Symposium: Updating the Girl Online

Since the rise of the Barbie movie, the viral #girldinner trend, and discussions on female rage in 2023, the girl has (re)claimed center stage in contemporary cultural debates, perpetuating the claim that everyone is a girl online. Now, more than ever,  the Girl Online as a pop culture avatar intertwined across digital cultures. This figure has become a catalyst for discourse and connection, challenging traditional gender norms with a fluid identity while constantly adapting to cyberspace, ultimately, reshaping the digital landscape long-term.

The Girl Online exists as both a figure and a concept—a projection of a mix of self-determined and ascribed identities. Critically examined through queer feminist theory, media studies, psychoanalysis, political and economic theory, the Girl Online has
become a key player in digital visual cultures. Their distinguishing trait is their identity always already situated in contradictions, which are not to be dissolved but embraced–from the madonna-whore complex to an online presence inscribed in the algorithmic logics of social media platforms. These predicaments raise a crucial question: how/can the Girl Online navigate these contradictions to offer emancipatory possibilities while simultaneously revealing the commodification of identity in late capitalism?

We’re thrilled to explore these dynamics at our upcoming symposium, Updating the Girl Online, on January 14, 2025, in Seminarraum 21 (4th floor) at VZA7. Join us and engage with the lectures held by Alex Quicho, Socrates Stamatatos, and Jennifer Merlyn Scherler, as we approach the Girl Online once more. 

In addition, the symposium offers space to share your engagement with the Girl Online in your artistic or theoretical practice. We welcome contributions in all forms of media—essays, videos, visual art, digital projects, podcasts, or anything else that sparks your imagination. Selected submissions will be showcased and presented at the symposium, offering an opportunity to engage with peers, share your voice, and challenge existing narratives. Join us on the project of updating the Girl Online!

Deadline: December 31, 2024

Contact us on Instagram @weareallgirlsonline or at weareallgirlsonline@gmail.com

Organized by Charlotte Reuß (Department for Art History) & Sophie Publig (Weibel Institute)