Abstract
Social unrest and acts of protest have played an integral role in various cultures throughout history. Today, social media platforms have become crucial sources for activists and their supporters. While some debate the relative effectiveness of online activism, there others who advocate for its use. Current and historical contexts show that women’s bodies have often been sites for politics and control. However, if we look to online spaces, we can see evidence of meaningful work taking place. Celebrity activists Lizzo and Alyssa Milano are proof of that work. Thus, through an analysis of social media performances by Alyssa Milano and Lizzo, this thesis aims to explore the argumentative force of women’s bodies as sites of rhetorical resistance as they are queered in social media contexts. Queering the body in public spaces is rhetorically and materially forceful. When women queer their physical being on social media to combat the politicization of their bodies, they construct specific counterpublics in the process. Through various user interactions perspectives are shared and people enter a space of collective imagining. In this space, opportunities for constructing new worlds becomes possible.