Home Sweet Instagram; Images of home and interior framing an online community

Abstract: This thesis is focusing on a visual culture within Instagram where women display traditional western femininity through aesthetically pleasing images of homes and interiors. When observing this culture from a critical perspective, questions on normativity, gender and home representation together with the complexity of personal narratives comes up. In an attempt to begin understanding the mechanisms and pleasures behind the use of Instagram this way, a small number of user interviews were made and analyzed towards representation, identity and feminist theory, and ideas around roles of photography, femininity, digital communities and material culture. As a result of the study it could be claimed that images of interiors and homes are used as frameworks for a feminine culture where participants are creating a safe space in relation to other social network cultures. The space is used for remembering moments, being creative, developing skills and engaging in undisturbed social practice. Photography, interior design and the materiality of the home can also be seen as visual tools used to reflect on and create identities, at the same time as they are used for social positioning. Though faced with contradicting feelings, frustration about superficiality and concerns around privacy, it can be concluded that this refined practice of taking and sharing images, engaging socially and being creative is pleasurable enough for the users not to stop participating.