Instapoetry and its Online Transnational Activism

MA Thesis: Literature Today

Mayra Lynn Assink

5636841

Supervisor: dr. Anna Poletti

Second Reader: dr. Mia You

British English

14564 words including quotes and footnotes

25 June 2019
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Contents

Plagiarism Statement 3

Introduction 4-7

Chapter 1: Poetry, Instagram and Instapoetry 8-15

Chapter 2: Relatability and Shareability 16-31

Chapter 3: Community Building and Activism 32-45

Conclusion and Analysis 46-50

Works Cited 51-55

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Introduction

Instapoets have been deemed by many journalists and critics writing for, for example, The

Guardian, The Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, to revolutionise the poetry genre and

the way readers experience and value poetry (Crown; Mzezewa; Szkutak). Because of the

revolutionising aspects of Instapoetry, such as the use of Instagram, Instapoets have attracted

criticism from fellow poets, literary critics and readers. Even though critique on a new form

of poetry is expected, the essence of the literary criticism on Instapoetry is often based on

sexism and/or racism. Instapoets Rupi Kaur and Nikita Gill fight gender inequality in the

world and the literary field through their poetry by giving the anger, pain and sorrow of

marginalised persons recognition and a community in which they can let their voices be

heard. Both Kaur and Gill are of Indian descent, causing them to be part of a minority group

within the Western literary field and Western world. Although they are both successful

Instapoets, they have both been marginalised because of their gender, this will be further

explained in the third chapter. In this thesis, gender inequality is defined as the silencing,

oppressing, violating, and objectifying of women in the world and literary field (Dobson 29).

Rupi Kaur is the most popular Instapoet thus far, with over 3.5 million followers and two

published bestseller poetry collections. Nikita Gill is less popular, when measured in online

followers, with 500,000 followers on Instagram and 280,000 on Twitter, but she has

published three poetry collections and one collection of short stories and poetry. The

following of both Gill and Kaur consists mainly of young women between 14 and 35 of age

(Byager; Miller), causing critics to disregard their poetry as naïve and not serious since their

works are the product of an online personality rather than a poet (Watts). This dismissal of

the work made by Instapoets such as Kaur and Gill will be further analysed in the third

chapter.
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Poetry is often defined by its aesthetic value; meaning is not only significant in the

interpretation of a poem, but the visual art such as typography or drawings that are part of the

poem are also important. This interaction between words and visual arts is what distinguishes

Instapoetry from other forms of literature and other forms of poetry (Alghadeer 87). The

appeal of poetry is often defined through its concision and the ability of the author to convey

much meaning in the limited space of the poem (Hughes 1). Moreover, reading poetry is a

subjective experience. The question of what a poem aims to convey and what the impact of

that meaning is in relation to one’s daily life is vital to coming to an interpretation of the

poem (Alghadeer 87). Moreover, according to Hughes, any poem requires an attention span

or state of concentration to which most people are unaccustomed to due to their “hectic lives”

(1). Instagram does not seem to be designed for complex works of poetry that require

attentive reflection. In fact, many users may glance at a post for only a fraction of a second

before they continue to glance at the next post on their feed (Larach). The Instagram feed is a

never ending, vertical stream of photos with a username, caption and comments (Larach). On

average 95 million photos are shared each day with over 800 million global users (Cohen et

al). Instagram went online in 2010 and since then, it is an increasingly popular platform that

plays “a dominant role in influencing perceived social norms” (Cohen et al 2). A social

network such as Instagram, where content is user-generated, provides new opportunities for

social interactions and self-representation. Instapoets are rising in fame and followers; the

hashtag #Instapoetry counts over 2.3 million hits to this date and Instapoets such as Rupi

Kaur and Nikita Gill have millions of followers. Previous research on activism among users

of Instagram has focused on the so-called selfie culture and the forming of communities as a

critical part of online activism (Holowka 183). Other researchers focused on the fading

boundaries between subculture and mainstream youth culture, causing activism to exist

within popular culture (McRobbie 156). The pressure to conform to the ideal female body
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image, self-objectification and body positivity trends on Instagram have been researched

(Cohen et al; Fardouly et al). These studies focused on the relationship between female body

image and Instagram use and found that because Instagram’s content is user-generated,

normally marginalised voices are able to have a voice on the free space of Instagram. There is

no academic research yet on the popularity of poetry on Instagram and how activism against

gender inequality can be seen as a factor of that popularity. But Instapoets Kaur and Gill can

be seen as examples of marginalised voices that use Instagram to share their stories and art.

Gill and Kaur are able to combine visual art and poetry in such a manner that they attract the

attention of the fast-scrolling Instagram users. Besides this, arguably, aesthetic appreciation

of Instapoetry, the manner in which Gill and Kaur are able to create online communities and

address controversial issues such as gender inequality is significant in the way they are part

of online activism. Following these statements, the following research question arises: what

is the role of poetry on Instagram in the construction of (online) communities and

transnational online activism against gender inequality?

Through close reading of reviews and opinion pieces about Instapoetry, the Instagram

profiles of Rupi Kaur and Nikita Gill, poems on those accounts, and through the reading of

scholarly articles on online/digital activism, feminist social media theory, the male glance

and poetry, an answer to the thesis question will be formulated. In the first chapter, the genre

of poetry will be analysed, the social media platform Instagram will be examined, and the

combination of poetry and Instagram will be investigated. The second chapter will examine

the aesthetic appreciation, the relatability and shareability of Instapoetry. This will be done

through the close reading of two poems: one by Kaur and one by Gill. Relatability is defined

as how users can relate to and recognise themselves in a poem, this will be further discussed

in chapter two. Shareability is understood as the ways in which poems are distributed on

Instagram, this will also be further discussed in chapter two. The third chapter will focus on
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the emergence of online communities on Instagram around Instapoetry, the transnational

activism that seems to simultaneously arise alongside those communities and the critique on

Instapoetry. The last chapter will conclude and provide an analysis on the role of Instapoetry

in the construction of (online) communities and transnational online activism against gender

inequality.
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Chapter 1: Poetry, Instagram and Instapoetry

This chapter will give an analysis of the genre of poetry, an overview of the social media

platform Instagram and an analysis of the combination between poetry and Instagram, called

Instapoetry. This will be done to examine the role of poetry on Instagram and ultimately to

answer the research question: what is the role of poetry on Instagram in the construction of

(online) communities and transnational online activism against gender inequality?

Poetry

Poetry is defined by its aesthetic value and its appeal lies in its concision and ability

to convey much meaning. Because of the focus on the aesthetic, not only the meaning is

significant in the interpretation of a poem, but the visual art such as typography, line spacing,

or drawings are also important. This combination between words and visual is what

distinguishes Instapoetry from other forms of literature (Alghadeer 87). In addition, poetry is

the genre in which the expression of emotions is intensified by the use of a distinctive style.

Poetry is typically evocative and provokes some intense emotion or experience of revelation

and/or understanding of the world (Flanagan). These emotions, experiences and

understandings of the world are not the same for every reader, this makes reading poetry a

subjective experience. The question of what a poem is able to convey and what the impact of

that meaning is in relation to one’s daily life is vital to coming to an interpretation of the

poem (Alghadeer 87). The individuality of interpreting poetry leads to the absence of a clear,

all-compassing definition of the genre (Nemerov 2). In general, readers are familiar with

poetry and their attempt to define poetry comes from uncertainty due to seeming exceptions

of the genre; it is not the case that they do not have an idea what poetry is, but rather doubt

their own judgement to distinguish poetry from prose (Nemerov 2). Due to the focus on the

aesthetic value of poetry, the genre is subjected to new forms of medium and styles. This

makes it an ever-evolving genre, including all kinds of sub-genres that are not hierarchically
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ordered. Yet, some genres are deemed more prestigious than others, for example the

Shakespearean sonnet has long been the standard within the British poetry genre (Nemerov

13). Pierre Bourdieu argues in “The Field of Cultural Production” that the literary field can

be understood as a system of distribution of economic, social, cultural and symbolic capital

and that every position or any form of capital is relative to another position (30). This means

that every position, even the dominant ones, exists on its own and simultaneously relative to

other positions making the literary field a constantly changing field of power relations. The

literary field is thus a field of forces and a change in the field is a change in the power

relations that establishes the distribution of positions in the field (30-2). This system is not an

objective consensus but rather “the product and prize of permanent conflict” (34). The

participation in this conflict, which can be indicated by for example praise or rejection by

peers, establishes the criterion that determines if the work can be accepted as belonging to the

literary field (34-5). The poetry genre is part of the literary field as well as having the same

power struggles within the poetry genre, due to its ever-evolving new sub-genres, as the

literary field has, meaning that every poetry sub-genre exists on its own and relative to other

sub-genres within the genre of poetry. Every new sub-genre has to endure the conflict of

praise and/or rejection in order to earn an established position within the genre.

In this thesis, poetry is understood as an ever-evolving genre in which new sub-genres

appear regularly since the ways in which the words, style and visual art of a poem intensify

the emotive expression of a poem are unlimited. This is relevant because Instapoetry is one of

the latest new poetry sub-genres which is still enduring the conflict of finding its place within

the genre of poetry and also within the literary field.

Instagram

Instagram went online in 2010 and it has become an increasingly popular platform

that plays “a dominant rule in influencing perceived social norms” (Cohen et al.; Baker and
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Walsh). The content is user-generated and provides new opportunities for social interactions

and self-representation. Many users keep public Instagram profiles, meaning that followers

can view, like and comment on their pictures without knowing them personally or having to

follow them back (Lup et al. 248). Private accounts are only visible for followers, yet the

owners of the private accounts can freely roam Instagram. Instagram is focused on sharing

photos, often enhanced by filters (Waterloo et al. 1817). It has become a space for visual

communication where users can edit and experiment with their online public personas (Baker

and Walsh 4553-4). According to some journalists, this focus on the visual alongside the

possibilities to express oneself leads users to share positive and self-promotional content

(Waterloo et al. 1817; Lup et al. 248). On the other hand, browsing through enhanced photos

of celebrities and other strangers may trigger the assumption “that these photos are indicative

of how the people actually live” (Lup et al. 248). Conclusions like this might make Instagram

users more vulnerable to judge themselves based on the assumed, often unrealistic, lives of

strangers and celebrities of whom they see photos on their feed (Lup et al. 248). Accounts

that counter these comparisons and fight enhanced photos and body objectification are

increasing in numbers (Cohen et al. 3). Several researchers have examined their affect and

influence on the online world in terms of social relations and the real world in terms of

mental health and concluded that the public space of Instagram allows users to explore self-

identification, activism, body-positivity more freely than in their offline lives (Cohen et al.;

Holowka; Lup et al.; Waterloo et al.). Waterloo et al. found that positive emotions and self-

promotion are more often shared on Instagram than on other social media platforms, possibly

due to the focus on the visual of Instagram (1826). Lup et al. concluded that following

strangers leads to negativity concerning self-image due to comparisons to the seemingly

successful lives of Instagram users (251). Cohen et al. judge these comparisons more

positively and states that exposure to body-positive content leads to a more positive self-
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image and an improved mood (16). Holowka argues that the forming of communities is a

critical part in online activism and exploration of identity (183). She states that users can

come in contact with each other without even realising that they are part of a community or

collective (183). Hashtags are an important aspect of these online communities since they are

able to connect users with the same interests as all posts with the same hashtag appear when

searched for, regardless of the privacy settings of the searcher. These studies prove the niche

of Instapoetry and studies thereof but also the novelty of researching Instagram since these

studies have all been published in the last four years. Moreover, these studies set up the

theoretical framework of a new field within the combination of literary and new media

studies such as the current research and for the current research question. Thus, following

these previous studies, for the current study, Instagram is defined as a public platform on

which photos tend to be enhanced aesthetically which facilitates users to connect with each

other through hashtags and compare oneself to someone else and to share and/or see often

positive and self-promotional content on their feed. This definition of Instagram still does not

explain how poetry fits on Instagram, yet it does give a simplified explanation of the platform

and the manner which people make use of the platform. This is needed to further explain the

combination of Instagram and poetry in the next section.

Instapoetry

Since poetry is a genre that is influenced by new inventions and new styles due to its

focus on aesthetics and since Instagram is a public platform that emphasises the visual, it is

not completely unexpected that poets turned to Instagram. Instapoetry is a new sub-genre

within the field of poetry and is defined as short, as few words as possible, fitting within the

standard Instagram format of a picture, and with fonts of the words and drawings alongside

the words carefully selected to be an aesthetic extension of the poem. Three factors can be

distinguished in the appeal of Instapoetry, namely the relatability, the visual character and the
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shareability of the poems. Themes such as (self)love, loss, feminism, empowerment and

identity exploration are not new within the poetry genre as these themes elicit emotions

(Mzezewa; Nemerov 4). Instapoets achieve their relatability by writing about recognisable

and accessible themes and thereby opening up issues that are normally not talked about on

Instagram such as gender inequality, self-harm and rape (Mzewewa). These issues are

countered by writing about, and thereby opening up, the relatable themes as selflove,

feminism, empowerment and identity exploration. Judith Palmer argues that Instapoetry “is

not really about complex language” but “more about gaining instant understanding from

readers” (qtd. in Byager). Palmer continues by stating that this understanding is reached by

turning “easily translatable universal emotions” into poetry (qtd. in Byager). The seemingly

simplistic style of the poetry emphasises this, since the poems are so short and use little

words to convey their meaning. Yet on the other hand, it poses a challenge since the message

has to come across in as little words as possible to fit within the border of the standard format

of a picture on Instagram. Moreover, the poem has to convey its meaning in that little amount

of words without being too complex as that could lead to Instagram users not making an

effort to understand the meaning of the poem due to the visual character of Instagram and

limited attention span of users (Larach).

Instapoets succeed in making painful or difficult situations accessible with their

poetry (McElwee). Moreover, they give attention and a voice to feelings and experiences that

most young people cannot articulate themselves yet (Byager). The readership of Instapoetry

consists mostly of adolescent females: between the ages of 14-24 (Byager; Miller). These

women are still navigating and exploring themselves and their lives, and Instapoetry can help

them in that process of identity exploration. This ties in with the shareability of Instapoetry as

poems are shared between users to encourage and remind people that they are allowed to

speak up even when they have the feeling that they should remain silent or simply do not
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know how to articulate their feelings. Instapoetry facilitates an open space through addressing

relatable topics for young women in which they can share those emotions and find others

who struggle with the same experiences. The visual art of Instapoetry is another factor of its

popularity and appeal next to the relatable meaning of the poems. Instagram is a platform that

is focused on the visual so to gain the attention of a fast-scrolling user, a text has to stand out

between selfies, landscapes and other photographs. Most Instapoets have their own way of

combining their poems with visual art to stand out. Nikita Gill varies her style, either her

standard format: a simple, pink background with a black, traditional font or her drawings,

made by fans, alongside her poems (see fig. 1 and fig. 2). Rupi Kaur draws minimalistic art

which depicts parts or themes of the poem to strengthen the meaning of her poetry (see fig.

3).

Fig. 1 Example of Nikita Gill’s standard poem format

posted on her Instagram account on 8 August 2018.
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Fig. 2 Example of fan art made by @a.c.sparks posted on

Nikita Gill’s Instagram account on 23 September 2018.

Fig. 3 Example of Rupi Kaur’s poetry and her art, posted on her
Instagram account on 28 January 2019.
The art, the relatability and shareability of Instapoetry makes the poetry more accessible and

thus leading to the poetry genre to seem less intimidating, elitist or remote. The aesthetics of

Instapoetry are one factor in why the poems are successful on Instagram; the art of the poetry

fits with the other photographs on the platform and simultaneously stands out because of the

text and message. Due to the aesthetics, the poems are shareable. Similarly, the relatability of
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the themes discussed in the poems cause the shareability of the poetry to increase since users

find support in the poetry and other readers of the poetry. The analysis of the combination of

poetry and Instagram, namely Instapoetry, has led to this understanding of Instapoetry which

is needed to analyse the relatability and shareability of Instapoetry and ultimately, answer the

research question.
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Chapter 2: Relatability and Shareability

This chapter will analyse the aesthetic appreciation, the shareability and relatability of

Instapoetry through close reading two poems; one of Rupi Kaur and one of Nikita Gill. This

will be done to analyse the activism of and community forming around Instapoetry in the

next chapter.. This chapter will thus ask the question: what is the relatability and shareability

of Instapoetry? The reasons to use the writings of Kaur and Gill will be justified by giving an

overview of the writing careers and popularity of these two women, partly because there has

been written much about them lately in mainstream media, partly because of their success

and partly because they are outspoken feminists which makes them activists. This chapter

will be solely focused on the two case-studies and their aesthetics, shareability, and

relatability. First, the terms relatability and shareability will be defined, then Rupi Kaur’s

career will be analysed before a close reading of one of her poems. The same will be done for

Nikita Gill; first a career analysis and then a close reading of one of her poems. To conclude

this chapter, the popularity of Gill and Kaur will be examined through the relatability and

shareability of their poetry. The affect and influence of Instapoetry in online and offline

contexts, namely activism, reception and community forming will be discussed in chapter

three.

Relatability

In academic literary and media studies the term “identification” is used for

relatability, yet on Instagram and other social media platforms the terms “relatable” and

“relatability” are more often used (Ask and Abidin 836). The terms could be used as

synonyms; however the term “identification” emphasises the user’s connection to a post and

“relatability” emphasises the post’s ability to connect with an user. Moreover, the term

“relatability” stresses the multiple interpretations of a post, where “identification” connotes a

single interpretation for a single user. Therefore, in this thesis the term “relatability” is
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preferred. Relatability, as defined in this paper, derives from meme culture, in which social

media users express their sentiments of relating to a post by sharing it with their followers or

commenting underneath it with words such as “same,” or “that’s me” (qtd. in Ask and Abidin

838). As stated in the earlier chapter, poetry is a genre in which the expression of emotions is

emphasised by the use of a unique, individual style. In addition, poetry is often provoking

intense emotions or experiences of revelation and/or understanding of the world for both

reader and often writer (Flanagan). What these emotions or experiences exactly are or mean

cannot be generalised as reading poetry is a subjective experience. The subjectivity of

reading poetry as relatability can be clarified through Rita Felski’s “Uses of Literature” and

Edward Saïd’s “worldliness.” According to Felski, reading in general relies on a complex

web of “presuppositions, expectations, and unconscious pre-judgements” (3). Reading is not

a one-way street since the reader cannot help but bring their own experiences and

interpretations to a text, while texts simultaneously expose circumstances in the world of the

writer (3). Similarly, the uniqueness of a text cannot be highlighted without overlooking the

pertinent qualities of its connectedness with the world (5). Edward Saïd described this

phenomenon as “worldliness” meaning that texts do not come out of nothing, but are objects

produced by specific moments by specific people with specific interests (4). Texts are always

affected by circumstance, time, place and society (4). The writers, readers and critics of these

texts are thus not only describers of the world, but also respondents (18-9). Because texts

exist in the world while simultaneously reporting on that world and originating from that

world, readers respond while also being affected by circumstances in the text as well as the

world. The worldliness of texts allows for innumerable interpretations of texts without

claiming the existence of one correct interpretation. Texts and writers are thus not only

responding to the world in which they are produced or producing but also describing and

representing those circumstances. The relatability of poetry can then be understood as a

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consequence of worldliness since poems are mirrors or reflections of the world in which they

are made.

Poets examine the world in which they are situated and turn their interpretation of that

world into poetry. Readers of said poetry might “feel [themselves] addressed, summoned,

called to account: [they] cannot help seeing traces of [themselves] in the pages [they are]

reading” (Felski 23). Yet, this form of recognition is not a repetition since “something that

may have been sensed in a vague, diffuse, or semi-conscious way now takes on a distinct

shape, is amplified, heightened or made newly visible” (25). Readers thus see themselves

reflected in or identify with (parts of themes of) a poem and thus relate to the poem. Felski

defines this phenomenon as recognition: “the widespread belief that we learn something

about ourselves in the act of reading” (12). Walter Benjamin described this type of reader’s

response as a consequence of a reader’s encounter with themselves within the narrative (qtd.

in Stiles 498). This is based on the phenomenon of readers who attempt to understand texts

by placing them into their own personal narrative in order to make sense of the texts and their

own lives (Stiles 498-9). This approach to reading is often frowned upon in literary studies,

since it emphasises emotions in the reader’s response (Stiles 494-5). Stiles argues that the

term relatability focuses on the workings and affect of a text, rather than the more academic

view of what a text is or is able to represent (494-5). Whether or not these feelings of relating

to a text are legitimate is part of a much larger philosophical debate and that goes beyond the

analysis of the relatability of poetry on Instagram. In this thesis, the term relatability is

understood as reader’s emotional identification with (parts or themes of) worldly poems

caused by the ability of the poet to describe experiences from the world and portray them as a

shared experience in their poetry. This ability of the poet and the relatability of the poem is

one factor of the popularity of Instapoetry and will also prove to be a factor in not only the

community building around Instapoetry but also the activism of Instapoetry. A close reading
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of one poem of Kaur and one of Gill will be done with extensive emphasis on their

relatability.

Shareability

The open, public space of Instagram allows individuals to easily share their thoughts

and feelings with others (Waterloo et al 1813). Relatability is one factor in the shareability of

Instapoetry since users share poems that they feel emotionally connected with in order to

share their thoughts and feelings with their followers (Baker and Walsh 4559; Waterloo et al

1814). The seemingly simplistic style of Instapoetry is another factor, as the short lines of

verse that need little interpretation lead to the poetry to be read in a glance (McElwee).

Another factor in the shareability of Instapoetry is the visual art. As stated earlier, Instagram

is a social media platform that is focused on the visual and on aesthetics (Baker and Walsh

4553-4; Waterloo et al 1817). Instapoets use distinct typography, drawings and design of

their images to create their own identifiable style which leads to more accessibility and

popularity as users become more acquainted with the poet. This acquaintance with the poet

leads to familiarity and thus relatability.

Shareability of Instapoetry depends on the manner of communication of Instagram

between users. Users of Instagram communicate with each other through images that they

post on their own account, but they can also send images privately to their followers or post

them on their story, which their followers or all users (depending on the privacy settings of

the account) are able to see for 24 hours. Users often tag these images with hashtags to reach

even more users and categorise the post with similar content (Baker and Walsh 4558). The

function of hashtags is to categorise content, make it discoverable and share it to a public

audience. This can lead to more visibility and popularity of not only the image but also of the

user. Since the users can connect with others through the use of hashtags, they can

consequently gain more followers or accounts to follow who are also interested in the
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hashtags used; this form of connecting with others leads ultimately to the building of

communities of like-minded persons on Instagram. This community building is a significant

aspect of the activism of Instapoetry and will be further discussed in chapter three. Hashtags

increase shareability of a post because they lead to more people interesting in said hashtags

seeing the post and possibly sharing the post themselves. Users of Instagram express their

feelings through poetry and connect with other users through shared emotions due to the

combination of relatable content, the seemingly simplistic style, hashtags, the aesthetic

drawings alongside the texts which all contributes to the shareability of poems on Instagram.

Shareability is one of the factors in the appeal of poetry, next to relatability and aesthetic

appreciation. These factors have proven to be intertwined with each other and cannot be

measured on their own since relatability influences shareability and both are also influenced

by the aesthetic appreciation. These factors are important to establish as they constitute the

appeal of Instapoetry, which must be understood to define the role of Instapoetry on

Instagram and thereby answer the first part of the research question.

Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur is now one of the most popular Instapoets, she has over three million

Instagram followers and has published two poetry collections, the first spent more than a year

on the New York Best Seller list (Kaur “FAQ”). Kaur has written poetry and made drawings

since a young age in order to express and understand her emotions (Kaur “FAQ”). In 2010 or

2011, during her first year of university, she started to use anonymous blogs to publish her

poetry and drawings. Two years and many different blogs later, she started using her own

name on a Tumblr blog. She posted her older work she wrote during High School, but also

newer writings and drawings. In 2014, she switched to the more publicly available Instagram

which made her work more widely accessible and allowed her to build a readership

(Mzezema). Kaur is not only one of the most popular female Instapoets, she is also publicly
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feminist and actively attempting to rid the world of inequality, which makes her the best

example of how Instapoets fight gender inequality with their poetry and thus the best case

study for this thesis.

Kaur was born in Northern India and at age four, she emigrated to Canada with her

family where she still currently resides. Her Indian roots and heritage strongly influence her

poetry, not only her style but also the themes she addresses. She writes about relatable themes

of love, relationships, emotional abuse, racism, sexual assault, gender hierarchy and heritage.

To be more precise, she writes about having immigrant parents, speaking English with an

Indian accent, about gender roles in Indian society and how that influences her and her

mother, who grew up and lived the majority of her life in India. that Her style is characterised

by minimalistic drawings, lower case lettering, short lines and a strong portrayal of emotions

as will be shown in the close reading later in this section. She only writes in lowercase letters

because her mother tongue is Punjabi which uses the Gurmukhi script that has no distinction

between lower- and uppercase letters (Kaur “FAQ”). Her reasons for using this script is not

to break the rules of English, but “more about tying [her] own history and heritage within

[her] work” and to let her work be a visual representation of what she wants “to see more of

within the world: equalness” (Kaur “FAQ”). This wish to see more equality in the world is an

example of the activism that Kaur’s poetry addresses, this will be further discussed in the

third chapter. A close reading of one of her poems will now further illustrate Kaur’s style.

On the 18th of April 2014, Kaur posted this poem for the first time on her Instagram

account without a title, text or hashtags alongside it (see fig. 4). She reposted it on the 9th of

August 2018 with the title “a throwback. page 165 from #milkandhoney” (see fig. 5).
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Fig. 4. Poem of Rupi Kaur posted on her Fig. 5. Poem of Rupi Kaur reposted on her
Instagram account on 18 April 2014, screen Instagram account on 9 August 2018,
shot taken on 1 April 2019. screenshot taken on 1 April 2019.
This poem mainly addresses the pressure many women feel to conform to the ideals of

feminine appearance of their time; to have a hairless body. This is depicted in the lines “the /

hair on your legs is / growing back” (see fig.4). These lines also evoke the objectification of

the female body in the sense that a woman is not treated as a person but as an object of sexual

desire. The objectification of women in patriarchal societies is explained by Sandra Bartky

through the use of Marx’s theory of alienation (qtd. in Papadaki). She argues that women

undergo fragmentation of the human person since all focus of the objectifier is placed on the

body of a woman, without acknowledging her mind or personality (qtd. in Papadaki).

Objectification always involves someone who objectifies and someone who is objectified, yet

this does not mean that there are always two persons involved (Papadaki). According to

Bartky, women also objectify themselves by trying to “look sensually pleasing to men” (qtd.

in Papadaki). Bartky argues that in this process of women trying to attract the gaze, women

only “learn to see themselves as though from the outside” (qtd. in Papadaki).
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Kaur plays with multiple levels of address through the word “you” illustrating the

different perspectives concerning objectification portrayed in this poem (see fig. 4). The first

six lines draw attention to the objectification of bodies from the perspective of the objectified

person whereas the last five lines emphasise the perspective of the objectifier. In the first six

lines, “he” points out that the hair on the body of “you” is growing back, signifying the

widely held expectation that female bodies are hairless in the current beauty ideal for women.

The denigrating connotation of the “he” pointing out that the hair is growing back is

generated by this pressure to conform to the beauty ideal (Papadaki). Because the “he” who

notices the hair growing back and deciding to say something about it stems from this beauty

ideal: were it not that female bodies have to be hairless, there would be no reason to say

anything about the hair. The choice of “point out” is emphasising the denigration as it

connotes literally pointing at the hairs on the body, thus looking at the body from the outside.

“remind / that boy your body / is not his home” evokes that many women try to “look

sensually pleasing to men” and thereby objectify themselves : a process in which they might

forget that they are the only ones who can decide the appearance of their body (qtd. in

Papadaki). However, this tendency of women to objectify themselves does not always lead to

an acceptance of the objectification and this instance, the idea that a body is less pleasing

when it has hairs. Namely, the word “home” depicts that the body of “you” is not the

property of “he” thus the only one to decide on the looks of the body is “you”. The shift in

address of the last five lines of this poem emphasises the authority of “you”. This is further

emphasised in the line “he is a guest” signifying the authority and possibility of “you” to send

“he” away. The imperative in the next line “warn him” not only intensifies this authority of

“you” but it is also a call to not remain silent about objectification whereas “outstep / his

welcome” hints at setting up boundaries regarding one’s body. “again” at the end strengthens

the call to speak up about objectification since it signifies the repetitiveness of it. This word
 Assink 24

signifies an explicit instance of the relatability of Kaur’s poetry, since she poses this

objectification as a shared experience that many women undergo and have undergone all over

the world.

The drawing underneath Kaur’s poem further illustrates the objectification of female

bodies. It depicts a naked woman lying comfortably, she has leaves growing all over her legs

representing the growth of hair (see fig. 4). The drawing not only illustrates an

objectification of the female body, but it also facilitates objectification since it lies in an

erotic pose which emphasises not only the woman’s breasts but also the hairs growing on her

body in the forms of flowers and leaves. The woman lies with her nose in the air which has

connotations of arrogance and/or disregard; evoking her carelessness for the natural growth

of hairs on her body nor the objectification of her body. The drawing is simplistic, depicting

thin lines in a sketch-like manner emphasising the ordinariness of body hair, the

repetitiveness of objectification and the ease with which Kaur addresses the pressure of

society’s beauty standards.

Lastly, the textual strategy of using second person perspective “you” encourages the

reader to identify with and read the poem in a relatable style of reading. Not only does the use

of “you” facilitates a conversation between reader and speaker. But it also presupposes

identification from the speaker towards the reader as it signifies a common experience of

both reader and narrator, strengthening the relatability of the poem.

The relatability of this poem thus lies in the first place in the resistance against the

beauty standard of a hairless female body, but also more general in the acknowledgement of

the expectations and the pressure to adhere to society’s beauty standards and change one’s

appearance. The objectification of the female body is another relatable subject for many

women. Objectification means that the body is treated as a desirable object rather than as a

person. The remark that the hair is growing back has the denigrating connotation that the
 Assink 25

body is not desirable when it has hair. These relatable topics create the relatability of the

poem, as users might be able to express their feelings regarding female beauty standards and

body objectification through this image. The drawing underneath the poem not only

strengthens the message of the poem, it also generates an aesthetic appeal, keeping the focus

on the visual of Instagram in mind, of the poem which leads to a greater shareability of the

poem.

Nikita Gill

Unlike Rupi Kaur, Nikita Gill does not have her own website including an extensive

biography or frequently asked questions section, meaning that the following information is

compiled from multiple interviews and opinion pieces concerning her poetry and status as

Instapoet. The information from these sources should be critically engaged with. Gill is a

thirty-one year old London based writer and visual artist. She was born in Belfast but moved

to New Delhi when she was a few months old (Sanderson). She grew up in India and started

writing stories at a young age. When she was twelve years old she published her first non-

fiction story in a local newspaper (Iyer; Sanderson). Since then, she continued writing and in

2015, she started a Tumblr blog on which she posted the poems she wrote on napkins or old

receipts (Iyer; Sanderson). A few months later she turned to Instagram, which caused a rise in

fame as she benefitted from the increasing popularity of Instagram and quickly gained many

celebrity followers (Iyer; Lazarus). Only a year later, she published her first poetry collection

Your Soul is a River after it was rejected by over 130 publishers. Gill explains in an interview

that she sees those rejections “as fuel to better [her] writing” and realises “how important the

constant evolution of a writer truly is” (qtd. in Lazarus). Since then, she has published three

more collections: Wild Embers, Fierce Fairy Tales and Your Heart is the Sea. In an interview

for the Hindu Times concerning her third book of poetry Fierce Fairy Tales, Gill argues that

she finds the term Instapoet limiting, as she publishes her work not only on Instagram, but
 Assink 26

also uses Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Moreover, she states that the term has become a

derogatory as poets have surpassed gatekeepers by posting their work directly on social

media and this has caused all poetry to be visible, even that of lower quality (qtd. in Lazarus).

Yet, she also states that “poetry means different things for different people” and that the

genre is extremely diverse and has never fit in a boundary (qtd. in Lazarus). On the other

hand, she understands how Instapoetry is able to “give people a shot of positivity that is quick

and easy to drink down” and compares Instapoetry to works of Sylvia Plath: the former is

easier to understand and the latter requires a right state of mind due to the many different

connotations of the work (qtd. in Sanderson).

Gill writes about things she has endured in her life and imagines addressing her

younger self when writing which facilitates many young women to relate with her poetry

(Sanderson). Her ability to write about her own experiences from the world and describe

them in a relatable manner in her poetry creates the relatability of her poetry. Gill writes

about her experiences growing up in India where “men would strip [her] bare with their eyes

and comment on [her] body” (qtd. in Sanderson). This objectification of her body caused

much anger in Gill; she states in an interview with The Bookseller that this anger could only

be released by writing about these experiences and the negative emotions associated with

them (qtd. in Sanderson). Her works open discussions about mental health, but they also

discuss transnational womanhood, “confront the concept of good and evil inside every human

being” and retell classical myths and fairy tales (Iyer; qtd. in Lazarus; Sanderson). With her

poetry she aims to help people that have gone or are going through similar experiences as she

did and she believes that Instagram empowers that message as it is a public platform on

which people are easily approachable (Lazarus).

Her prose and poetry collection Fierce Fairy Tales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your

Soul was inspired by gender stereotypes and “happily ever after” and “once upon a time”
 Assink 27

tropes that are deeply ingrained in society (Gill Fierce Fairy Tales). These tropes connote the

idea that princesses will be happy once they have found their prince and that they need to be

saved (Gill Fierce Fairy Tales). In this collection, there are no clearly defined heroes nor

damsels in distress, rather the characters exist in a grey area where their good and bad actions

are combined and those actions compose who they are as human beings (Lazarus). The

clichés of “beautiful, silent princesses; ugly, jealous, and bitter villainesses; girls who need

rescuing; and men who take all the glory” are removed and rewritten in this collection in

order to give classical fairy tales a modern makeover (Gill Fierce Fairy Tales).

Gill posted this poem on her Instagram account on 1 October 2018 alongside a text

explaining how the expectation of moral perfection of princesses has always bothered her

(see fig. 6; see fig. 7). The first two stanzas of the poem address the flaws and silenced anger

Fig. 6 Poem of Nikita Gill posted on her Fig. 7 Description under the poem called
Instagram account on 1 October 2018, “Fairytales” by Nikita Gill posted on her
screenshot taken on 27 March 2019. Instagram account on 1 October 2018,
screenshot taken on 3 April 2019
 Assink 28

of the princesses in a few of the most famous fairy tales (see fig. 6). “They” in the first line

refers to the common retelling of the fairy tales and society’s reluctance to see the princesses

as imperfect humans.

The first two lines depict flaws by stating that Red Riding Hood might have been a

villain herself by comparing her to the wolf, and anger by explaining how Snow White killed

the queen who was so jealous of Snow White’s beauty that she almost killed her. The third

and fourth line also illustrate anger and revenge as they portray how Cinderella murdered her

step family who has humiliated and degraded her during her childhood. The second stanza

depicts mental illness and traumas caused by sexual assault. Namely, Aurora was kissed by a

stranger after being induced to a long sleep by a spinning wheel’s spindle which was cursed

by a revengeful and evil fairy called Maleficent who was mad because she was not invited to

Aurora’s christening. The last two stanzas depict a different ending to Hans Christian

Andersen’s tale of The Little Mermaid; in the original, Ariel was a mermaid who loved the

prince so much that she became human for him, but her legs gave her excruciating pain until

the prince would marry her. The prince chooses another woman over her and Ariel’s heart

breaks but the Sea Witch gives her a magic knife with which she should kill the prince in

order to become a mermaid once more. Ariel is so selfless that she cannot kill the prince,

throws herself into the sea and becomes a daughter of the air. Gill’s poem puts bravery and

strength over selflessness through the character of Ariel and this leads to Ariel being able to

become a mermaid once more as was her wish (see fig. 6). The third and fourth stanza of the

poem explicitly refer to rewriting and retelling old-fashioned clichés of fairy tales and

incorporating more realistic and flawed characters. These imperfect characters are a

significant factor in the relatability of this poem as they depict a more realistic image of

women. The fourth stanza emphasises the strength of women rather than their passivity as

many traditional fairy tales do. The focus on imperfections and strength of women counters
 Assink 29

traditional tropes and clichés of fairy tales that depict princesses as flawless, passive and

selfless. This poem illustrates their anger, pain and flaws, facilitating relatability as these

emotions are not unfamiliar for many women. The depiction of these emotions and flaws

opens the conversation about female anger and imperfections, rather than silencing them as

was often the case in traditional fairytales. Moreover, the poem encourages the retelling of

fairy tales in a more realistic manner with flawed characters and emphasising the strengths of

those characters through the lines: “the fairy tales we should tell / our daughters should be

about strong women with real flaws and incredible qualities” (see fig. 6). Female characters

that are depicted more realistically lead to women who look up to them and relate to them, to

sooner accept their own flaws as they see that those characters are not perfect either.

Furthermore, Gill refuses to use the “damsel in distress” trope in her fairy tales, which states

that women are helpless and need to be saved by strong and masculine men. By depicting

strong, imperfect women and men who do not conform to the masculine hero of traditional

fairy tales, she places men and women closer together, leading to less inequality between

men and women in her poetry.

The relatability of this poem lies in the rewriting and retelling of famous fairy tales

which ingrained in the Western literary tradition. Gill underscores flaws of the characters

alongside their anger and pain, creating more awareness of flaws and of emotions in her

characters to which her readers might relate. She thereby removes the idea of traditional fairy

tales that women have to be perfect and helped by a strong masculine man, lessening the

inequality between her characters and the wish to be perfect by the readers of her fairy tales.

She recognises the flaws, not only in the sense of noticing them, but she facilitates the flaws

to be valued and positive in her characters: thus turning a flaw, which is usually something

negative, into a positive aspect of a character. This is in line with Felski’s argument

concerning the reaction of women against a history in which they continued to be

 Assink 30

marginalised (47). She argues that women seek to affirm their own distinctiveness themselves

but also search for affirmation by others. Gill’s flawed characters facilitate and portray this

affirmation that one does not have to be perfect, leading to many women relating to the

characters and finding affirmation not only in themselves but also in the characters. By not

depicting princesses as perfect, Gill attempts to remove the ingrained tropes of fairy tales to

be perfect, be selfless and sacrifice oneself in order to receive a happily ever after. Moreover,

she connects the princesses with each other through their flaws and imperfections creating a

community of imperfect female protagonists of the fairy tales to whom women can relate; the

effects of this building of community building will be further discussed in the third chapter.

The distinct typography and background and the countering of the status quo concerning fairy

tales in this poem lead to the relatability of the poem. The relatability of the poem also

contributes to the shareability as users are able to express feelings of, for example,

perfectionism, anger, pain, jealousy through this poem as these themes are all addressed in

the poem through the use of famous fairy tales.

The shareability and relatability of the poetry of Kaur and Gill

This chapter has defined the term relatability as the reader’s emotional identification

with parts or themes of poem created by poets who take their own experiences from within

the world and describe those as familiar to a reader who comes from a similar world. The

term shareability has been defined as the ability of poems to connect users through similar

interpretations of relatable poetry to express emotions, in combination with the aesthetic

appreciation of the poetry. The relatability and shareability of these two poems have been

defined according to the worldliness of the themes and topics discussed. Kaur mentions the

resistance against the current beauty standards and against body objectification, highlighting

the pressure many women feel due to these phenomena and thereby contributing to the

relatability and shareability of the poem. Gill adapts tropes and gender stereotypes taken from
 Assink 31

fairy tales that are ingrained in Western literary tradition; these tropes and stereotypes are

relatable by itself but the countering of these tropes and stereotypes focuses on the unrealistic

portrayal of characters in these stories. Gill makes her poetry relatable by creating more

realistic, imperfect and flawed characters that contribute to the shareability of the poem.

Moreover, she connects the princesses and heroines of the fairy tales with each other,

forming a community of these princesses, illustrating that one stands stronger when united

with others that think likewise.

 Assink 32

Chapter 3: Community Building and Activism

This chapter focuses on the emergence of online communities on Instagram around

Instapoetry and the transnational activism that seems to simultaneously arise alongside those

communities. This will be done in order to answer part of the research question, namely the

analysis of the construction of (online) communities and transnational online activism against

gender inequality. Transnational activism is defined as the (political) solidarity of people

across the globe that encompasses race, class, nationality and sexuality (Mendoza 296). In

this thesis, gender inequality has been defined as the silencing, violating, objectifying and

oppressing of women in the (literary) world (David 5-6). Firstly, contemporary transnational

feminism will be analysed with an explicit focus on the 2010s, on females born in the 1980s-

1990s (millennials) and on online space, since the 2010s is the period in which Instapoetry is

created and its main audience are female between 14 and 24 of age (Byager; Miller).

Secondly, online community building around Instapoetry will be examined; its emergence,

processes and structure of the activism associated with the community, so that the role of

Instapoetry on Instagram in the activism against gender inequality can be analysed. Lastly,

the criticism on the Instapoetry of Kaur and Gill will be investigated. This chapter will argue

that Kaur and Gill are able to facilitate online transnational communities based on shared

interests and dissatisfaction of those communities. Consequently, they have become

significant players in transnational online activism against gender inequality.

Feminism

Contemporary 2010s feminism has to be analysed with attention to the context in

which it emerged after other waves of feminism through the years, therefore feminism of the

2000s has to be examined before a conclusion can be made about contemporary feminism.

Angela McRobbie has analysed feminism and youth cultures in Britain from the 1970s

onwards. She argues against some researchers who claim that the 2000s are characterised by
 Assink 33

post-feminism— which connotes some sort of end of feminism due to its use of the prefix

“post” (157). Miriam David adds to this counterargument that the fight against gender

inequality is “ridiculed as old-fashioned and out-of-date” (5). McRobbie claims that there is

“neither a narrative of progress nor one of backlash” but rather a form of “fluidity about what

femininity means and how exactly it is anchored in social reality” (157). She argues that

questions about what it means to be a woman and issues of gender inequality have become

part of the British political agenda “in both the private sphere of the home and in domestic

relations, and in the more public world of work” (157). McRobbie has written this in 2005, a

time in which Instagram did not exist yet. Nowadays, the open public space of Instagram and

social media in general have led to more frequent contact between people from different

nationalities. The contact on social media, and Instagram in particular, leads to the questions

of what it means to be a woman and issues of gender inequality becoming transnational.

The heightened attention in the 2000s to questions around gender has caused a greater

degree of uncertainty about what femininity is, according to McRobbie (157). This work of

McRobbie has been published in 2005 and since then, many more researchers have tried to

define and analyse contemporary feminism, which has taken on new forms as a consequence

of the emergence of social media (David 5-6). The uncertainty about what it means to be

young a woman has not been erased in more recent years, the attention and publicity has

increased surrounding the issues due to the use of digital and social media. Some researchers,

including McRobbie, argue that in the last decade, women’s bodies, life paths and their

choices are increasingly monitored and evaluated (Kanai 61). David argues that 21th century

feminism is the fourth, or even the fifth, wave of feminism in which the digital is more

apparent and there is an increase of everyday sexism (1; 6). She explains that social media

“provides new opportunities for forms of sexism, patriarchy and the marketisation of old

power relations” (6). Furthermore, she argues that “old systems of male power and
 Assink 34

dominance – patriarchy—continue to hold sway, and women continue to be invisible or

belittled within political and business systems” (6). Thus, contemporary 2010s feminism is

characterised by an increased attention to questions of gender and femininity, but also an

increase in sexism. Amy Shields Dobson articulates four conditions of the current cultural

context in which young women have to continuously navigate:

1) continued and prominent objectification of female bodies in Western visual culture,

now framed as ‘chosen/agentic’; 2) the prominence of ‘new femininities’ in culture

and representations that construct and address girls and young women as strong,

confident, capable, and fun-loving subjects in contrast to earlier models of weaker

femininity; 3) highly publicised debates about the sexualisation of girls and young

women in Western cultures, which have positioned girls and young women in need of

protection, surveillance, and regulation; and 4) the psychopathologisation of

femininity and the institutionalisation of ‘gender melancholia’ McRobbie (2009)

describes (29).

These issues to which feminism has to respond in the current social and political climate is to

some extent an overgeneralisation and simplification of the historical, cultural, social and

political circumstances and developments of feminism and gender relations. It is an

overgeneralization because a definition of feminism can in no way address all feminists nor

to all persons who might or might not identify themselves as feminist. Yet, following the

concept of worldliness and poems being reflections of the world in which they are created,

these four conditions describe the world in which Gill and Kaur find themselves and in which

they create their poetry. Moreover, Dobson’s characterisation is accurate in terms of a shared

social reality of the readers of Kaur and Gill. Thus, these four conditions will prove helpful in

examining the emergence of community building of Instapoetry.

Community Building
 Assink 35

Community building on Instagram operates quite similarly as community building in

meme culture. Both forms rely on anonymity of their users, the opportunities for normally

marginalised voices to express themselves and social interactions which are often based on

relatability. Ask and Abidin have researched collective identities and relatability of memes

and argue that in recent years, there is an increase to air grievances and build online

communities that provide support for its members on social media (834-5). They have

analysed several meme genres such as the ‘no make-up selfie’, ‘what should we call me’ and

‘girl pain’ and state that memes display relatable occurrences in real life that affirm affective

spaces in which “alternative desires and forms of mobility may be imagined and enacted” in

the online space (qtd. in Ask and Abidin 837). Likewise, they argue that memes lead to

“affective affinities” among users that increase the feeling of being connected and the

freedom to express emotions rooting in their daily, offline life in online spaces (qtd. in Ask

and Abidin 837). These memes are thus not only “online presentations of offline pain”, they

also open up space to address topics and conversations that generally would not be granted

public attention (837). The framing of memes emphasises their relatability in the sense that

they give clear instructions how to relate to the meme while simultaneously showing that

experiences expressed in the meme are not unique and that it is acceptable to be open about

these experiences in online spaces (844). These clear instructions is the placement of texts

above a picture such as: “me trying to” or “currently me” in combination with appropriate

emojis (see fig. 8).

Fig. 8 Example of a meme with explicit

instructions of its relatability (Ask and
Abidin 843).
 Assink 36

This makes the relatability of memes not something that is inherent in the posts or the

community but rather a consequence of explicit social interactions. The community building

around Instapoetry and around memes differs, since memes emphasise social interactions

without further political agenda whereas Instapoetry seems to actively criticise conversations

concerning gender inequality that are often silenced or ridiculed in the offline world such as

the example of female body objectification displayed with the close reading of Kaur’s poem.

Community Building on Instagram

Instagram is a platform that has over 800 million global users, who all play a more or

less significant role in influencing perceived social norms (Cohen et al 2). The content is

user-generated, facilitates more opportunities for self-representation and social interactions to

exist even for voices that are normally marginalised in society. These marginalised voices

can use the public space of Instagram to connect with each other, often by using hashtags

since those are able to connect users with the same interests. The public space of Instagram

also facilitates users to explore self-identification and activism more freely than in their

offline lives, this is partly due to the fragmented presentation of lives on Instagram (Holowka

183). The anonymity of social media accounts, the freedom to choose what to show and what

not and what kind of persona users adhere on their accounts, leads to feelings of freedom in

some communities of users (Cohen et al 3; Lup et al 248). According to Holowka, Instagram

users come in contact with each other through their shared interests and use of hashtags

without realising that they are part of a community or collective (183). Posts and hashtags

that connect these users are then essentially addressed to communities of strangers

established by their common interests and sense of relatability (Kanai 65). Baker and Walsh

state that community hashtags are designed to increase the reach of a post among users who

share similar interests (4559). These hashtags function to create online communities that

emerge as a consequence of the intersection of technology, people and practice; for example
 Assink 37

#instapoetry connects people interested in poetry on Instagram (4559). Hashtags thus not

only connect content on Instagram, but also “signify community membership” (4559). These

communities on Instagram are able to stand together as “an undeniably powerful collection of

feeling, experience, sadness and resistance” (Holowka 183). Moreover, the community can

provide non-judgemental support, feelings of inclusion and belonging among like-minded

individuals (Ging and Garvey 1183). The collection of voices or community is an essential

part of online activism, this will be further discussed later in this chapter (Holowka 183).

Since there is no one definitive way to articulate or define a community of voices on

Instagram, it is more important to analyse the manner of use of the online space as well as the

experiences of the people navigating in said online space: thus, the effect of the affect, rather

than the affect itself (Holowka 185). The community building around Instapoetry will thus be

examined by the emergence of the community and the activism that the community produces

to analyse the role of Instapoetry on Instagram and its activism against gender inequality.

Instapoetry and Community Building

The community building around the Instapoetry of Kaur and Gill is based on the

contemporary 2010s feminism their poetry addresses. Specifically, it is based on questions of

gender, femininity, relationships and gender inequality. These questions seem to be the

connection between many Instagram users who follow the accounts of Kaur and Gill. Other

connection points could possibly be the aesthetic appreciation of the poetry and, less often,

pictures1 that is based less on the meaning and affect of the poetry. Since there is no single

correct manner to define the community of voices around the poetry of Kaur and Gill and

since the internal features of a text “tell us little about how it is received and understood, let

alone its impact, if any, on a larger social field” (Felski 9); the power and influence of their

1
Rupi Kaur often posts pictures of herself at meetings, speeches, interviews and other events relating to her
poetry.
 Assink 38

community will be analysed in this subsection by examining the emergence, workings and

power of the community. This explains how Kaur and Gill have become significant players in

the transnational online activism against gender inequality.

First, the emergence of the community of Kaur and Gill’s poetry needs to be

examined. As stated in the first chapter, poets can be understood as analysing the world

around them and turning their interpretation of that world into art. Any reader who find

themselves in similar circumstances might see themselves reflected in the poem and

consequently, relate to the poem. This kind of reading presupposes the emotional response of

a reader to a text, rather than a more academic view of what a text is and who or what it is

able to represent. The relatability and shareability of the poetry are what leads to the

popularity and visibility of Instapoetry. Through the use of hashtags and sharing of posts,

users are able to connect with each other and form a community, whether they are aware that

they are part of a community or not. The analysis of community building of Instapoetry,

however, relies not only on the emotional response of readers but also what and who the

poetry is able to represent because this will prove who will relate to the poetry. The poetry of

Kaur and Gill represent contemporary 2010s feminism and by addressing that topic in an

accessible and relatable manner. Moreover, they allow for an emotional response from their

readers which strengthens the community, interested in contemporary 2010s feminism,

around their poetry.

Secondly, the workings of the community building of Instapoetry needs to be

analysed. Since Kaur and Gill address contemporary 2010s feminism, or as Dobson has

articulated the four conditions women constantly need to navigate in this current cultural

context, they are able to reach many young women who also struggle with questions of

femininity, gender, objectification, sexism and silencing. The fact that they are young,
 Assink 39

minority women2 themselves who struggle with similar problems as their readers strengthens

their authenticity, relatability, shareability and accessibility as they translate their own

experiences into poetry. The manner in which Kaur and Gill address these problems with

which many young women struggle acknowledge, similarly to memes, affective online

spaces in which users have the freedom to express their offline emotions in online spaces and

thereby, give attention to conversations and topics that would normally not be given attention

in the mainstream media (Ask and Abidin 837). This form of relatability is in line with

Felski’s idea of recognition, those theorists namely mean acknowledgement with recognition

(29). The claim for recognition is the wish to be accepted and included in social life. It is a

“call for justice rather than a claim to truth” (29-30). Felski differentiates two forms of

recognition, namely the one of the political theorists as stated above, and recognition in

reading which “revolves around a moment of personal illumination and heightened self-

understanding” (30). This form of recognition “refers to a cognitive insight, a moment of

knowing or knowing again” (29). Instapoets seem to be able to combine these two forms of

recognition in their relatability, which relies firstly on the individual user recognising

themselves in a poem and thus, relate to it on a personal level leading to a moment of

personal illumination and heightened self-understanding, or a moment in which they come to

know (again) that their situation is not unique. Secondly, the public character of Instagram

makes the community accessible in which that individual user finds others who go through

the same struggles, facilitating feelings of validation and public acceptance (Felski 29-30).

Thirdly, the power of community building of Instapoetry needs to be evaluated. Gill

and Kaur show in their poetry that their experiences are not unique and advocate that women

should let their voices be heard as proven in the close reading of their poems in the previous

2
Both Kaur and Gill are first generation immigrants from South-Asian descent, respectively moved to Canada
and the United Kingdom.
 Assink 40

chapter. They actively address feminist issues which are often silenced or ridiculed in the

offline world and that is the essence of the activism of Instapoetry. Both Gill and Kaur are

outspokenly feminist, which is in itself already an activist strategy as it makes feminism

public and visible to people who might normally not come into contact with feminism

(Holowka 190-1). The popularity, following, visibility and success of printed books of Kaur

and Gill lead to their poetry to gain attention in mainstream media such as The Interview, The

Rolling Stone and more (Carlin; Szkutak). This is in line with Holowka’s argument

concerning communities on Instagram and the mainstream media. She states that the

representation of marginalised bodies through selfies and Instagram photos creates an archive

of images and feelings that are widely available within the community in contrast to the

female beauty ideal that is normally depicted in mainstream media (191). The popularization

of marginalised bodies that are not normally depicted in popular culture, through the

circulation and celebration on Instagram leads to a shift from the smaller circles in which

these pictures originated to conversations and attention outside the community (191).

Similarly, both Kaur and Gill have started their poetry within smaller circles of Tumblr

before moving to Instagram and (self-)publishing their books after multiple rejections by the

publishing industry. Both poets have dealt with rejections and have used their Instagram

readership as a platform to (self-)publish and promote their work. The self-publication that

followed the rejections can be seen as a form of rebellion by the poets themselves against the

literary world. Kaur’s self-published collection milk and honey is an example of this form of

rebellion. When she was searching for a publisher for her poetry collection, she was told that

“there was no market for poetry” and that “poetry basically never got published” (Kaur

“FAQ”). Moreover, she was told that self-publishing was impossible as she would “surpass

the gatekeeper” and then she “would be looked down upon by [her] literary peers” (Kaur

“FAQ”). Nevertheless, she went against the rejection of the literary world and self-published
 Assink 41

her first collection using her Instagram readership as a platform for marketing and selling.

The attention, readership and visibility she gained on Instagram can be seen as social capital

following Bourdieu’s definition of the literary field, which is analysed as a distribution of

capital in which every position is relative to another position (30). Kaur gained cultural

capital on Instagram which enabled her to successfully self-publish her collection to an

audience who was already familiar with her and her work. Thus, the power of community

allowed Kaur and Gill to publish their work, as they gained cultural capital through

Instagram, even though they were at first rejected, arguably silenced, by the established

publishing houses and thereby, they are going against the status quo of the literary world.

Another factor of community building and its power is the influence, activism and

strength of the community and users themselves. The topics and conversations addressed by

Kaur’s and Gill’s poetry first circulate within their community of Instapoetry, however when

there is an increase in attention, these conversations and topics are able to reach a wider

audience and start conversations in mainstream media (Holowka 191). The relatability and

shareability of the poetry are significant factors in this process, since presenting relatable

topics such as questions about gender and femininity, but also sexism and objectification in

the accessible and relatable manner discussed in the previous chapters leads to more shares

and increased attention to the poetry (Holowka 191). The poetry and its relatable topics are

arguably what connects the users within the community as these users are not only interested

in the aesthetics of the poetry itself but also the message of the poems, such as the call to

speak up against objectification by Kaur’s poem, which is what partly causes the relatability

of the poetry. Holowka argues that communities are a significant factor in online activism

since a community is able to express a powerful collection of “feeling, experience, sadness

and resistance” (183). Moreover, communities provide non-judgemental support, feelings of

belonging and inclusion among like-minded individuals which all reinforce the common aims
 Assink 42

and anger within the community (183). As stated before, Gill’s and Kaur’s poetry addresses

contemporary 2010s feminism by discussing topics such as sexism, objectification, and thus

advocates against gender inequality and sexism and it questions gender and femininity. Petra

Collins argues that “if the internet mimics real life, then there is no doubt that real life can

mimic [the internet]. That if we allow ourselves to be silenced or censored, it can happen in

real life too. That if an online society of people can censor your body, what stops them from

doing so in real life?” (qtd. in Holowka 191). This is what is happening due to the popularity

of their poetry, the conversations within the community about these topics are able to reach

more mainstream media, for example the numerous articles on their poetry on The Guardian,

which lead to even more attention as it might reach people that would normally not come into

contact with their poetry (Crown). The attention in the mainstream media, such as the New

York Times Bestseller List which features both Kaur and Gill’s poetry collections for

months, leads to more attention to their works and the message they try to convey, which

facilitates more transnationality in their audience and more people who can relate to their

poetry and thereby, be a part of the activism of the community. This attention can only

increase their accessibility and coverage of the topics that they address, such as

objectification, silencing of women and sexism. It is too soon to speak of a change in the way

gender inequality and women are treated in the cultural context, but Kaur and Gill slowly

open up space to address these issues nowadays.

Critique on Instapoetry

The main points of critique that Kaur and Gill receive is that their poetry is not real

literature, that their audience mainly consists of teenage girls, that they are too focused on

likes on Instagram and that their style is too simplistic (Watts). Yet, the simplicity of

Instapoetry could be one of the main factors of its popularity. However, there has been no

research into this factor so far. Felski argues that the value of a text lies in its use, “as
 Assink 43

measured by its role in either obscuring or accentuating social antagonisms” (7). She states,

alluding to Bertold Brecht’s stance on the politics of art, that seeing art as “apolitical or

purposeless is simply […] to ally oneself with the status quo” (7). As analysed before, the

poetry of Gill and Kaur is valued in communities on Instagram for their relatability and

power to open up conversations that would normally be silenced. Felski calls this mode of

reading “ordinary” and states that such modes “are either overlooked or undervalued in

literary scholarship” (14). Moreover, she argues that recognising oneself in a text is “hedged

round with prohibitions and taboos” and it is seen by literary scholars and critics as

“shameful” and “unprofessional naivete” or even “the ultimate form of narcissism” (26).

Scholarly critic and poet Rebecca Watts conforms to this literary approach and argues in her

essay for PNReview “The Cult of the Noble Amateur” that the work of “young female poets”

who use Instagram is characterised by “open denigration of intellectual engagement and

rejection of the craft” (13). Watts makes a distinction between female and male Instapoets

which is significant in her argument and can be interpreted as an instance of the male glance.

The term male glance is not literally a manner of looking performed by men and thus, not

limited to the male sex. Lili Loofbourow has defined the term male glance as follows: the

dismissal of female art and art about females (4-5). This glance is not always or necessarily

incorrect, yet it “looks, assumes, and moves on” and “it points and classifies” rather than

investigate and discover (5). Watts criticises female Instapoets for being “products of a cult

of personality, which demands from its heroes only that they be ‘honest’ and ‘accessible’”

(14). The honesty and accessibility are respectively defined as “the constant expression of

what one feels” and “the complete rejection of complexity, subtlety, eloquence and the

aspiration to do anything well” (14). Watts states that honesty has become the main

requirement for poetry and that reviews of Instapoets’ work cite that feature as its main

selling point. She then doubts the judgement of reviewers and art editors in the sense that
 Assink 44

they “do not know that poems are deliberately created works, not naturally occurring

phenomena” (14). These two viewpoints, both that of Watts’ judgement of Instapoetry being

a rejection of the craft of poetry, as the reviewers lauding female Instapoets for their honesty

and accessibility are instances of the male glance. Both viewpoints fail to “expect female

texts have universal things to say” nor do they “expect them to be experimental” or “expect

them to be great” (Loofbourow 5). Here, Watts fails to see that the use of Instagram is

deliberate to gain cultural capital with Instapoetry that would normally be rejected by the

literary field and fail to reach a place in the canon3. Namely, she argues that McNish, a

female British Instapoet, understands how social media works: “once you care about a person

you’ll consume anything they produce– especially if it makes you feel better about your own

lack of talent” (16). Watts deems this understanding to be “a twisted sort of vanity that leads

a person to crave applause” yet, as Loofbourow argues, the male glance causes women to be

judged for performative intentionality, such as the use of Instagram to gain a platform, as

either “manipulative” or as an “attention-whore” (9-10). Watts states that Instapoets wish to

“redefine poetry as whatever the poetic establishment claims it isn’t” (16). Moreover, she

claims that Instapoets judge themselves to be taboo breakers, as if no one before them had

ever written about the topics they address, such as “sex or motherhood, highlighted inequality

or deployed obscenities” (16).

The use of Instagram by poets is a new phenomenon which leads to uncertainty and

uncomfortable sensations (Loofbourow 18). There is no consensus on how to approach

Instapoetry, nor how to judge Instapoetry in the literary field yet. However, that discomfort

can be relieved by seeing the possibilities and affect of Instapoetry rather than dismissing it

for not being ‘real’ poetry (18). The dismissal of female work and work by females is so

3
The rejection to the canon can itself also be seen as an instance of the male glance, as the canon might dismiss
the Instapoets’ female-driven work as the male glance assumes there is nothing worthy in the work made by
females or about females (Loofbourow 19-20).
 Assink 45

internalised in the literary field that it is hard to see anything else but “a ‘chick flick’ in a

female-centric story” (18-9). Watts and Loofbourow agree with the tendency of reviewers to

subordinate the work of art in favour of focussing on the creator of the work of art (Watts

17). Even though Watts is also guilty of this tendency by discussing Instapoets’ use of

Instagram and their online personalities more extensively than their work, she makes a valid

point. Loofbourow discusses this emphasis on the creator by using a quote from writer

Eleanor Catton: “[…] women writers, all of the question coming at them from interviewers

tend to be about how lucky they are to be where they are – about luck and identity and how

the idea struck them” (qtd. in Loofbourow 7). The trope of the “idea that struck” is another

instance of male glance, next to the focus on the creator, as it implies that female creators

create their art by chance or accident and they are not seen as “serious thinkers”, or persons

“with preoccupations that are going to sustain them for their lifetime” (7). Loofbourow

proposes two steps to rid the male glance out of judgments of female work. First, the male

glance and its influence must be acknowledged. Second, the possibility of seeing something

worth seeing in female art has to be acknowledged (19). This does not mean that all female

work deserves a place in the literary canon, as some work will indeed prove to be “dull and

flat” (20). Concluding, following both Watts and Loofbourow, the tendency to focus on the

creator by reviewers has to be reduced in order to judge the art of Instapoets, regardless of

their gender, for what it is, to whom it can relate and what or who it is able to represent.
 Assink 46

Analysis and Conclusion

This thesis has analysed the of poetry on Instagram in the construction of (online)

communities and transnational activism against gender inequality. Gender inequality has

been defined as the silencing, violating, objectifying and oppressing of women in the

(literary) world (David 5-6). The first chapter has examined the poetry genre, the social

media platform Instagram and the combination between those two, called Instapoetry. The

second chapter has analysed the aesthetic appreciation, the relatability and shareability of

Instapoetry. The third chapter has given an overview of the emergence of online communities

around Instapoetry, the transnational activism that arises simultaneously alongside those

communities and the critique received by Instapoets. This chapter will conclude and analyse

these three previous chapters in order to answer the research question: what is the role of

poetry on Instagram in the construction of (online) communities and transnational activism

against gender inequality?

Poetry as a genre is difficult to define, however with the help of Bourdieu’s “The

Field of Cultural Production” the following definition has been proposed: an ever-evolving

genre in which new sub-genres appear since the ways in which words, style and visual art of

a poem intensify the expression of a poem are unlimited. Instagram is a social media platform

that emphasises the visual, facilitating a new genre of poetry, namely that of Instapoetry

which can be understood as short, fitting within the standard Instagram format of a picture,

often simple with the typography and visual art being an aesthetic extension of the poem. The

appeal of Instapoetry has been distinguished according to its relatability, shareability and

visual appreciation. The last two factors have proven to be almost indistinguishable, with the

only difference being that the visual appreciation is purely visual, thus how the poem appears

on the feed without paying attention to the meaning, in order to stand out on Instagram
 Assink 47

among millions of other pictures, whereas shareability also relies on the meaning and

relatability of the poem, thus on the textual.

The second chapter focused in greater detail on the relatability and shareability of

Instapoetry through the close reading of two poems; one of Kaur and one of Gill. Relatability

has been defined as a reader’s emotional identification with (parts or themes of) worldly

poems caused by the ability of the poet to describe (universal) experiences from the world

and portray them as shared cultural experience in their poetry. Shareability consists of the

combination between relatable content and aesthetic visual character of the poems. The close

reading of Kaur’s poem led to an understanding of the manner in which Kaur uses relatability

and shareability in her poetry. Themes of bodily objectification and conforming to the current

beauty standard are centralised in this poem, causing relatability and shareability in the first

place. Kaur’s use of the word “you” encourages the reader to identify themselves with the

poem and read it in a relatable style of reading. Furthermore, the choice of using second

person perspective “you” facilitates a conversation between narrator and reader. “again”

signifies the repetitiveness of bodily objectification and unites persons that have undergone

this experience, that is posed as a shared experience through this poem by Kaur, leading to

one aspect of the shareability of the poem since users of Instagram might share this poem as a

reminder to stand and speak up against objectification and beauty standards. The close

reading of Gill’s poem established the manner in which she used her own anger against the

expectation of moral perfection of princesses, and in more general women, and created

imperfect princesses with silenced anger, mental illnesses and traumas caused by sexual

assault. She counters traditional fairy tale tropes by the creation of more realistic characters

that are flawed, not passive nor selfless, angry and emotional in such a way that these

characteristics of the characters are not only noticed but seen as valuable and positive. The

connection between the princesses, making them stand together in this poem, emphasises the
 Assink 48

strength of a community and thereby, the relatability of the poem. It explicitly calls women

all over the world to stand together and fight the ingrained fairy tale tropes. Both Kaur and

Gill address normally silenced topics in the current cultural context and thereby open up

conversations about these topics in online spaces and consequently, if they have gained

enough popularity, offline too.

The third chapter focused on the emergence of (online) communities around

Instapoetry and the transnational activism that arises simultaneously. It argued that Kaur and

Gill are able to facilitate online transnational communities based on shared dissatisfactions

they address in their poetry. Important to note here is that even though Gill and Kaur are

outspoken feminists themselves, that being an activist practice, they do not control the

reception, affect and activism of their poetry. Yet, they have become significant players in the

transnational online activism against gender inequality due to the community building

surrounding their Instapoetry. The community building around the Instapoetry of Gill and

Kaur is based on questions of gender, femininity, relationships and gender inequality. They

combine two forms of recognition, defined by Felski, namely the political theorists’ and the

form in reading, leading to individual feelings of relatability and then finding that same

relatability among others within the community. The power of this community is also split in

two, namely the power that Kaur and Gill themselves have acquired due to their cultural

capital on Instagram which allowed them to publish their poetry, and secondly, the individual

users themselves that stand together as a community leading to conversations started on

Instagram finding their way to mainstream media. The critique on Instapoetry has proven

often to be sexist in nature and disregarding the modes of reading that emphasise individual,

emotional response. Moreover, the simplicity of Instapoetry is another factor to critique, yet

the close reading of the two poems of Gill and Kaur has proven that the little amount of

words conveys much implicit or more explicit themes and meaning. Watts is a significant
 Assink 49

player in the critique on female Instapoets, which mainly consists of the male glance: the

dismissal of female art and art about females. Once this male glance has been evaporated

from criticism on Instapoets like Gill and Kaur, they can be criticised for their work and the

content of their work.

Instapoetry relies on the visual character of Instagram and the tendency of users to

compare oneself to others on the platform. Through this comparing and recognition of

oneself in others, relatability, Instapoetry is able to create an online, public space in which

readers are able to find other who are experiencing the same struggles in nowadays society.

Of course, Instapoetry is not the only means of connecting with others on Instagram since the

platform offers a lot of other communities such as fitness, clean eating, music and its fans.

Yet, since Kaur and Gill addresses topic that are often silenced in the current cultural context

such as rape and body objectification, people who are searching for support regarding those

issues are able to find others who have gone through similar experiences through their poetry.

Gill and Kaur thus succeed in attracting the attention of users and stand out in the midst of an

endless stream of pictures. They successfully modified a platform that is focused on the

visual by having readers who attentively read poetry and think about what they are reading.

Future research could focus on the criticism on Instapoetry, and criticise the poetry

for what it truly is, namely on the textual content and thus removing the male glance. Other

research could possibly follow up on the modes of recognition stated by Felski and the idea

of relatability of Instapoetry. This thesis has strayed away from the social factors

accompanying community building and focused instead on the media and textual factors. It

would be interesting to look at Instapoetry from a social sciences perspective, which

emphasises the (groups of) people that constitute the community rather than the building

itself. The psychological aspects of why these women look for comfort and affirmation in the

communities on Instagram is another aspect not discussed in this thesis, but would prove
 Assink 50

interesting. The workings of Instagram in terms of its algorithms, its economy and as a

capitalist venture have also been overlooked, since this thesis has emphasised the users of the

platform rather than the platform and its workings itself. This addition to the current research

might be able to explain the popularity of Instapoetry in a totally different manner.

 Assink 51

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