Browsing by Author "Oksanen, Roosa"

The aim of this thesis was to find out what kinds of meanings are attached to the concept of activism in a girls’ online alternative magazine. In addition, the aim of this thesis was to find out what kind of a counterpublic concerning youths’ activism the magazine can be viewed to organize. As a starting point for this research were the opportunities provided by the Internet for the circulation of youths’ self-produced media contents and the view of alternative media as organizers of counterpublics that form members’ identities and contest power relations. In addition, this research was inspired by the changing meanings of activism and the generational differences in what is considered to be political action, noted in previous research. The data for this research consisted of 65 articles discussing activism in girls’ online alternative magazine Rookie, mainly written by girls and young women. The articles were analyzed using discourse analysis as the method. In addition, aspects of critical discourse analysis and feminist critical discourse analysis were utilized in the analysis. Seven prominent discourses highlighting different aspects of Rookie magazine’s idea of activism were found in the data. Four of the discourses highlight the overall value of activism. These discourses emphasize the value of young people as activists, the value of online communication as meaningful activism, the value of formal politics in activism, and the value of small activism. In addition, three discourses in the data emphasize the importance of individual activist’s preferences when participating in activism. These discourses highlight the importance of prioritizing own well-being in activism, the importance of utilizing own personality and interests in activism, and the importance of listening to other people’s individual views in activism. The results show that in Rookie, very different kinds of actions are regarded as valuable activism that is accessible and meaningful to young people. In addition, the results show that Rookie articles emphasize the role of individualism in activism: activism can and should be done on own terms and while listening to own limits. The discourses of activism constructed in Rookie articles are often explicitly presented as counter-discourses to the broader idea of youths’ political apathy, and youths’ sociopolitical activity and its value are emphasized. This research therefore suggests that circulating the discourses related to activism in Rookie can be viewed to organize a counterpublic concerning youths’ activism. The counterpublic contests the idea of youths’ political apathy and instead promotes the idea of young people as active agents who can and want to effect broader change through several means.