Our boy Whitey : Middle-aged women’s happy object on TikTok
Nilsson, Gabriella LU
(2024)
In Social Media + Society
10(3).
p.1-11
- Abstract
- This article provides an example of how middle-aged women rediscover and express emotions in digital media, mainly sexual desire but also the joy they feel among like-minded women of the same age. The ethnographic case is a community of European and North American women aged around 40 to 60 years who sexually desire 20-year-old TikTok celebrity William White. White went viral when he began lip-syncing to 1980s hits, particularly Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” while performing his flirtatious signature moves: the smile, the wink, and the eye roll. This study is based on 6 months of daily lurking in a digital community the women call Whiteyynation, structured around White’s accounts on various digital platforms. In trying to understand the meaning... (More)
- This article provides an example of how middle-aged women rediscover and express emotions in digital media, mainly sexual desire but also the joy they feel among like-minded women of the same age. The ethnographic case is a community of European and North American women aged around 40 to 60 years who sexually desire 20-year-old TikTok celebrity William White. White went viral when he began lip-syncing to 1980s hits, particularly Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” while performing his flirtatious signature moves: the smile, the wink, and the eye roll. This study is based on 6 months of daily lurking in a digital community the women call Whiteyynation, structured around White’s accounts on various digital platforms. In trying to understand the meaning and function of a young male TikTok’er in the lives of middle-aged women, with Sara Ahmed’s theory of emotions, I describe how happy objects align individuals in a social community toward happiness. Specifically, I analyze how White, through a playful capitalization of 1980s music combined with a certain flirtatious look, functions as a happy object that is multiplied, magnified, and circulated in Whiteyynation. I explore the circumstances and conditions surrounding Whiteyynation as an affective space and affective economy, such as the production and distribution of selfproduced content, gifting as a strategy for increased reciprocity, and the various currencies at play. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Den här artikeln ger ett exempel på hur medelålders kvinnor återupptäcker och uttrycker känslor i digitala medier, främst sexuell åtrå men också den glädje de känner bland likasinnade kvinnor i samma ålder. Det etnografiska exemplet är en grupp europeiska och nordamerikanska kvinnor i åldrarna 40-60 år som känner sexuell åtrå till den 20-årige TikTok-kändisen William White. White blev viral när han började mima till 1980-talshits, särskilt Barry Manilows "Mandy", samtidigt som han flirtade. Den här studien baseras på sex månaders daglig "lurking" i en digital gemenskap som kvinnorna kallar Whiteyynation och som är strukturerad kring Whites konton på olika digitala plattformar. I ett försök att förstå betydelsen och funktionen av en ung... (More)
- Den här artikeln ger ett exempel på hur medelålders kvinnor återupptäcker och uttrycker känslor i digitala medier, främst sexuell åtrå men också den glädje de känner bland likasinnade kvinnor i samma ålder. Det etnografiska exemplet är en grupp europeiska och nordamerikanska kvinnor i åldrarna 40-60 år som känner sexuell åtrå till den 20-årige TikTok-kändisen William White. White blev viral när han började mima till 1980-talshits, särskilt Barry Manilows "Mandy", samtidigt som han flirtade. Den här studien baseras på sex månaders daglig "lurking" i en digital gemenskap som kvinnorna kallar Whiteyynation och som är strukturerad kring Whites konton på olika digitala plattformar. I ett försök att förstå betydelsen och funktionen av en ung manlig TikTok:are i medelålders kvinnors liv, beskriver jag med hjälp av Sara Ahmeds teori om känslor hur individer riktas mot lycka i en social gemenskap. Mer specifikt analyserar jag hur White, genom en lekfull kapitalisering av 1980-talsmusik i kombination med ett flörtigt uttryck, fungerar som ett lyckoobjekt som mångfaldigas, förstoras och cirkulerar i Whiteyynation. Jag utforskar de omständigheter och villkor som omger Whiteyynation som ett affektivt rum och en affektiv ekonomi, såsom produktion och distribution av egenproducerat innehåll, gåvor som en strategi för ökad ömsesidighet och de olika valutor som är i spel. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/a45973c7-9292-41c9-baf7-298fc4ecd60e
- author
- Nilsson, Gabriella
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Social Media + Society
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 11 pages
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85200454172
- ISSN
- 2056-3051
- DOI
- 10.1177/20563051241269307
- project
- Influencer lifeworlds. New work in a changing time
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- a45973c7-9292-41c9-baf7-298fc4ecd60e
- date added to LUP
- 2024-06-24 09:00:20
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 15:21:17
@article{a45973c7-9292-41c9-baf7-298fc4ecd60e,
abstract = {{This article provides an example of how middle-aged women rediscover and express emotions in digital media, mainly sexual desire but also the joy they feel among like-minded women of the same age. The ethnographic case is a community of European and North American women aged around 40 to 60 years who sexually desire 20-year-old TikTok celebrity William White. White went viral when he began lip-syncing to 1980s hits, particularly Barry Manilow’s “Mandy” while performing his flirtatious signature moves: the smile, the wink, and the eye roll. This study is based on 6 months of daily lurking in a digital community the women call Whiteyynation, structured around White’s accounts on various digital platforms. In trying to understand the meaning and function of a young male TikTok’er in the lives of middle-aged women, with Sara Ahmed’s theory of emotions, I describe how happy objects align individuals in a social community toward happiness. Specifically, I analyze how White, through a playful capitalization of 1980s music combined with a certain flirtatious look, functions as a happy object that is multiplied, magnified, and circulated in Whiteyynation. I explore the circumstances and conditions surrounding Whiteyynation as an affective space and affective economy, such as the production and distribution of selfproduced content, gifting as a strategy for increased reciprocity, and the various currencies at play.}},
author = {{Nilsson, Gabriella}},
issn = {{2056-3051}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
pages = {{1--11}},
publisher = {{SAGE Publications}},
series = {{Social Media + Society}},
title = {{Our boy Whitey : Middle-aged women’s happy object on TikTok}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/192500422/Our_Boy_Whitey_GN_2024.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1177/20563051241269307}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2024}},
}