Digital Masculinities: How Reddit and Instagram (re)define
masculinity through a feminist lens
Master’s Thesis New Media & Digital Culture
Bianca Crichigno Biggs 12158062
June 2019
Supervisor: Dr. Sabine Niederer Second reader: Daniël de Zeeuw
2 Abstract
Since gender studies were established as a research field, the social construction of the male figure has been mainly analysed under the scope of hegemonic masculinity. Nevertheless, masculinity has been continuously shaped by social movements such as the Gay Liberation and feminist waves which, although suggested alternative types of masculinities within Western culture, also led to the creation of male stereotypes that confined the understanding of how men should be. More recently and with the rise of new technologies, the emergence of the concept of the manosphere has reinforced hegemonic masculinity and stained further studies on the construction of masculinity identity online across digital platforms, particularly on Reddit. This thesis uses a qualitative content analysis approach to study the portrayal of a new type of masculinity on Reddit and Instagram. This alternative masculinity adopts feminist values in order to become a hybrid type that struggles against the social and historical stereotypes that have conditioned the understanding and role of masculinity within the field of gender studies. Through the analysis of the top ten most engaged posts within the community r/MensLib and those related to #feministmen it is found that both Reddit and Instagram promote an alternative masculinity based on feminist principles. However, the former encourages users to adopt a pro-feminist stand in order to favour men whilst the latter encourages men to embrace a feminist posture by favouring women.
Keywords: feminist masculinity, hybrid masculinity, digital platforms, hegemonic masculinity, manosphere, Reddit, Instagram.
3 Table of contents
Introduction………5
Chapter 1: The dominant male figure: a brief history 1.1 Feminism and Gay Liberation: the free and enslaving forces of masculinity………7
1.2 The measurement of masculinity...10
1.3 Hybridization of masculinity………...13
Chapter 2: Masculinity on New Media 2.1 The portrayal of masculinity in the digital space...……….…...15
2.2 Feminist masculinity: not an oxymoron………...16
Chapter 3: The arise of the manosphere in social media..………..20
3.1 The Red Pill………...20
3.2 Pickup Artists (PUAs) and gaming culture……….22
3.3 Manosphere on Instagram……….……...25
Chapter 4. Methodological Framework 4.1 Online identity construction………...30
4.2 Platform vernaculars………..31
4.3 Qualitative content analysis………..32
4.4 Introducing Reddit………..33
4.5 Introducing Instagram………34
4.6 Case studies: r/MensLib and #feministmen………...35
4.7 Content selection………36
Chapter 5. Findings 5.1 r/MensLib: a pro-feministmen and anti-manosphere space…..………...41
5.1.1 Educating pluriform masculinities.………...41
5.1.2 Gender-neutralizing issues ………..47
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5.1.4 Distant but close figures………51
5.2 #feministmen: a pro-women feminist space………...55
5.2.1 Feminist men have gone ………...55
5.2.2 Underrepresentation of feminist men………..60
5.2.3 Feminism connected to racism……….………...63
Chapter 6. Discussion and conclusion ………69
Reference list……….76
Appendix I………..88
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During the second half of the 20th century, scholars have mainly studied the male subject through the lens of hegemonic masculinity (Connell; Edwards; Kimmel; Demetriou; Garlick; Kendall). Gender studies scholar R.W. Connell, who coined the term hegemonic masculinity in the mid 1980’s, defines the concept as the “maintenance of practices that institutionalize men’s dominance over women”, where alternative masculinities that might emerge are prevented of “gaining cultural definition and recognition as alternatives” (Gender and Power: Society, The Person and Sexual Politics 186). Therefore, the social construction of what it is to be a man has been characterized by specific dominant aspects that can be summarized in four words: “white, Western, middle-class and heterosexual” (Edwards, 2). Even though these aspects have been powerful enough to set the parameters of how men should be, the concept of masculinity has been socially constructed based on the lives of only “5 percent of the world’s population of men, in one culture-area, at one moment in history” (Connell, The Big Picture: Masculinities in Recent World History 600). Therefore, different types of masculinities that originated from other social, cultural, ethnic and sexual backgrounds have been strongly underrepresented.
The social construction of masculinity has been widely studied in terms of its portrayal on traditional media, reinforcing the persistence of the dominant values associated to men such as aggression, competition, control and strength, which have been constantly tested and imposed in the public sphere (Kimmel 184). Therefore, the basis of hegemonic masculinity denies every value that is considered to attack manhood’s power such as being emotionally vulnerable, passive, physically weak, and nurturing, values that the man consequently suppresses in order to achieve masculinity (Kaufman; Spence & Helmreich). This has created a significant tension between women, men, and among men, which has led to study gender in terms of power structures that configure the interaction between these groups (Kimmel).
Gender studies have been mainly focused on how the traditional western role and social position of women has changed, which has been enhanced by feminism waves (Carrigan, et al.; Pilcher and Whelehan). In contrast, the rise of interest on men’s social roles have been analysed and treated as a “reaction and adjustment to the new status of women” (Hacker 227). Consequently, studies of masculinity arose as a riposte to feminism’s successful denigration of men (Kimmel). In contrast to feminism, in masculinity studies the male figure is not attacked by the female figure, instead, he is repressed by the social construction of the male role (Carrigan). The male role is based on a dominant type of masculinity, one that aims to become an empowered individual through the combination of various factors such as race, class, nationality, sexual
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orientation and religion, which consequently have direct incidence in the creation of a man’s self-worth (Kaufman). Therefore, the remaining working-class, gay and black men were subordinated by the hegemonic masculinity type of men (Edwards). Nevertheless, feminism has also enabled the creation of different types of masculinities where the pro-feminist man embraces behaviours that have been considered more feminine-oriented, such as expressing himself, being emotionally vulnerable, and being more invested in their role as a father, while ignoring the stereotypes that have been imposed on men (Kimmel; Pleck; Kaufman).
According to Kareithi, the use of new technologies has enabled media companies to spread in a higher scale the stereotypes related to masculinity across the world by making use of their power of “replication, amplification and extension” (Kareithi 28). Whilst the use of technology and the Internet have significantly increased during the last decades scholars have studied the concept of masculinity and its interactions within the digital space, however, mainly focused on the sexual interactions of men and persistence of hegemonic normativity (Light; Campbell; Jenkins). However, there is a dearth of study on the portrayal of a more nuanced masculinity on digital platforms which must be addressed, as the analysis of alternative masculinities can potentially contribute to the redefinition of masculinity online.
In consideration of the aforementioned aspects that have influenced the study of how masculinity performs online, this thesis analyses the portrayal of a hybrid type of masculinity rooted on feminist values that distances itself from hegemonic stereotypes and from the manosphere, particularly on the discussion website Reddit and social media platform Instagram. Through a qualitative content analysis of the top ten most engaged posts in Reddit’s community r/MensLib and Instagram’s hashtag #feministmen this thesis examines how does feminist masculinity resonates on both platforms and whether their discourses differ from each other. This thesis is divided into three main sections. The first one is based on a theoretical framework which addresses the various factors that have contributed to the social construction of masculinity during the last century. This section also includes the study of masculinity in new media and it emphasizes particularly on the origin of the manosphere. The second section refers to the methodology used and results analysed in order to study the portrayal of feminist masculinity through a close reading of the content found in two case studies: r/MensLib and #feministmen. Finally, the third section holds the discussion of a cross platform comparison of the distinct discourses promoted in Reddit and Instagram.
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Chapter 1. The dominant male figure: a brief history
1.1 Gay Liberation and Feminism: the free and enslaving forces of masculinity
Throughout the second half of the 20th century until today, gender studies have been highly influenced by two significant social movements in the United States that affected the perception towards masculinity across Western society: Gay Liberation and three feminism waves, –particularly the second one. Both emerged as a reaction towards discrimination issues and reached their peak during the 1960’s and 1970’s (Connell; Kaufman; Murphy) while enabing the questioning of gender roles in the Western society. This chapter analyses how these two social movements contributed to a wider and diverse understanding of the social construction of femininity and masculinity, and how this is reflected in the interaction between men and women and among men. Gay Liberation was driven by homophobia acts where men demanded tolerance and inclusion of homosexuals through the creation of identity politics, while the second feminism wave was driven by women’s demand for equal social and legal rights as a riposte to men’s historical social privilege (“Second-Wave Feminism”; “Gay Liberation Movement”).
The Gay Liberation movement during the 1970’s which took place mainly in New York, but also in Western European cities, Australia and New Zealand, has radically challenged the concept of hegemonic masculinity and expanded the scope of gender studies (Connell; Murphy; Elshtain; Thompson, Pleck and Ferrera). This movement was based on a significant questioning and demand for the transformation of sexual regulation which has been conditioned by the role of heteronormativity within a capitalist context where homosexuality is consider as a threat to its functioning through the restriction of the development of new generations of workers (Hansen and Garey). The Gay Liberation movement was mainly led by homosexuals who suggested that heterosexuality is not the only natural form of sexuality, and that men should not be strictly categorized according to their sexual practices (Kinsman 167). However, this movement led to the creation of new figures and stereotypes of homosexuality, appropriating tags such as “faggot”, “queer”, “sissy”, which would be often used to refer in a condescending manner to those men that did not represent the conventional masculine type (Kinsman 165). This has direct relation to homophobia as these acts are seen as endeavours of heterosexual men to reaffirm their masculinity through the rejection of those who do not fulfil the expected sexual identity (Theodore and Basow). According to Demetreiou, this can be understood as a “strategy for the reproduction of patriarchy through the institution of heterosexuality” (344). As stated by Kinsman, the Gay Liberation faced new challenges that have generated a (re)categorization of what it
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is to be male but also led to a deviation of the original critique that should not only redefine the institutionalization of heterosexuality as a social norm but the institution of masculinity as a whole (175).
The second feminist wave, which occurred during the same period as the Gay Liberation, feminists’ essentially claimed on the relationship between men and women as one that constantly struggles with male dominance, which led to the allocation of the generalization of men as being active participants of the patriarchy with little or no degree variations (Carrigan, Connell and Lee 552). Thus men and masculinity were problematically merged into a generalized category determining that all were representatives of hegemonic masculinity, while leaving aside those who did not share the same rights and privileges as the dominant group that was white, middle-high class and heterosexual (Gardiner “Masculinity studies and feminist theory”). Philosopher of Science D.Z. Demetriou is most known for his influential critique on Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity. Demetriou analyses the relation between feminism and masculinity as external hegemony –performed by the external gender, i.e. female-, as feminists struggle with women’s oppression which is employed by men in several spheres through power structures within the context of labor, state and family (341). Even though feminist women fight against external hegemony, this should also be questioned by men, not only to support the feminist claim as means to achieve gender equality but to recognize how their power figure has also led to a significant division within their own gender (Kaufman 157). This is what Demetriou refers to as internal hegemony, i.e. men who suppress other men in regards to differences of social status, political, cultural and economic practices (341). A clear example of this can be the Gay Liberation Movement, where the socially assigned superiority was performed by heterosexual over gay men (341). Another example of internal hegemony is how white men have historically oppressed black men, an issue that has also been incorporated into the feminist claim where some black feminists support men in order to fight against discrimination led by white supremacists (Gardiner “Masculinity studies and feminist theory 35). According to gender studies scholar Michael Kaufman, men live contradictory experiences of power, as they have historically privileged from their social advantage within the context of patriarchy, however, this power has also increased “pain, fear, and alienation”, which should be used as an opportunity to encourage change and empower men individually and collectively (59).
During the second feminist wave that took place in the United States between the 60’s and 70’s there were male supporters who highly sympathized with the feminist claim and acknowledged the need of fighting sexism and patriarchy, while others rapidly opposed
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and expressed their anti-feminist posture in different degrees (Messner, “The Limits of ‘The Male Sex Role’ An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse” 256). Anti-feminist men argue that women were actually the problem and view them as the ones who have the power over men, making them the actual gender who was oppressed by society were aspects such as shorter life-span, military recruitment and custody laws would justify their social disadvantage (Messner, “Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements” 41). While women fought against discrimination acts that were legal such as giving men priority in university admissions or begin denied to receive bank credits, in 1969 the U.S. legislator Richard Elrod proposed to the state legislature modifications in laws he considered were discriminating men in order to favour women (Lefkovitz n.pag). This was one of the first events that gave rise to the Men’s Rights Movement and organizations such as the Society for the Emancipation of American Men (SEAM) and the America’s Society of Divorced Men (ASDM) were created, whose founder Charles Metz believed that ex-wives were constantly manipulating men to take advantage of their wealth (Lefkovitz n.pag). Men’s Rights’ activists still persist within the gender discussion and are represented by figures such as the well-known Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson who believes that social hierarchies are natural and that gender is not a social construct (Illing n.pag). Men’s rejection of feminism results detrimental for them as it does not recognize masculinity as a form of gender worth of studying, which consequently confines its capacity of change (Thomas 61). Therefore, the incorporation of feminism enables an opportunity to men to make “subversive interventions into reproductions of normative masculinity itself” as a strategy to dismantle stereotypes that harm men (Thomas 61). Nevertheless, male feminists live with the constant fear of being defined as traitors while their virility and sexual orientation are highly questioned by those who believe men cannot be feminists unless they are homosexual (Kimmel “Who’s Afraid of Men Doing Feminism?” 67).
The existence of feminist men is not new and have been actively present across the social and political agenda of the United States (Kaufman 71). However, it became more prominent during the second wave of feminism during the 70’s, where the male response was more visualized through the rise of several men’s movements that showed a higher acceptance of the changes achieved by women (Kaufman 72). This led to the rise of the Men’s Liberation Movement during the 70’s from which various pro-feminist organizations emerged that encouraged men to take a feminist position and support their claim regarding women’s rights to study in higher education, to vote, have better conditions at the workplace, and reproductive rights (Aronson 634). The majority of the
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figures that were relevant for this time were psychologists such as Robert Brannon and Joseph Pleck, whose concepts about the male sex role built on a social script which is harmful for both men and women served as foundations for the men’s liberation discourse (Messner ("The Limits of ‘The Male Sex Role’ An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse" 260). Moreover, they argued that whilst men had institutional power within a patriarchal system they often felt powerless in the emotional and psychological spheres, where women were considered to lead in emotional expressiveness (Messner ("The Limits of ‘The Male Sex Role’ An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse" 260-261).
However, according to the gender studies scholar Michael Messner, the original Men’s Liberation movement was destroyed by the more conservative wing and eventually transformed into an antifeminist effort which gave rise to the Men’s Rights Movement ("The Limits of ‘The Male Sex Role’ An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse" 257). Rather than acknowledging the limitations imposed on men and women with an equal impact, this group of men liberationists put their focus on the costs on masculinity and claimed that the male role is more rigid and repressive than the female role (Messner "The Limits of ‘The Male Sex Role’ An Analysis of the Men's Liberation and Men's Rights Movements' Discourse" 265). Under this light, Men’s Rights activists did not consider the traditional masculinity figure as an issue, and believed its re-establishment was necessary to fight against the actual oppressor gender, i.e. women (Kimmel “From Men's Liberation to Men's Rights: Angry White Men in the US” n.pag).
Both feminism and Gay Liberation are two social movements that have highly impacted in the further relation between masculinity and men until today, and led to the conception that “masculinity defines men, rather than the reverse” (Gardiner "Men, Masculinities" 39). Consequently, this has contributed to the establishment of masculinity as an academic research field in order to study how men have suffered the costs of hegemony, how has hegemonic masculinity been reinforced and what changes have contributed to the diversity of masculinities (Messerschmidt 9).
1.2 The measurement of masculinity
The social measurement of masculinity has been approached through the evaluation of certain aspects that are understood as inherent to masculinity. However, these features are based on established stereotypes which instead of promoting variations within masculinity they tend to reinforce hegemonic masculine standards.
The classification of the different types of masculinities can be expressed in two different forms: prescriptive statements, i.e. expectations based on what men should be like, and
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descriptive statements, i.e. empiric demonstration of what men actually are (Pleck). Thompson, Pleck and Ferrera have pointed how these classifications have been translated into numerous measurement scales created by different authors during the 70’s and 80’s in order to measure the various notions and ideologies of masculinity by the use of both prescriptive statements and descriptive statements that have been associated with the social construction of male gender (574). Some of the scales such as the Macho Man, Brannon Masculinity Scale and Traditional-Liberated Content Scale presented different statements that would be evaluated by the individual in a Likert-type format (from strongly agree to strongly disagree) (580-588). For instance, these include statements such as “I would be more comfortable with a male boss than a female boss; A man who cries in front of a woman is making a fool of himself; It is ridiculous for men to stay home and keep house; It bothers me when a man does something that I consider 'feminine'; When a man is feeling a little pain he should try not to let it show very much, and I like for a man to look somewhat tough" (Thompson, Pleck and Ferrera 580-588). These declarations make reference to the hegemonic figure of the male as a purely bread-winner who suppresses his emotions and is physically strong, encouraging the person to evaluate their masculinity perceptions based on this standardized and homogenous model (Messner; Carrigan, Connell and Lee).
The Gender Role Conflict Model analyses four different patterns that have enable to analyse male’s behaviour and gender relations under the following aspects: Conflicts Between Work & Family Relations, Success, Power & Competition Issues, Restrictive & Affectionate Behaviour Between Men, and Restrictive Emotionally (O’Neil n.pag). Within the last pattern, studies regarding men’s role in affective relationships have constantly perceived them as emotionally inexpert, where the “big boys don’t cry” motto has positioned men as “emotionally detached creatures” that are under the control of their reason, leading to women be the ones who fulfil this aspect, even though men are also expected to be sensitive and tender (Holmes 180; Edwards; Hacker). As husbands, men should assume the main responsibility of being the economic provider, which implies being more absent during their children’s raise while the mother assumes the main role in this activity (Hacker). However, as children are more exposed to the interaction with their mothers, they might relate goodness as purely feminine, which generates a type of fear that the child might become “sissy” as the mother is not able to show him how to be masculine (Hacker 230). Regarding to traditional social expectations on how men should behave in a romantic heterosexual relationship, they are expected to assume a leading and dominant position, where they should take the initiative to approach women (Sakalli-Ugurlu). Moreover, their performance regarding sexual activity is a fundamental aspect
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that influences how a man evaluates himself (Hacker). Even though these social conventions apply mostly to heterosexual men, other groups such as homosexuals and bisexuals must face prejudices in a higher scale as they are not entirely understood by society and their sexual practices (Garnets and Kimmel). However, they do not nullify stereotypes about them as they defend the possibility that an individual might be the exception (Garnets and Kimmel). In addition to fulfil these emotional aspects in affective relationships, masculinity has been highly constructed around specific physical features that play a dominant role in defining virility (Deaux and Lewis).
As the social construction of masculinity has led to men be in a constant effort of differentiating themselves from women, they reject those aspects that they see as feminine such as weakness, sensitivity and irrationality (Reynaud). Therefore, “body-hair, beard and penis become images of strength and symbols of power…and muscles and his brain… he sees the strength of the human being in them and sees them as typically masculine organs” (Reynaud 142-143). This is directly related to the rise of the figure of Macho Man which is composed by three main aspects: “entitlement to callous sex, violence as manly and danger as exciting” (Mosher and Tomkins 61).These aspects have constantly resonated on different media, however, according to a Break Media report, men claim that their true aspirations are not fairly represented such as taking responsibility to do more home tasks and willing to reduce work hours in order to invest more time with their families (Richman n.pag). In the case of homosexual men, they might feel less manly because they are judged according to their sexual orientation, therefore they aspire to develop a muscly physique as a defence mechanism in order to feel safer and more powerful against potential discriminatory attacks (Kimmel and Mahalik 1185). The fear of not fulfilling the masculinity type has led to an extreme where some men even reject vegetarianism as they consider it to be a “female” behaviour which is also related to feminism (See Rogers “Beasts, burgers, and hummers: Meat and the crisis of masculinity in contemporary television advertisements” and Buerkle).
The social pressure exercised on men who are expected to satisfy all of the aspects mentioned above have direct relation with their self-worth and reaffirmation of their masculinity (Kaufman). Therefore, as this constant seek for social approval limits the expansion of what constitutes masculinity, men need a space where they are exposed and encouraged to interact with other masculinities in order to build their identity with no restrictions or fear of judgement.
13 1.3 Hybridization of masculinity
Connell states that different masculinities are in constant interaction, therefore, gender must be understood as a “configuration of practice” which it should be analysed based on individuals’ acts and not on how they are expected to act (Connell, Masculinities 76). However, Connell considers that non-hegemonic masculinities are in a permanent state of tension with the dominant hegemonic type, constructing a dualism where the former does not have a direct influence on the latter (Demetriou 347). Under this logic, Demetriou critiques Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity and proposes that masculinity is a “hybrid bloc” which is constructed by a combination of both traditional and non-traditional elements which aims to reproduce patriarchy:
“It is its constant hybridization, its constant appropriation of diverse elements from various masculinities that makes the hegemonic bloc capable of reconfiguring itself and adapting to the specificities of new historical conjuncture” (348).
The concept of gender fluidity connects with this hybridization, as it proposes that gender and sexuality labels are conditioned according to the specificity of each culture and society, therefore, they become “ephemeral or reversible rather than definitive of such identity” (Linstead and Pullen 1291). Under this light, scholars from the field have identified that the study of a wider range of masculinities different from the traditional is required (Seidler; Connell). Demetriou refers to hybridization as a third space that appropriates different elements of masculinity and combines them in order to create something new by attributing a new meaning (351). An example of this, which however will not be further discussed in this thesis, is Donovan’s work where he refers to how a religious organization for men challenges hegemonic masculinity norms1.
Gender scholars have also address the questioning of heteronormativity and the repurpose of traditional masculinity standards through intimate interactions dynamics (Holmes). For instance, even though romanticism has been attributed to women as it involves care and sensitivity, men can use it as a manner to better approach women’s needs in a heterosexual relationship (Allen). Therefore, from this perspective romanticism is perceived as a less hegemonic characteristic as it might inspire equality
1 The Evangelical Christian organization Promise Keepers encourages men to not lead their lives
only based on an economic function, instead, they have the alternative to exercise a spiritual
leadership at home while their wives might be working, which already demonstrates the pursuit
of a less traditional role stereotype (828). Moreover, they promote the pursue of a sexual life that is less body centered and it highlights the relevance of their presence for raising both sons and daughters (831-833).
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between men and women’s roles within an intimate dynamic (Allen). Moreover, men can use intimacy as a “safe space” to express and be themselves without fear of judgement (Patrick and Beckenbach). Demetriou claims that, even though there are certain endeavours that seem to potentially challenge hegemonic masculinity by identifying new notions of what it is to be a male, it should not be interpreted as a successful elimination of patriarchy (355). Hence the advantage of considering masculinity as a hybrid bloc allows to understand it as a phenomenon that constantly changes, negotiates and transforms itself, and it helps to avoid the illusory notion that even though its variations and contradictions might indicate that it is being abolished, it is through these aspects that hegemonic masculinity is able to reproduce itself (355). Moreover, the existence of patriarchy should not be dismissed or recognized as abolished, but continue its questioning of its multiple forms of transmitting itself that are led by new actors in new spaces and that have not been previously examined. However, during the last two decades new media and gender scholars have intent to study the portrayal of masculinity in digital platforms, however from a limited scope.
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Chapter 2. Masculinity on New Media
2.1 The portrayal of masculinity in the digital space
Hegemonic masculinity and its stereotypes of men’s role in various spheres such as intimate relationships, physical appearance and their role at work and home have been exhaustively studied across traditional media such as television (e.g. toys advertisements for children), books (e.g. comic books with superheroes), films (e.g. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator and Disney movies), marketing (e.g. nutritional supplements for growing muscles) and magazine covers (e.g. Men’s Health Magazine, GQ Magazine) (Craig; Tognoli; Kareithi). In contrast to traditional media, there has been less attention paid on how these particular models of manhood are portrayed in digital and social media platforms and how these differ from one another (Morris & Anderson). Nevertheless, as masculinity studies gained relevance as a research field and new technologies have been significantly incorporated into everyday life, scholars have analysed the close interaction between masculinity and new media (Light; Van Doorn and Van Zoonen). However, the majority of masculinity and new media research has focused on the sexual interactions and identity construction of homosexual, bisexual and queer men, where the majority of them conclude that hegemonic masculinity norms prevail within the digital space (Light; Garlick; Rodriguez et.al.; Manago; Kendall; Campbell; Jenkins). The following section refers to studies that exemplify these approaches of the interaction between masculinity and digital platforms.
Campbell’s book Getting It On Online Cyberspace, Gay Male Sexuality, and Embodied Identity has been a major contribution in this topic as it was the first study that examined how gay men use a digital platform (Internet Relay Chat) to exchange images of different types of bodies in an erotized manner within three specific communities: #gaymuscle, #gaychub, and #gaymusclebears (ch. 1). Based on his results, Campbell argues that users have to reconstruct their body through textual and image formats, bringing back the relevance of the male body for the construction of their online identities (ch.1). Similarly, Kendall’s work also analyses online male interaction but she focuses only on text-based format. In her book “Hanging out in the virtual pub: Masculinities and relationships online” is based on an ethnography of the digital forum that she calls BlueSky. BlueSky is a text-only online forum which she also describes as a mud, short for “Multiple User Dungeon”, which is derived from the popular game “Dragons and Dungeons” and that is based on a multi-person online interaction (Kendall 4). BlueSky users share their concerns when approaching the opposite sex, who they constantly refer to babe, - a woman they are sexually interested in-, and they advise each other by
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suggesting that getting drunk can be used as a strategy to approach them (Kendall 83-84). There is a big part of users that are either bisexual or gay, however, when talking about women heterosexual users refer to them as sexual objects through expressions such as “Didja spike her?”, which participants justify it as a “joke” that ironically reflect their identity as nerds and their lack of sexual experience (85-87). According to Butler, the meaning behind this “joke” is analysed as a denaturalization of hegemony, where parodies may be exercised in order to “reidealize heterosexual norms without calling them into question” (231). Kendall concludes that even though is a male-dominated space, BlueSky allows the coexistence of non-hegemonic groups and does not discriminate against other sexual orientations, however, these groups are able to join conversations as long as they adapt to the established social norms from the dominant group, therefore reinforcing hegemonic masculinity (107-108). Similarly, Manago’s work demonstrated that the display of an almost naked male body accompanied by the quote “99% angel” incites irony, as it combines something angelical and innocent- which is related to femininity- with being “naughty” (8). This is translated as the use of a disobedient type of masculinity that reinforces the difference between masculine and feminine while showing superiority over femininity (9).
Regarding the portrayal of affective relationships on social networking sites, studies have demonstrated that young men can easily show affection to their partners through softness and romantic emotions (Elm; Mod; Fox and Warber). Even though referred to heterosexual users, studies show that men tend to display less their relationships with friends of the same sex to avoid being interpreted as homosexual, and also with their family members, which can be related to being dependent (Elm 162). However, this trend contradicts regarding romantic relationships, as male users express softness and romantic emotions to their partners equally as women, breaking the strong ideal of hegemonic masculinity of showing emotional sensitivity (162). Even though this last example portrays an alternative type of masculinity, the majority of studies by new media scholars limit the performance of online masculinity as a space where hegemonic normativity is reproduced.
2.2 Feminist masculinity: not an oxymoron
As mentioned in section 1.1, the cost of belonging to the hegemonic masculinity model has led men to suppress their emotions in order to maintain their power, which consequently are hidden as pain and fear and often manifested as “hate, self-deprecation, physical illness, insecurity, or addictions” (Kaufman 66). Moreover, along heterosexual relationships dynamics, men have relied on women to experience and
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express their emotions through them (Pleck “Men’s Power With Women, Other Men, and Society: A Men’s Movement Analysis” 59). However, as feminist women were against fulfilling this emotional role, men have been, in a certain manner, forced to learn to take care of their own emotions and seek for this validation with other men in order to not depend on women (Pleck “Men’s Power With Women, Other Men, and Society: A Men’s Movement Analysis” 61). Even though some men perceive feminism as a threat to masculinity, it has also triggered a positive embrace by a group of individuals who have acknowledged it as an opportunity to redefine themselves and question their role as men. As Kimmel states, a pro-feminist man who commits to end sexual harassment, shares house tasks and dedicates to childcare could significantly improve the relationship with himself, other men, women, and with their children (“Who’s Afraid of Men Doing Feminism?” 62).
An Ipsos MORI study demonstrated that 61% of men around the world believe that gender equality is possible if they actively support women’s rights (“Global Study Reveals What World Thinks about Women's Equality” n.pag). The same study showed that a majority of men (75%) disagree with the belief that staying at home to take care of their children would make them less of a man (“Global Study Reveals What World Thinks about Women's Equality” n.pag). Moreover, surveys have indicated that 23% of American men in the U.S. claim themselves as feminists, and 37% of men around the globe also consider themselves as such (“Poll: Feminism in the U.S.” n. pag; “Global Study Reveals What World Thinks about Women's Equality” n.pag). Beyond surveys, men’s participation within the current feminist movement has also resonated on different social media. For instance, in 2015 the hashtag #MasculinitySoFragile was trending on Twitter. Even though some users considered that this hashtag was making fun of men, its main purpose was to open the discussion regarding male stereotypes that were related to toxic masculinity and highlight how damaging they were for men’s identity building (Pittman). Some users Tweeted (Pittman n.pag):
“@ariellawrencee: #MasculinitySoFragile that guys can't show one another affection without saying 'no homo'”.
“@skellyxbean: #MasculinitySoFragile sleeping around as a woman is slutty, sleeping around as a man is worthy of a high five”.
“@JWillsNH: #MasculinitySoFragile that, in a guy's world, the fact that I have pink hair means I must be gay or something #smh”.
Different tweets also refer to a variety of products such as soap, deodorants, make-up and even a jalapeño sauce that is called “Man Dip”, all of them with a “manly” packaging
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in order to not affect the manliness of the one who is buying it (“#Masculinitysofragile Hashtag on Twitter”).
Other example that shows how feminist movements have influenced the questioning of masculinity on media is the men’s magazine GQ that created a special section in their website called “Me Too and Men” which its opening line states the following: “The #MeToo movement has opened our eyes: sexual harassment is rampant. Now it's time for men to join the conversation” (“#MeToo and Men”). Under this section stories concern various topics related to sexual harassment and give advice on how to approach women respectfully at work, socially and sexually. Some of their stories are titled “How to Know if a Woman Wants You to Stop Hitting on Her”, “How to Talk About #MeToo Without Shutting Down the Conversation” and “How to Talk Dirty Without Being a Bad Man” (“#MeToo and Men”). Other example that was highly popular across social media sites is the Uruguayan campaign created for Women’s Day 2015 by Urufarma, a company that sells contraceptives. The YouTube video shows men doing different activities while a woman’s voice narrates (translated from Spanish): “The struggle has shown results. Finally, men can do the same things as women. Now they can cry, dress well (…), watch soap operas (…), and cuddle without feeling that they have betrayed an entire gender” (Feliz Día Hombres). This campaign encourages men to embrace the feminist movement and use it for their own advantage by highlighting those more “feminine” activities and attitudes that they are now allowed to practice while achieving gender equality from a point of view that is not exclusively focused on women. The video finishes with the line “Congratulations men, you deserve it. Our struggle is for everyone” (Feliz Día Hombres). These examples demonstrate how feminism can offer, not only for its supporters but for all men, a new configuration that combines a variety of elements both associated to women and men that enable the creation of unexplored nuances of masculinity. Furthermore, this can be also related to the emergence of the concept of the “Modern Man” has led to different endeavours led by various actors, such as magazines and companies, to take action in the redefinition of the manly type and the portrayal of them on digital channels. For instance, Shutterstock’s picture collection presents a variety of gay couples and men doing fatherhood tasks, painting and gardening, and Getty created the “Masculinity Undone” Gallery which shows men from different races, with long hair, no-muscular body type and being affective between them (Chapin). Moreover, in 2017 the popular brand Axe started the campaign “Is It Ok for Guys” which invites men to express themselves through the discussion of topics that men usually struggle with such as “Is it ok for guys to cry, wear pink, be skinny, do yoga or manscape” (“Is It Ok for Guys”). Even though the aim of these examples contribute to re-depicted masculinity on
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media, companies are far from achieving a significant role in terms of gender stereotypes through mechanisms that remain to be commercially strategic (See Aiello and Woodhouse). More recently, the Netflix show “Queer Eye”, where five gay men help other men to experience a complete make over regarding their outfits, home design, food taste, self-care and culture. However, beyond the external make-over where the hosts help rise men’s self-esteem, it focuses on the relevance of deconstructing toxic masculinity and enable a space for different types of men–i.e. black, straight, gay or Christian–to discuss their personal struggles to make them aware that being vulnerable is positive as it allows them to be more free (Blackmore).
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Chapter 3. The arise of the manosphere in social media
With the transformation of the Men’s Liberation Movement’s which claim passed from celebrating feminism to an absolute anti-feminism stand represented by Men’s Rights activists, Internet and particularly social media have enabled a space for men to express themselves allowing the fuelling of Men’s Rights activists’ radical discourse against feminist principles online (Lefkovitz n.pag.). This has given rise to the concept of the manosphere. Considered as a “toxic brand of antifeminism” the manosphere consists of a combination of a variety of blogs and forums were men discuss topics related to masculinity that have a highly misogynist tone (Ging; “What Is the Manosphere?” 1). BlueSky can be understood as one of the starting points that gave rise to the manosphere as a space to reinforce the norms associated with hegemonic masculinity. The term was firstly coined in 2009 with the creation of the Blogspot blog “The Manosphere”, where users had conversations about football matches, the video game “Call of Duty” and whether drinking beer is healthy or not (“The Start of the Manosphere”). Later it became more commonly used after Ian Ironwood (pseudonym) published his book “The Manosphere: A New Hope for Masculinity”, which he states it should be perceived as a survey and introduction from the point of view of a “progressive” manosphere blogger (Ironwood chapter 1). In his first chapter he describes the manosphere as the following (Ironwood):
“The Manosphere is an angry place. Feminists love to talk dismissively about the anger there, as if male anger invalidates any reasonable point behind the anger. But the anger is understandable by any objective measure. That’s because our culture has treated men, as a class, very poorly while asking so much from them” (Bold as in original). This quote demonstrates how some men have adopted a radical position of victimization towards women and their struggle for gender equality, justifying their resistance as they are the gender that has been oppressed. Under this light, this chapter introduces the various factors of the manosphere culture that have negatively affected how scholars have studied the performance of masculinity online, where masculinity has been mainly attributed to a radicalization of misogynist behaviours enhanced by different digital communities.
3.1 The Red Pill
The manosphere includes various concepts that are constantly used by their supporters, and one of the most known terms in which common manosphere’s topics are based on is The Red Pill. The name makes reference to the concept extracted from The Matrix movie (1999) where the main character Neo had to choose between swallowing
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a blue or a red pill. Swallowing the Blue Pill allows the person to continue living within an illusion, a safe space, whereas the Red Pill would allow the person to be free by experiencing the raw reality and realize how threatening it can actually be (Cohen et.al). In the manosphere context, those men who take the Blue Pill are the “hapless, sexless dummies” who still approach women in an equal and traditional way, whereas the Red Pilled are “alphas who have seen the light” and become aware and revalued their power which has been naturally given (Dewey n.pag). The blue pillers are often called “Incels”, short for “involuntary celibates”, who define themselves as unable to have sex with women (Woolf).
The forum platform Reddit has served as one of the main platforms that has enabled users to the creation of the manosphere. For instance, one of their most popular communities (commonly known as subreddits) named r/TheRedPill has served as an important hub for this type of content. It was created in 2012 by the 30-year-old Republican lawmaker and men’s rights activist Robert Fisher who has been known for posting alt-right ideology online content, referring to women as inferior and resting importance to rape jokes among high school students (Romano n.pag). For instance, he stated that for a 40-year-old man dating a 15-year-old girl is “evolutionarily advantageous”, and that “just because there's a law doesn't mean 15-year-old girls were always considered out of bounds” (Romano n.pag). Furthermore, RedPill users give advice on how to pick up women, where the type of responses after the suggestion that men should strategically ignore women are “This shit works with a casual but not with a regular bitch”; “(…) you don't give a shit about them, you stop ignoring them when you wanna fuck them again” or “Ever fuck a girl once or twice but push her away because you really didn’t want to deal her with anymore?” ([JesusTheThird3]; [KeffirLime]; [RPSilverfox]).
The current head moderator of this Subreddit – which has over 140,000 followers and counting-, uses the acronym Morpheus Manfred and describes himself as male, white and conservative (Marche). Manfred explains that even though he acknowledges that many of the language used is “colourful” and “emotional” he believes that before the forum was created men lack a proper space to express themselves against their frustration with women: “Let’s say there’s a guy who just says “I hate women” – I think that’s textbook misogyny. We let them say that. Because there’s nowhere else for a man to blow off steam” (Marche n.pag). Another example of Red Pill content can be found in Ironwood’s blogs. Ironwood is a sex writer and porn reviewer, self-described as a “sex nerd”, and also creator of the blogs “The Red Pill Room” and “Sex Nerd”, among others (“Ian Ironwood”). In his posts he discusses, for example, how modern society has rested
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power to men and fulfil their role to protect and defend, and that men need to recover this role by, for instance, taking safety measures for boys at school regarding sexual assaults (“The Ironwood Initiative: Taking Out The Trash [Patriarchy 2.0]” n.pag). Ironwood believes that boys have been less considered when compared to girls due to the fact that teaching is a female profession, therefore, feminist-oriented that “empowers girls and punishes boys” (“The Ironwood Initiative: Taking Out The Trash [Patriarchy 2.0]” n.pag). According to Ironwood, taking action on school safety exclusively for young boys is a means to avoid the “feminist indoctrination” while allowing the beginning of patriarchy 2.0 (“The Ironwood Initiative: Taking Out The Trash (Patriarchy 2.0)” n.pag).
Moreover, in his blog “Sex Nerd”, Ironwood offers an exhaustive porn catalogue in which he recommends multiple porn movies and within the website it can also be found a more “cultural” approach to porn with the photo gallery named “Porn from Antiquity” that includes a collection of different millennial artefacts and sculptures of people having sex, doing oral sex and masturbating (“Porn Parodies: A Recent History [Complete]”). He also admires art works made by pre-feminist artists who, according to him, illustrate the “variety and nuances of female expression” by images that portray white, middle class American women from the 40’s and 50’s interacting with their couples/husbands (“Prefeminist Artist Of The Month: Coby Whitmore!” n. pag). However, women’s emotions appear to be conditioned by the male role and not by doing a specific task that does not show the participation of men as equal to women. Nevertheless, some of the manosphere leaders -such as Paul Elam of the blog “A Voice for Men” do not believe that the anger expressed towards women should be taken seriously, but it should be considered as “satire and social commentary” (Pry and Valiente). This mindset has enabled the creation of other subcultures that dominate the manosphere such as the “Pickup artists”.
3.2 Pickup Artists (PUAs) and gaming culture
The subculture Pickup Artists (PUA’s) can also be found within the manosphere and it refers to men dedicated to give advice on how to seduce women and manipulate them in order to sleep with them (Woolf). Even though it is not new that men seek for dating advice for picking up or gaming, the main difference with the traditional type of advice is that the PUA ideology –often represented by Incels-, does not intend to make better men, but they blame it on women referring to them as “broken”, and that do not give men the sex they are entitled to get (Marcotte n.pag). Moreover, the Incels are considered to be the “nice guys”, also known as “betas” who are good to women but are
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overlooked by them, while the “alphas” are those who women prefer to have sex with, and Incels describe them as “cocky assholes” (Marcotte n.pag).
PUAhate.com and the blogs Chateau Heartiste and Return of the Kings have been the main references along the PUA scene. One of PUAhate’s most popular user was Elliott Rodgers, who used to illustrate the common ideology among Incels, saying that “men shouldn't have to look and act like big, animalistic beasts to get women. The fact that women still prioritize brute strength just shows that their minds haven't fully evolved”
(Woolf n.pag). In 2014 Rodgers uploaded a YouTube manifesto in which he expressed his anger against women who preferred “stupid, degenerate, obnoxious men” instead of a “magnificent gentlemen like myself” (Marcotte n.pag). More specifically he stated: “I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you… I’ve been through college for two and a half years, more than that actually, and I’m still a virgin. It has been very torturous… I don’t know why you girls aren’t attracted to me, but I will punish you all for it” (Nagle n.pag). Hours later Rodgers killed six people in a sorority of the University of California and killed himself afterwards (Zurcher). The effect that sexual rejection has over Incels is also related to the anti-feminist movement Men Going Their Own Way (MGTOW). According to its members, feminism has destroyed society and they believe it is no longer worth it making an effort to approach women as they are “programmed to ruin a man’s life” (Lamoureux).
They frequently refer to women as a “bitch” that will cheat and deliberately use his money and leave (Nagle n.pag). Members also use the “Four Levels of MGTOW” scale where in order to become a member one must first take the red pill to “embrace the idea that gender equality is a lie and propaganda” (Lamoureux n.pag). In order to continue the protest against women they have to stop seeking for short and long relationships until they reach level 4 where they can be officially socially disengaged (Lamoureux n.pag). The MGTOW movement is specially depicted in the subreddits r/MGTOW where through the use of memes and comments they refer to women as the most dangerous animal on earth, who demand ridiculous amounts of money to cover their needs in exchange of a “preowned vagina” and mocking women who are going to have an abortion ([u/BandB101]; [u/scrambleggsanwafflz]; [u/YeastBeast33]).
Furthermore, the blog Chateau Heartiste is known to concentrate a big doses of women hatred and objectification (Dewey). For instance, in their website one of their main tabs says “Dating Market Value Test For Men” where men answer a series of questions and in exchange they receive a “fairly accurate assessment of the quality and number of women you are capable of attracting for a sexual relationship” (“Dating Market Value
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Test For Men” n.pag). The majority of the questions are based on physical looks, occupation, amount of money they earn, experience as a leader and hypothetical situations on how to approach women, where they get more points if they “grab a boob”, “look for a prettier girl” or ignore the “fat girl” (“Dating Market Value Test For Men” n.pag).
In contrast, the same test directed to women asks questions based on physical attributes and sexual performance such as “What is the shape of your ass”, “The number of sex positions you have tried”, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how pretty are you?” and “How long are your legs in relation to your height?” (“Dating Market Value Test For Women” n.pag). The results include a description of a woman’s market value, and for a lower score woman the test states: “The majority of men are disgusted by the sight of you”, while for those with a higher score states: “You are a player’s greatest challenge, and his greatest reward” (“Dating Market Value Test For Women” n.pag). Similarly, some of the latest posts of the blog Return of the Kings include “5 Ways Men Make Themselves Feminine”, “Become The Self-sufficient And Self-assured Man Who Feminists Love To Hate”; “4 Breakthroughs That Helped Me Sleep With 100+ Women on Tinder” and “How To Fight Feminist Organizations Such As ‘Muslims For Progressive Values’” (“Masculinity”). Nevertheless, the story “How I successfully de-toxified my toxic masculinity” seemed to have a strong critic towards radical hegemonic masculinity as the author starts telling how he realized the social pressure that men struggle with in order to fulfil the expectations of what it is to be a “real man” (Rowley n.pag). He also criticises how misogyny has become the worst aspect of masculinity while sympathizing with women and explaining how they suffer from being vulnerable and unsafe when wearing short skirts and walking by themselves (Rowley n.pag). However, while it seemed like a good introduction for positive insights and advice for men to “detox”, the story finishes with an anecdotic experience where the author tells he assisted to a workshop for men to learn how to prevent raping a woman, making fun at the prevention tips that were given which seemed to be treating all men as monsters with no common sense on how to interact with the opposite sex (Rowley n.pag). With an ironic tone, he finishes the story by stating he would never eat meat or potatoes, as “these poisons can elevate testosterone counts to dangerous levels” and lead to toxic masculinity behaviours (Rouwley n.pag).
As Arrowsmith explains in her book Rethinking misogyny: men’s perceptions of female power in dating relationships due to the fact that today women have less interest in assuming the emotional responsibility of both in the relationship, men use their dating skills and reinforce attitudes in order to revalidate their role and fight against women’s power (16). Moreover, pickup artists need to exercise control over their dating experiences as a means to achieve happiness within a “time of great gender flux”
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(Arrowsmith 15). The manosphere is considered an extremist space which has raised concern among various actors especially in the US, and the Southern Poverty Law Center -which aims to fight hate and bigotry-, published a report that described the manosphere as a space “thick with misogynistic attacks that can be astounding for the guttural hatred they express” (“Misogyny: The Sites” n.pag).
3.3 Manosphere on Instagram
As an object of study the manosphere has been mainly associated to Reddit, as this platform is the one that leads in regards of women-hatred content. However, other digital platforms such as Instagram have been understudied in relation to this matter, even though scholars have identified the persistence of hegemonic masculinity discourses combined with misogyny and women’s objectification on Instagram (Rodriguez, Shae, and Hernandez; Robertson).
Hashtags such as #redpill (227k posts), #mgtow (84k posts), #mensrights (50k posts), #incel (23k posts) and #theredpill (20k posts) are the ones that present a similar content as the one found in Reddit’s r/TheRedPill, which is mainly illustrated through the use of caption images (images with text). Some posts illustrate a strong anti-feminist and misogynist posture that represents the Red Pill and Incels subcultures. Some of these posts mock feminists (Figure 1), portray women as having only sexual and economic interest in men (Figure 2), implying that men are equally victims as women (Figure 3) and invalidate the role of women as potential supportive motors for their partners (Figure 4).
Figure 1. @sweats_coolant. Anti-feminist meme. Instagram, 25th April 2019, www.instagram.com/p/BwqlsK9nGUQ/.
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Figure 2. @mgtowredpill. “The Fairy Tale of Women.” Instagram, 18th Aug. 2018, www.instagram.com/p/BmmhNJzFGm2/.
Figure 3. @phenomenalact1. Definition of Deadbeat. Instagram, 10th May 2019, www.instagram.com/p/BxQuVVZgLLa/.
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Figure 4. @treize83. “Behind Every Successful Man Appears a Woman.” Instagram, 21st Apr. 2019, www.instagram.com/p/BwfkrC2F9fp/.
These posts also connect with other hashtags such as #mgtowisthefuture, #femalehypocrisy, #femenismiscancer, and #redpillreality, being the first the most engaged hashtag with 4k posts.
However, there are alternative hashtags that address masculinity issues from a different point of view. For instance, the hashtag #toxicmasculinity includes posts that mainly criticize non-healthy behaviours caused by hegemonic masculinity and encouraging men to be, for instance, emotionally vulnerable, body positive and heteronormativity resistant (See Figures 5, 6, 7).
Figure 5. @thomaspagemcbee. “Let Them Be Sad.” Instagram, 6th May 2019, www.instagram.com/p/BxH29TPjnn2/.
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Figure 6. Body Positive. Instagram, 29th April 2019, www.instagram.com/p/Bw2evqvB9BH/.
Figure 7. @drewmichaelwunder. Fight Against Hegemonic Masculinity. Instagram, 1st May 2019, www.instagram.com/p/Bw6s8DAHqvu/.
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Moreover, it can also be found some hashtags such as #feministmen (6k posts), #menforfeminism (4k posts) and #mencanbefeministstoo (2k posts) which promote content that uses feminism as means to achieve gender equality. However, both Reddit and Instagram have received less attention in regards to the rise of this type of masculinity based on feminist discourses. This can be related to the common dynamic tendency among Instagrammers that “mimic hegemonic discourses rather than create resistant alternatives”, and whenever these alternatives rise, they are not visible enough in order to compete with the already established hashtags (Tiidenberg and Baym 3).
As Instagram is highly used for self-promotion and online identity creation, it is considered to be a platform that can potentially contribute to the promotion of a feminist masculinity identity through the particular hashtag #feministmen, which will be further explained in Chapter 4: Methodological Framework.
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Chapter 4: Methodological Framework
This thesis studies how the formulation of a feminist masculinity resonates on the digital media platforms Reddit and Instagram. Therefore, a qualitative content analysis of the posts found in r/MensLib and #feministmen is employed in order to study the discourses that each platform promotes. The following chapter firstly explains the concepts of online identity construction and platform vernaculars in order to introduce the relevance of the online interaction for masculinity in new media. Secondly, it introduces the qualitative content analysis approach, and thirdly, introduces Reddit and Instagram as well as their particular communities that were studied.
4.1 Online identity construction
New media scholar Richard Rogers highlights the relevance of repurposing digital objects to research social and cultural questions, and that the distinction between the native digital methods and those that have been digitized should be clear enough to achieve this aim (19-20). For Rogers, the Internet does not only serve to describe how society performs online and that it should no longer be considered as a separate realm of reality, but rather as a site to “diagnose cultural change and societal conditions” (21).
This is related to Campbell’s aforementioned work in which he studies how male queer and gay users construct their identities online through the portrayal of particular discourses associated to their physical bodies in the “real” world, incorporating their significance into the virtual space (ch.1). Digital research leads to question pre-existing theories, and among the research topics that have emerged within this context the exploration of identities has become a common object of study that scholars have addressed in order to understand how identity is built in the online space (Campbell; Quinton and Reynolds 11-12; Kendall; Kietzmann et.al; Livingstone; Suler). Self-disclosure is a fundamental step to create relationships with other individuals through a “conscious or unconscious revelation of personal information (e.g., thoughts, feelings, likes, dislikes) that is consistent with the image one would like to give” (Kaplan and Haenlein 62).
According to Kendall, individuals feel attracted by the idea of performing multiple identities online that they cannot obtain offline (8-10). This opens a world of possibilities for identity creation as it enables the online disinhibition effect which Suler distinguishes in two types: benign and toxic (321). The former stands for the process in which users aim for self-exploration and know themselves better in order to address personal
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concerns, while the latter is related to the opposite process, in which the user does not achieve a healthy fulfilment, often characterized by compulsion and negative feelings (321). Among the various elements it includes, the disinhibition effect includes dissociative anonymity were users are able to feel less vulnerable as they disconnect their online presence with their real identity, leading to the disregard of the consequences of what they do or say in the digital space (322). Particularly in relation to online text conversation, Suler refers to the element of solipsistic introjection in which the user develops a strong assimilation of others’ messages which can lead to the adoption of other’s ideas as if they were of their own, amplifying the disinhibition effect while the user re-evaluates particular insights, which can be both in a positive or negative way (323). Moreover, conversations found in forums allow users feel that they are interacting with more “real” people in a more face-to-face dynamic, as opposed with traditional media such as television, were individuals are not users but viewers that cannot exchange words with others nor have control over the topics they discuss (Kendall 7).
4.2 Platform vernaculars
According to new media scholar L. Manovich, since the 2000’s the constant rise of user-generated content enabled by social media has established an innovative and solid basis for studying culture and society (Manovich 2). Moreover, social media research proposes there is a semantic abundance and valuable forms of expressions embedded within digital platforms which are translated into the various discourses it can afford through a combination of text, images, videos, and audio files exchange (Kaplan and Haenlein 63; Gillespie 349). Thus, the concept of platform vernacular proposed by Gibbs and others suggest that each social media platform has “its own unique combination of styles, grammars and logics”, which through the interaction between the user and the platform’s specific features are convened and configured as “grammars of communication” that are in constant mutation (257). For instance, the hashtag (#) has become a grammar of communication on Twitter and it has been widely used as a means to organize a discussion among small or big groups of users, even though they might not be directly connected to each other (Bruns and Burgess 1). Created by technologist Chris Messina in mid-2007 as an effort to simplify the process in which Twitter users could track particular content within the platform, hashtags are used to indicate and mark specific topics as relevant, creating a community where users engage and interact around particular interests (Messina; Bruns and Burgess 3-5).
However, platform vernaculars can migrate to other social media platforms and enable the appropriation of its use (Gibbs et.al. 257). For instance, the use of the hashtag as a
