‘I want to delete this tweet so much, but…’: Jameela Jamil as a celebrity feminist educator

Abstract

The ideas of outspoken feminist celebrities are met with scepticism. This scepticism is rooted in the idea that, while celebrities have a platform for expression, they are not academics and their role in education should therefore be limited. This article explores the role of Jameela Jamil, a British, queer actor, and analyses her use of Instagram and Twitter as platforms for education and social change. I argue that she uses social media to teach and learn from her followers regarding body acceptance, racial and sexual inclusivity and queer representation. This work also explores the realities of clapbacks, cancel culture, mistake-making, shame culture and affective solidarity via her use of language, such as through the vulnerable phrase ‘I want to delete this tweet so much, but…’. In positioning Jamil as more than simply a celebrity feminist, and beyond what is considered a normative public intellectual, I assert that she embodies the role of a celebrity feminist educator. This role is unique as it creates space for Jamil’s online feminist activism, her accessible use of language and her desire to teach and learn from her followers to be made meaningful within the context of feminist education and celebrity studies.