Private writing, public selves

Abstract

Situating itself within the field of feminist scholarship, this piece brings together a range of academic and professional literature, as well as the author’s own experiences as a PGCE (Postgraduate certificate in Education) tutor in England, to consider how women teachers are using online life-writing for personal and professional self-expression, and the impact this has on their wellbeing. In an educational climate facing a recruitment and retention crisis, do social media platforms and online blogs allow women teachers to be chameleon-like and create a feminised world in cyberspace, or do they result in a culture of fabricated selves and low levels of personal and professional wellbeing?