Platform Feminism and Literary Form: Social-media aesthetics, censorship, and women’s voice in contemporary Anglophone writing (2015–2025)

Abstract

This paper will propose that platform feminism is not merely a field of discussion in online space but a formal state of affairs that transforms the Anglophone writing by women in the present (20152025) through platform affords, measures of attention, and governance. The study is based on a qualitative, interpretive design comprising of comparative close reading, paratext analysis (captions, bios, comment interactions, newsletters) and policy-context reading in order to assess platforms re-engineering literary voice and genre. Findings, based on a purposive sample of 15 primary texts and 120 platform artifacts, including Instagram, Twitter/X, Substack and Tik Tok indicate a preponderance of compressed, shareable micro-forms: quote-card minimalism (28.3%), thread logic (23.3%), and screenshot / receipt narration (22.5%). The voice of women is paratextual and collective (confessional I 35%, testimonial 25%, collective we 23.3), whereas the moderation/harassment risk is addressed with the help of euphemism (27.5%), obfuscation (17.5%), and content warnings (16.7%), and platform-specific clustering occurs. The results indicate that visibility governance produces new hybrid aesthetics that govern and offset feminist literary power by placing it under platformized restrictions.