti-fans through silence; (3) retreating into private community spaces, away from the exposure of public platforms; and, in parallel, (4) turning off public comments. The adverse experiences of marginalised creators who speak about their identities and experiences online raise serious concerns about the viability of content creation as a career for these groups, as well as the lack of accountability and responsibility that platforms show towards the creators who generate profit for them.
