(Re)sharing feminisms: Re-sharing Instagram Stories as everyday feminist practices

Abstract

Contemporary experiences of everyday feminisms often include the use of social media platforms like Instagram. The introduction of Instagram Stories created a space for emerging feminist engagements, allowing for practices of re-sharing content that serve as small acts of political engagement, accommodating the participation of otherwise reluctant users. This article explores the feminist potential of these re-sharing practices, grounding it on the analysis of 2282 Instagram Stories, produced by 52 Instagram users in Portugal. This analysis combines qualitative textual analysis, close readings, and the use of digital methods to explore overarching patterns. The article foregrounds the multiple meanings of re-sharing, its social character, its ability to engage in intertextual conversations with the original context, while simultaneously recognising some of the limitations of the Stories’ format for feminist action. In this way, this article reflects on the tensions and possibilities of these small acts of political engagement.