Feminist discourses of Spanish digital influencers: An analysis of their activity on social media

Abstract

With the rise of digital feminism, this article explores the role of Spanish digital influencers considered as feminist referents and the topics addressed by them on social networks from a gender perspective. An online survey was used to create a ranking of the twelve most popular influencers by social media users. Firstly, an analysis of their professional and sociodemographic profiles was made. Secondly, a cross-platform content analysis of the posts published by these influencers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram was undertaken. The results show the homogenous profile of the most popular feminist influencers. The main topics addressed in their social networks are linked to gender violence, especially on Twitter, which is the social network where they publish the largest number of posts with a gender perspective despite having more followers on Instagram. Finally, the study concludes that online feminist discourses replicate the issues in the traditional media agenda and omit other topics that involve women belonging to minorities or related to the private sphere. Navarro y Villegas-Simón (2022) pp.201-214 KEYWORDS feminism; social media; influencers; digital activism RESUMENEste artículo explora el rol de las influencers digitales españolas consideradas referentes feministas y los temas que abordan con perspectiva de género en sus redes sociales. A partir de la realización de una encuesta, se ha establecido un ranking con las doce influencers digitales más populares consideradas feministas. En primer lugar, se analizaron sus perfiles sociodemográficos junto con su actividad profesional. En segundo lugar, se llevó a cabo un análisis de contenido de sus publicaciones en Facebook, Twitter e Instagram. Los resultados muestran una homogeneidad de los perfiles de las influencers feministas más populares. Los principales temas abordados en sus redes sociales están vinculados a la violencia de género, siendo Twitter la red social donde publican mayor cantidad de posts con perspectiva de género, a pesar de que en Instagram tienen más seguidores. Finalmente, el estudio concluye que los discursos feministas online replican los temas y asuntos de la agenda de los medios tradicionales y dejan de lado otros temas de la agenda feminista que implican a mujeres que pertenecen a minorías y temas relacionados con la esfera privada.

Are we all influencers now? Feminist activists discuss the distinction between being an activist and an influencer

“…More generally, the article adds to recent scholarly debates on ‘influencer creep’ (Bishop, 2022) by exploring the extent to which influencing culture creeps into various practices and forms of work, including political activism. My analysis also adds to the growing scholarly and public interest in the entanglements between contemporary forms of political activism and influencer culture (Novoselova and Jenson, 2019; Brown, 2022; Navarro and Villegas-Simón, 2022; Semenzin, 2022; Dean, in press), which in turn sheds light on the interplay between digital feminist activism and neoliberalism (Baer, 2021; Scharff, 2023a). My approach to neoliberalism is Foucauldian and informed by analyses which have demonstrated that neoliberalism entails the expansion of market principles to all areas of life.…”

“…Likewise, researchers have observed a ‘growing convergence between politics and micro-celebrity/influencer culture’ (Dean, in press: 26). Terms such as ‘feminist influencers’ (Novoselova and Jenson, 2019; Navarro and Villegas-Simón, 2022), ‘activist influencers’ (Semenzin, 2022), and analyses of how influencers engage in social justice ecologies (e.g. Abidin and Cover, 2019) attest to a growing interest in how contemporary protest cultures, including feminist activism, are shaped by the neoliberal digital economy.…”