Recent Trends in Using Life Stories for Social and Political Activism

Lifestory-sharing sites have never been as popular as today. These sites interpret the act of “sharing” life stories as a form of communal endeavor, and argue that publicly shared life stories will lead to more inclusive communities and to more effective forms of participatory democracy. The present article studies the rhetoric of this new form of lifestory-based activism, and suggests that we need to be cautious about accepting some of its more idealistic claims.