A board of one’s own: Interviewing the anonymous female imageboard community

Abstract

This article examines the experiences of female users of imageboards – online anonymous-by-default bulletin boards. Using thematic analysis on 12 Instant Messaging (IM)–based interviews with female-identifying imageboard users, this study gathers and presents their experiences and perceptions of benefits and drawbacks of use. Major findings include negative perception of mainstream imageboards and a contrastingly positive sentiment towards the platforms investigated as part of this study. Using imageboards represented a unique, entertaining and social experience. Interviewees predominantly used imageboards to be hyperbolic, ‘vent’, discuss sexuality or explore thoughts they otherwise would not. The study’s findings question previous narratives of women on imageboards which position them either as mostly unaffected members of the space or as out-of-place minorities ‘getting by’ – by virtue of using masculinist strategies. Rather, participants describe ambivalent experiences around navigating these spaces, including benefits of entertainment, sense of belonging and the affinity towards gendered self-experimentation.