Feminist counter-publics and heterosexist edges of desire: Extending edgework theory via young women’s nude selfie sharing online
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2025
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Hart, M.
Billett, P.
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Journal article
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Sexuality and Culture, 2025; 29(4):1-17
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Matt Hart, Paulina Billett
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Abstract
This article examines how young women engage in edgework through the practice of sharing nude selfies on Tumblr. Drawing on the concept of edgework, traditionally explored in ’hypermasculine’ contexts, this article joins recent feminist approaches to reimagine the theory. It does this by highlighting the significance of female-dominated online spaces on the social media platform Tumblr. Women reap considerable benefits from their engagement in sharing nude self-images, most notably in their ability to reflexively develop their erotic identities and improve their wellbeing through reaching a level of body positivity and acceptance of their self-image. The article explains this by emphasizing three key themes: sexual self-objectification and empowerment; the creation of feminist counter-publics; and by reconciling pleasure and risk. Through expanding the discourse on a feminist approach to edgework, this article challenges traditional gendered notions of ’the edge’ and contributes to a more inclusive understanding of risk-taking practices in contemporary digital spaces.
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© The Author(s) 2025. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.