The shifting landscape of digital environments today situates rhetorical scholars within complex intersections. Converging concepts in narrative, genre, multimodal composition, and social media beckon scholars to examine the fluctuating power dynamics of the Internet. With this in mind, this thesis explores the rise of narratives in blogs, YouTube as a platform for new media, and the Draw My Life tag on YouTube. By comparing Draw My Life to previous definitions of blogs, this thesis argues that Draw My Life is its own genre and a tool for users to solidify their identities and experiences using multimedia. Using Kat Blaque’s Draw My Life video as a case study compared to other submissions in the tag, this thesis also seeks to understand how Blaque’s narrative challenges the power dynamics in contemporary visuals through her submission.

As a transgender woman, Blaque retains significant authority over her identity through her submission by guiding her audience’s perceptions. Her video represents a powerful way for voices who are traditionally marginalized to use multimedia to share and preserve their identities and personal histories.