Life Narrative and the Digital

The Digital Life Narrative of a Romanian Transgender Microcelebrity through the Lens of Networked Publics

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21827/ejlw.14.42338

Keywords:

digital (auto)biography, networked publics, networked individualism, transgender identity

Abstract

This contribution investigates the online identity construction of the Romanian transgender vlogger Daria Jane, using as subjects of analysis her YouTube digital diary as well as videos published on the YouTube channel of a famous Romanian TV presenter who invited Daria to tell her transitioning story. Specifically, we will analyse viewers’ reactions in the comments sections of two videos, exploring the interplay between biography and autobiography within the digital space in the process. Using an interdisciplinary methodological framework that integrates online discourse analysis, identity studies, (micro)celebrity studies, and (auto)biography research, the paper addresses the ways in which Netizens co-construct Daria Jane’s life story on social media. Our methodology consists of examining a corpus of comments, identifying keywords, and creating categories (negative stancetaking and positive stancetaking) that reflect the attitudes and positions of Romanian users towards transgender identities. The study contributes to the scholarly discourse on online  (self-)presentation by offering an analysis of YouTube comments and a visualisation of the data derived from these comments via the categories created. Furthermore, by exploring the dynamic relationships between Daria Jane, the TV host, and Romanian YouTube users, the article sheds light on the Romanian public perception regarding (trans)gender identities.

Author Biographies

Alexandra Cotoc, Babeș-Bolyai University

Alexandra Cotoc is a lecturer in the Department of English Language and Literature at the Faculty of Letters, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Her fields of interest are Internet Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, English for Academic Purposes, and Digital Humanities. She has co-edited books and special issues on: ‘Online and Offline Discourses. New Worlds, New Sociolinguistic Perspectives,’ (2019) ‘An Introduction to Internet Linguistics. The Cultural Sociolinguistic Take with Case Studies,’ (2021) ‘Textual Negotiation of Online Identities,’ in Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai. Philologia, Volume 67 (LXVII) (2022). She is the co-chair of the European Summer School in Digital Humanities Culture & Technology, Besançon, France (2024-2025).  She was a member of Erasmus projects focusing on digital technologies and foreign language teaching: the ClipFlair project (Foreign Language Learning through Interactive Revoicing and Captioning of Clips), Barcelona, Spain; the European project DIAL4U – Digital pedagogy to develop Autonomy, Mediate and Certify Lifewide and Lifelong Language Learning for (European) Universities, 2021–2023.  

Anamaria Radu, Humboldt Universität

Anamaria Radu holds the position of Lecturer in the Department of Romanian Language, Culture, and Civilization at Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. In her current role, she is a lecturer in Romanian language and culture, teaching at the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin. Her academic pursuits extend beyond teaching Romanian as a foreign language. Her research interests include Language Acquisition, Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, and Digital Humanities. She has also contributed to the ClipFlair project. This initiative, based in Barcelona, Spain, focused on Foreign Language Learning through Interactive Revoicing and Captioning of Clips.

Published

2025-07-04

Issue

Vol. 14 (2025): EJLW

Section

Life Narrative and the Digital

Copyright (c) 2025 Alexandra Cotoc, Anamaria Radu

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