"Cute saves the world!": animal Internet Celebrities' cute activism in the #adoptdon'tshop animal rescue campaign on social media.

This paper examines everyday media practices and seamless work in animal advocacy by various actors with different levels of internet celebrity status, who curate their media personas around 'cute' animal images, including established pet Influencers and animal internet celebrities. Through a case s...

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Publicado en:Social Movement Studies Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 293 - 316
Autor principal: Lee, Jin
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2026
Materias:
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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        atl: "Cute saves the world!": animal Internet Celebrities' cute activism in the #adoptdon'tshop animal rescue campaign on social media.
      aug:
        au: Lee, Jin
        affil: Internet Studies, MCASI, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
      su:
        South Korea
        Activism
        Internet celebrities
        Social advocacy
        Pet adoption
        Animal rescue
        Influencer marketing
        Pet industry
      sug:
        subj:
          Activism
          Internet celebrities
          Social advocacy
          South Korea
          Pet Care (except Veterinary) Services
          Pet and Pet Supplies Stores
          Live animal merchant wholesalers
          All Other Animal Production
          All other miscellaneous animal production
          Human Rights Organizations
          Other Social Advocacy Organizations
          Social advocacy organizations
          Pet adoption
          Animal rescue
          Influencer marketing
          Pet industry
      keyword:
        animal activism
        Cute activism
        cute economy
        Influencer
        pet celebrity
        social movements
        animal activism
        Cute activism
        cute economy
        Influencer
        pet celebrity
        social movements
      ab: This paper examines everyday media practices and seamless work in animal advocacy by various actors with different levels of internet celebrity status, who curate their media personas around 'cute' animal images, including established pet Influencers and animal internet celebrities. Through a case study of the most prominent (hashtag) campaign and movement against the pet trade industry and culture in South Korea, #AdoptDon'tShop [#사지말고입양하세요, sajimalgo-ipyanghaseyo], I explore animal internet celebrities' media practices and immaterial labor that are understated but rigorously performed out of compassion and care for animals. Taking up scholarship on cuteness and Influencer culture, I introduce the concept of cute activism, a novel iteration of social movements adapted into visual social media cultures, pivoting on the performative potential of cuteness and its inherent competency in navigating increasingly-visualized, attention-seeking social media environments. While the instinctive affective appeal of cuteness serves as a driving force and primary modality of cute activism, effectively attracting more people to be tuned into messages, events, and ultimately movements, the very appeal may come into being as a burden for activists, inducing them into continuous immaterial labor.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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