Home / Books / The New Politics of Online Feminism

The New Politics of Online Feminism

Book

Pages: 208

Illustrations: 9 illustrations

Published: February 2026

Author: Akane Kanai

In The New Politics of Online Feminism, Akane Kanai argues that for young feminists online culture often poses more dilemmas than it solves. Moving beyond a narrow characterization of online feminism as a site of activism and resistance, Kanai attends to the feminist quandaries of being politically conscientious as life online becomes inseparable from the offline world. Kanai suggests that for online feminists, avoiding complicity with patriarchy, racism, and other oppressions has never been more important, yet the self has remained the central site of agency and transformation—casting politics in terms of individual scrupulousness, diligence, and improvement. Under these circumstances, a feminist lens becomes about benchmarking, comparing, and anxiously avoiding the public mistakes that others make in online life. Kanai foregrounds the importance of moving beyond the polarities of correct and incorrect feeling to enable the everyday practices of listening to and learning about experience and difference.

Praise

The New Politics of Online Feminism is a timely and deeply moving book that gives an in-depth look at the political and affective dynamics of engagement in online feminist cultures. Akane Kanai’s analysis of the benefits and pitfalls of digital cultures and her engagement with the difficulties, struggles, hopes, and aspirations that animate participation in online feminist knowledge production make this a model book for anyone doing qualitative research on digital culture.” - Christina Scharff, author of Repudiating Feminism: Young Women in a Neoliberal World

“Kanai makes unique contributions to both the theorization of digital feminist knowledge cultures and the experiences of young people interacting with these cultures. Her work is highly nuanced, revealing not only the complexities of these cultures but the varied, and sometimes contradictory, responses of audiences. Beautifully written, The New Politics of Online Feminism, weaves together interviews and theoretical insights in a sophisticated yet accessible way about social media feminisms.” - Jessalynn Keller, coauthor of Digital Feminist Activism: Girls and Women Fight Back Against Rape Culture

"If you have ever found yourself wondering how, if it’s even possible, to be a good feminist in the digital age, look no further. Reflective and critical, Akane Kanai deftly examines social media as a new site for activism and organizing, while also acknowledging the challenges of navigating these online spaces." - Ms. Magazine, Karla J. Strand

Buy

Availability: Loading...

Price: Loading...

Request a desk or exam copy Spring 2026 Web Sale

Information

Author/Editor Bios

Back to Top
Akane Kanai is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick and author of Gender and Relatability in Digital Culture: Managing Affect, Intimacy and Value.

Table Of Contents

Back to Top
Acknowledgments  vii
Introduction. Knowing Right from Wrong  1
Part I. Responsible and Responsive
1. Everyday Reactivism, or, Never Look Away  31
2. In Your Lane and Knowing Your Place  54
Part II. Moving Upward, but Not Taking Up Space
3. Leadership Journeys and Intersectional Resources  81
4. Don’t Be That Girl  102
Part III. Lowering the Stakes
5. Quiet Publics and Lowercase Feminism  125
6. Registering Experience: Moving Between, but Not Moving On  146
Conclusion. A Call for Everyday Poetry  169
References  179
Index  193

Rights

Back to Top

Sales/Territorial Rights: World

Rights and licensing

Additional Information

Back to Top
Paper ISBN: 978-1-4780-3321-9 / Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4780-2975-5 / eISBN: 978-1-4780-6197-7 / DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478061977