Date of Award
2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Rhetoric & Comm Studies
First Advisor
Dr. Greg Cavenaugh
Abstract
This thesis examines how feminist discourse is produced, sustained, and contested within Reddit communities devoted to A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR). While platforms such as Reddit are often characterised as amplifying toxicity, I argue that their affordances can enable the durability of collective critique. Using constructivist grounded theory, I analyse discussion threads focused on narrative flashpoints, particularly debates around consent, trauma, and power in A Court of Silver Flames. From this, I develop four original interpretive strategies: evidentiary anchoring, lightweight participation, nested reply segmentation, and meta-norming.
The project brings platform studies into conversation with feminist and affect theory, drawing on Sara Ahmed and Nancy Baym to argue that affect, especially frustration and anger, operates as a generative force in meaning-making rather than noise. These dynamics are situated within broader patterns of toxic masculine backlash, including Gamergate. Ultimately, the thesis reframes feminised fandom spaces as sites of sustained critical discourse and contributes a transferable framework for analysing platform-mediated critique.
Recommended Citation
Price, Charlotte, "Not Noise but Discourse: Platform Affordances and the Durability of Feminist Discourse in ACOTAR Fandom" (2026). Honors Theses. 1958.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1958