Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2018

The Rhetorical Work of YouTube’s Beauty Community: Relationship- and Identity-Building in User-Created Procedural Discourse

Lehua Ledbetter University of Rhode Island

Abstract

This study investigates YouTube’s beauty community, an online group of women who make videos about makeup products and techniques. The videos contain makeup application instructions and challenge ideas about what is “usable” procedural discourse. They sometimes defy conventions for high production quality. Moreover, storytelling and instruction are integral to the rhetorical work of these tutorials. For the diverse groups in this community, procedural discourse also serves as a means of establishing credibility not otherwise afforded to them, as well as opportunities for identity- and relationship building.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2018-10-02
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2018.1518950
Open Access
Closed
Topics
social media

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (6)

  1. Bjork (2025)
    True Crime Podcasting and Technical Communication: Exposing the Oppression of O…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Sánchez (2023)
    Slow Civic Violence and the Removal of USPS Mail Sorting Machines During the 20…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Campeau et al. (2023)
    “It Makes Everything Just Another Story”: A Mixed Methods Study of Medical Stor…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Stambler (2022)
    “An Excelent Good Remedi”: Medical Recipes as Ethos-Building Tactical Technical…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Yusuf et al. (2022)
    A Technical Hair Piece: Metis, Social Justice and Technical Communication in Bl…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 6 →
  1. Gollihue (2019)
    Re-Making the Makerspace: Body, Power, and Identity in Critical Making Practices
    Computers and Composition

Cites in this index (6)

  1. Haas (2012)
    Race, Rhetoric, and Technology
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Williams et al. (2012)
    Introduction
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Grabill et al. (2012)
    Messy Rhetoric: Identity Performance as Rhetorical Agency in Online Public Forums
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  4. Morain et al. (2012)
    YouTutorial: A Framework for Assessing Instructional Online Video
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Carter et al. (2011)
    Tubing the Future: Participatory Pedagogy and YouTube U in 2020
    Computers and Composition
Show all 6 →
  1. Sun (2006)
    The Triumph of Users: Achieving Cultural Usability Goals With User Localization
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Also cites 11 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1093/obo/9780199791286-0066
     ↗
  2. 10.4135/9781412985833
     ↗
  3. 10.1111/j.1948-7169.2003.tb00041.x
     ↗
  4. 10.1177/1470357210389533
     ↗
  5. 10.1002/tl.71
     ↗
  6. Moya P. M. (2000)
    Reclaiming identity: Realist theory and the predicament of postmodernism
     ↗
  7. 10.2307/1512132
     ↗
  8. 10.1145/225434.225447
     ↗
  9. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199744763.001.0001
     ↗
  10. 10.1007/978-1-84996-133-2_11
     ↗
  11. 10.1002/9781118504871
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    An Acceptance Analysis of Firms’ Posts on Sina Weibo to Build Credibility ↗
    Chenghui Wu
    multimodality social media
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    From Monologue to Dialogue: Communication Strategies of Chinese Museums on Weibo and the Imperative for Participation Awareness ↗
    Xiaole Zhu; Yoonjae Nam
    qualitative research social media
  3. Poroi Feb 2026
    The Circulation of Vaccine Misinformation on Social Media Platforms: New Challenges Require New Methods ↗
    Denise Tillery; Melissa Carrion
    social media
  4. Journal of Multimodal Rhetorics 2026
    Detransition as Counterstory: Trans-Affirming Narratives on TikTok ↗
    social media
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Nov 2025
    “That’s What You’re Supposed to Do on Twitter”: Emotion, Affect, and Positivity in Online Climate Science Communication ↗
    Shelton Weech
    social media scientific writing affect and writing