Putting People First: Unpacking the Relationship Between Social Media Influencers and Feminism

Abstract

This narrative review synthesizes knowledge at the intersection of social media scholarship, the role of influencers in disseminating information about feminist causes. Feminist activism on social media, such as hashtag activism like #MeToo, has received much attention from scholars, but the role of influencers in disseminating information remains understudied. Much of the past research has examined the commercial nature of influencers. We conducted a narrative review using the search results from eight academic databases. We examined three research questions: (1) what types of social media influencers have been studied, (2) what feminist approaches were drawn on, (3) and what are influencers' functions in the dissemination of information on feminist causes. We found that the literature had covered influencers from many parts of the world whose content focuses on various areas of life, with some specifically advocating antifeminism. We also found that feminist theoretical approaches, mainly surrounding neoliberalism and post‐feminism, have informed much of this research. Finally, we found that the studies within feminism as challenging norms and expectations, calling out social issues, and building community. From these findings, we derive directions for future studies and the continuation of our project.