'At first it was about me ... now it's not about me at all': self-care and care for the other in the women-led online sobriety movement.
In recent years, an alternative sobriety movement has emerged online, and it is primarily occupied by women. Research to date has explored how women using sober online spaces construct their identities in relation to traditional approaches to sobriety; it has yet to analyse how the women who create...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Gender Studies Vol. 35; no. 1; pp. 64 - 78 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Jan2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=190648644&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 190648644 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 09589236 JGS jtl: Journal of Gender Studies issn: 09589236 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Jan2026 vid: 35 iid: 1 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 190648644 10.1080/09589236.2024.2434661 ppf: 64 ppct: 14 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T db: hlh ui: 190648644 – @attributes: type: P db: hlh ui: 190648644 tig: atl: 'At first it was about me ... now it's not about me at all': self-care and care for the other in the women-led online sobriety movement. aug: au: Cobb, Gemma affil: School of Media, Arts and Humanities, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK su: Instagram (Web resource) Social media Participant observation Alcohol Internet content sug: subj: Social media Participant observation Ethyl Alcohol Manufacturing Alcohol Internet content Instagram (Web resource) keyword: alcohol care content creators Sobriety visibility alcohol care content creators Sobriety visibility ab: In recent years, an alternative sobriety movement has emerged online, and it is primarily occupied by women. Research to date has explored how women using sober online spaces construct their identities in relation to traditional approaches to sobriety; it has yet to analyse how the women who create sobriety content navigate the cultural affordances of social media. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 11 sober content creators, this paper seeks to fill this gap. Findings highlight a threefold process experienced by participants as they move from using Instagram as a tool of self-care to one which provides for care for others. First, I show how participants use the platform to hold themselves accountable, by using Instagram as a 'journal' and for following other sober accounts for inspiration and support. Second, I analyse how participants traverse the shift from using Instagram as a personal accountability tool to one which offers support to others; for many this included making their previously private and/or anonymous accounts public and/or identifiable as theirs. Third and finally, I examine the consequences of this newfound visibility; how creators are interpellated as sobriety experts and confidants and how they manage the demands that come with caring for others. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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