\"Do It For The Instagram\" A Story of Gender and Social Status

The purpose of this study was to explore to social implications of Instagram, and the interaction between the online and offline worlds. I investigated gender displays on Instagram among men and women in two comparative groups: Greek Life affiliated and non-affiliated. The research included a content analysis of Instagram pictures of the Colgate class of 2016, as well as survey data from a questionnaire. The time frame was the month of October during the years 2013, 2014 and 2015. The major variables at play were gender, Greek life and self-presentation online. The central research questions were: 1) Does Instagram act as a free place of individual expression and boundary crossing or as a place where offline gender norms are reinforced? 2) How do college students, who live in an environment where substantial overlap between the offline and virtual communities exist, perform gender? 3) Does membership in a monogender sub-community in the real world shape those gender presentations on Instagram?

本研究旨在探讨Instagram的社会影响，以及线上与线下世界的互动关系。本研究针对两个对比组的男女群体在Instagram上的性别展演展开调查：隶属于希腊字母会（Greek Life）者与非隶属者。本研究的分析涵盖科尔盖特大学2016届学生的Instagram图片内容分析，以及问卷调研所得的调查数据。研究的时间跨度为2013、2014及2015年的10月。核心研究变量包括性别、希腊字母会隶属关系，以及线上自我呈现。本研究的核心研究问题如下：1）Instagram究竟是可供个体自由表达与突破边界的空间，还是强化线下性别规范的场域？2）在离线与虚拟社群高度重合的校园环境中，大学生如何进行性别表演？3）现实世界中单性别次级社群的成员身份，是否会影响其在Instagram上的性别展演？