INSTAGRAM AS A DEVICE FOR THE NORMALIZATION OF DISOBEDIENT IDENTITY REPRESENTATIONS. A CASE STUDY
Abstract
Social media is a very useful dissemination, construction, and meeting tool for social and collective movements, also in the feminist/queer sphere. However, some authors consider that their decisive role in the gender socialization processes of the new generations is not always positive, as it replicates, to a large extent, those gender stereotypes that limit and restrict free identity expression. Under this premise, the present work aims to describe and analyze the gender representations observable in Instagram photographies linked to four Galician university campuses (a total of 449 images), through a content analysis complemented by a univariate and bivariate descriptive analysis, with contingency tables, standardized residuals, and Pearson's Chi-square test. This analysis attends to objective criteria, linked to the perceptible realities of the represented bodies, and allows us to identify the strategies for the construction of online gender identities manifested by university youth in those four Galician campuses. This way, no “disobedient” gender identities have been found that operates as a laboratory for the exploration and search for new corporeities/identities, which is why we can observe a strong tendency towards normative representations. It is thus concluded that Instagram works as a legitimation tool for the binary, normative, and, therefore, hegemonic proposal.
Instagram como dispositivo de normalización de representaciones identitarias desobedientes. Estudio de caso
Resumen
Las redes sociales constituyen una herramienta de difusión, construcción y encuentro de gran utilidad para los movimientos sociales y colectivos, también en el ámbito feminista/queer. Sin embargo, algunas/os autoras/es consideran que su papel decisivo en los procesos de socialización de género de las nuevas generaciones no siempre es positivo, pues replica, en buena medida, aquellos estereotipos de género que limitan y coartan la libre expresión identitaria. Bajo esa premisa, el presente trabajo se propone describir y analizar las representaciones de género presentes en las fotografías de Instagram vinculadas a cuatro campus universitarios gallegos (un total de 449 imágenes), mediante un análisis de contenido complementado por un análisis descriptivo univariable y bivariable, con tablas de contingencia, residuos tipificados y test Ji-cuadrado de Pearson. Dicho análisis atiende a criterios objetivos, vinculados con las realidades perceptibles de los cuerpos representados. Como resultado, se ha observado una fuerte tendencia a las representaciones normativas, con una baja presencia de identidades de género “desobedientes” que operen como un laboratorio de exploración y búsqueda de nuevas corporeidades/identidades. Se concluye, por tanto, que Instagram funciona como una herramienta de legitimación de la propuesta binaria, normativa y, por lo tanto, hegemónica. Así, el estudio permite identificar las estrategias de construcción de las identidades de género online que manifiesta la juventud universitaria en estos cuatro campus gallegos.
INSTAGRAM COMO DISPOSITIVO DE NORMALIZAÇÃO DE REPRESENTAÇÕES IDENTITÁRIAS DESOBEDIENTES. ESTUDO DE CASO
Resumo
As redes sociais constitui uma ferramenta de difusao, construção e encontro de grande utilidade para os movimentos sociais e coletivos, tambem para o âmbito feminista/queer. Porém algumas/os autoras/es consideram que seu papel decisivo nos processos de socialização de gênero das novas gerações nem sempre é positivo, pois replica, em boa medida, naqueles estereótipos de gênero que limitam e restringem a livre expressão identitária. Sob esta premissa, o presente trabalho se propõe descrever e analisar as representações de gênero presentes nas fotografias de instagram vinculadas a quatro campus universitários da cidade de Galicia (um total de 449 imagens), mediante uma análise de conteúdo complementado por uma análise descritiva univariável e bivariável, com tabelas de contingência, resíduo e contingência, resíduos tipificados e test de Chi-quadrado de Pearson. Esta análise atende critérios objetivos, vinculados às realidades perceptíveis dos corpos representados. Como resultado tem se observado uma forte tendência das representações normativas, com uma baixa presença de identidades de gênero ́ desobedientes ́ ́ que funcionam como um laboratório de exploração e pesquisa de novas corporeidades/identidades. Se conclui então, que o Instagram funciona como uma ferramenta de legitimação da proposta binária, normativa e, portanto, hegemónica. Assim, este estudo permite identificar as estratégias de construção de identidades de gênero online que manifesta a juventude universitária nestes quatro campus da cidade de Galicia.
Keywords
Instagram, Photographs, Feminism, Queer, Gender socialization, Disobedient identities, Heteronormative representation, Youth, Exhibition.
INTRODUCTION
Both feminism and queer activism find today, in social media of a virtual nature, a powerful dissemination tool. Besides contributing to the dissemination of feminist thought and the recognition and expansion of the bases of queer theory, social networks allow activists linked to these movements (as well as people with similar sensitivities to these issues) to meet, reinforce, and empower in these virtual spaces, influencing the gender socialization of the new generations (Blanco Ruiz, 2014, p. 1) and permeating “the totality of the social structure, modifying daily life” (Aránguez Sánchez, 2019, p. 255).
Social networks constitute a means of communication, one more mediating element in the cultural environment (Sánchez-Labella Martín & Romo-Parra, 2021, p. 81), capable of awakening the interest of both social movements such as feminism, as well as those sectors of society related to them. Thus, in recent years the use of social networks in the field of feminist and queer activism has become popular, proving to be a useful tool (Sádaba & Barranquero, 2019, p. 3) for the conceptualization and execution of new forms of complaint and protest, creating spaces for collective construction for those generations socialized in the offline environment, to such an extent that “feminism has clearly invaded the public sphere through the Internet” (Sell-Trujillo, Núñez Domínguez, & Aix-Gracia, 2021, p. 147). However, social networks present clear limitations regarding the younger generations outside these movements, whose gender socialization occurs, above all, in the virtual field. In a context (that of social networks) in which misogyny continues to be hegemonic (Albenga & Biscarrat, 2021, p. 59), the most pernicious limitation implies that, while the use of these networks “enhances the feeling of community and the democratization of the disclosure and visibility of more diverse feminist subjects” (Sánchez Duarte & Fernández Romero, 2017, p. 900), the underlying message seems to call for the empowerment of persons at the individual level instead of the group, from a limited approach, and lacking a real critical discourse (Caro Castaño, 2015, p. 127).
There is, then, among the users of these platforms a false sense of unity and collective strength, sustained by a feeling of belonging that hides the reality of the atomization of the group in a context of "light collectivities" (Zafra, 2010, p. 74). Thus, gender socialization carried out within the apparent framework of the group, when in reality it is being carried out individually and in isolation, ends up conditioning said socialization process. This “making gender to show gender as an individual process” (West & Zimmerman, 1987, p. 126) is subject to the cultural values and practices that define how men and women should behave, according to the expectations of each society. (Wood, 2009, p. 20).
This individualized construction is reflected, in turn, in the representation of gender identities by youth in social networks, giving rise to a representation/construction/representation spiral that feeds each other. Thus, when the representation of subjective identities tries to respond to external expectations, a simplistic and uncritical gender expression prevails, as has been said. There is then the risk of “replicating the normative cultural and media versions, specifically concerning gender” (Rettberg, 2009, p. 453). Regarding the representation of subjectivities in social networks, these factors make it difficult to claim disobedient gender identities among youth, limiting the presence of alternative gender expressions on those platforms in which the image constitutes the central pillar of communication, as is the case with Instagram.
But social expectations, reinforced by the absence of models for the construction of identities that can serve as contrasting elements (favored, in turn, by this kind of "individual socialization"), are not the only element that influences the construction of hegemonic gender representations. The lack of freedom when developing freer gender representations is also reinforced both by the commercial nature of these platforms, and by the algorithm systems they use (Caro Castaño, 2015, p. 127-128), since they punish disobedient representations by condemning them to invisibility or, directly, by censoring them and eliminating them from their spaces.
In the academic field, Dall'Orso-Swayne and Arbaiza (2021, p. 128) indicate that the authors who have dealt with this topic are divided into those who consider that the Internet favors information bias (which leads users to reinforce their opinions), and those who maintain that the Internet exposes those users to content, opinions, and arguments to which they could not otherwise have access. Thus, although some authors argue that "gender socialization on the Internet is becoming a new form of socialization based on a modern definition of gender that revolves around the concepts of fluidity, construction, and performance" (Dueñas et al., 2016, p. 69), there are critical voices that argue that the gender representations present in social networks respond to stereotypes present in traditional offline media (Rose et al., 2012, p. 604): that is, the same hegemonic expressions conditioned by society, following a certain gender imaginary. The gender imaginary has been conceptualized as a complex and systemic construct, product and producer of conversational activities, constructed socially and historically, that address the fact of being a man/woman (or another non-dichotomous identity). This imaginary image is manifested in specific interrelated elements that are present in cultural images: sexual assignment, gender identity, sexual orientation, clothing, adopted role, type of protagonism in action, expression, etc.
For this reason, the analysis of the photographs in the Instagram profiles allows identifying the strategies for the construction of online gender identities expressed by young people, adding the distinction according to the physical spaces in which the life portrayed takes place and drawing parallels between physical/virtual differentiated spaces since each place have certain rules and people's behavior changes depending on where they are (Cortés & Itarte, 2013, p. 78).
OBJECTIVES
This research work aims to address the role of Instagram in the processes of reproduction of hegemonic/disobedient identity representations from a gender perspective, starting from a case study. Thus, it collects the results of the research projects "Instagram: gender imaginaries of youth", carried out with the support of the Feminist Chair of the University of Vigo. This project consisted of two phases: “A Xunqueira of Pontevedra” (developed in 2019) and “Comparative study between virtual spaces on Galician campuses” (developed in 2020). The first phase focused on the gender imaginaries that are represented in Instagram photos linked to virtual spaces developed by the university students around the A Xunqueira campus in Pontevedra (University of Vigo). The second phase established a comparison between the image linked to the campus of the University of Vigo in the capital and the image linked to the main campuses of other Galician public universities.
METHODOLOGY
For the development of this research, two complementary analysis methodologies (quantitative and qualitative) were used. On the one hand, descriptive empirical research of primary analysis was carried out during which the photographs that make up the virtual spaces of the A Xunqueira campus (UVigo, Pontevedra), Campus Norte and Sur o Vida (USC, Santiago de Compostela), and Campus de Elviña (UDC, A Coruña) were analyzed using a category system. On the other hand, and in a complementary way, content analysis of the same images was carried out, which allowed identifying small nuances or relevant aspects that the quantitative analysis, by its nature, left out. The sample consists of a total of 449 images shared on Instagram between May 1st and June 30th, 2019, linked (either by location, by the hashtag used, or by the name with which Instagram users tagged the images) with a series of faculties belonging to the Campus Norte and Campus Sur o Vida (University of Santiago de Compostela, USC), Campus Crea/A Xunqueira (University of Vigo, UVigo), and Campus de Elviña (University of A Coruña, UDC).
To analyze the gender identity representations of Galician university youth on Instagram, an observation sheet was designed using a system of categories adopted from the Táboas-Pais model (2009) to which indicators created ad hoc were added. Thus, the observation sheet was divided into three dimensions with 9 dependent and independent variables: Dimension 1. The Body; Dimension 2. Message. The dependent variables considered are: sexual orientation, protagonism, role, clothing, body coverage, expression. As independent variables, grouping by sex, age, and sexual orientation were taken into account. The observation sheet used for this project is made up of 56 categories corresponding to dependent and independent variables.
All the variables presented in this study are nominal attributive and qualitative except for the age variable, which is ordinal. To facilitate the coding process, a numeric label has been assigned to each variable to replace the name of the category or indicator.
The study incorporates the analysis of visual elements linked to the affiliation and/or identification of the young people portrayed, as a category that seeks to identify and classify all those visual insignia present in the image that links the person or persons that appear in it with some kind of group, institution, company, ideology, etc. The inclusion of this category is understood as necessary to enrich the analysis of the identity of the young people portrayed, as evidence of their desire to belong.
The data analysis performed consisted of a uni-variable and bi-variable descriptive analysis. Contingency tables, corrected standardized residuals, and Pearson's Chi-square test –χ2 -with a significance level of 5% −α = .05− will be used. For this, as in the first phase, the statistical package SPSS 20 was used.
To carry out this study, this process was followed:
1. Beginning of the project in 2019 on the gender imaginaries present in the Instagram photos of university students related to the virtual spaces of the Xunqueira of Pontevedra.
2. Continuation of the study in 2020, broadening the analysis perspective and the scope of action. The objective is to make a comparison between the virtual images of Galician university students from a gender perspective.
3. Performing the observation and content analysis of the Instagram images of Galician university students during May and June 2019.
RESULTS
Body dimension
Sex-grouping and Age
The Sex category is understood as the biological and natural differences between men and women. In the UVigo it is represented with predominant images of mixed groups of men and women (56%). On the other hand, there have been more photographs of groups of men (15%) and men alone (12%) than of groups of women (5%) and women alone (11%). This greater presence of men on the A Xunqueira Campus is explained by the strong link between the campus and the sports field.
The images related to the UDC coincide with the UVigo images in the pre-eminence of photographs of mixed groups of men and women (43%). It is followed in a lower percentage by images of groups of women (26%) and women alone (19%), compared to 5% of images related to groups of men and 4% of images of men alone.
In the case of USC, groups of men are the most frequent representation (45%). Images of single women (35%) also have a significant, but lesser presence. However, images of men alone (15%) and groups of women (3%) have a low presence.
Regarding Age, the three universities present similar results. Most of the images correspond to young people who are apparently between 19 and 35 years of age. At UVigo, images of young people account for 58%. The UDC has the highest percentage of young people of the three universities, with 79%. At USC they represent 51%.
In second place are the images in which the protagonism is shared by people of different ages. At UVigo it corresponds to 30%; 20% at UDC; and 32% at USC.
Likewise, there is a minimal presence of adults whose appearance indicates an age between 36 and 65 years old. By universities, the UDC contains the highest percentage of images with adults with 14%, followed by UVigo with 6%, and yet at the UDC no images with adults have been observed. Also, the images of children and adolescents with an apparent age between 0 and 18 years old have a low presence. At UVigo we find 4% of images of children and adolescents, and both at the UDC and USC they are not represented.
Protagonism and role
It is possible to observe in the UVigo images a mixed protagonism of men and women in 46% of the sample. 35% of the images correspond to a male protagonism, and 18% to a female one.
In the case of the analyzed images related to the UDC and the USC, there is a higher frequency of female protagonism. Images of women alone maintain a high percentage at UDC (with 47%) and USC (with 40%). Likewise, the percentage of images with mixed protagonism is quite similar to that of images with female protagonism, with 40% at UDC and 39% at USC.
Thus, it can be observed that women are only protagonists when they are "alone" (without a male presence) in the photographs. In the cases in which the images record groups of men and women, the following occurs: the protagonism is usually mixed, although there are some images in which men are the protagonists; meanwhile, women are never protagonists when men are present.
The role played by the photographed people is mostly passive, since they do not carry out any specific action or are not a direct source of action because they are subject to the initiatives of other people.
At Uvigo, images with passive people correspond to 63%, compared to 25% of images with people in an active position who perform some action or are action subjects. At UDC, the percentage of images with "passive" people is high, reaching 94% compared to 6% of representations in action. At USC, 72% of those portrayed appear in a passive position compared to 25% in an active position.
Through the contingency analysis of the sex-grouping and role variable, these results have been obtained. At UVigo, men alone and in groups appear in a passive position in 41% compared to women alone and in groups with 26%. In the active position, it is again men who lead the percentage. There are 9 cases (37%) of the sample of men alone and in groups in an active position, compared to 6 cases (25%) in which women alone and in groups maintain an active position.
At UDC, women alone and in groups are those who show both passive attitudes (with 47%) and active ones (with 50%). Men alone and in groups maintain a representation of 10% in the passive role and 0% in the active role. Contrary to the UDC, the images associated with the USC provide a majority sample of 72% of men alone and in groups with an active role compared to 27% of women with this role. The passive role has less relevance in images with male figures (55%), however, it maintains a significant percentage in the case of female figures (44%).
Clothing and body coverage
The clothing called urban/casual clothing is defined as informal and carefree, sometimes experimental clothing, typical of the day-to-day, in which comfort prevails. This type of clothing is predominant in the images of people photographed at UVigo and USC. At UVigo, 32% of the people who appear in the images wear urban/casual clothing, followed in percentage by people with party clothing (26%), and to a lesser extent, formal clothing (13%), uniform (10%), or another type (11%).
The presence of uniformed clothing at UVigo is associated with the existence of the Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences and the Faculty of Physiotherapy. In both faculties, it is common to use uniformed sports garments and work clothes for health.
In the UDC images, the majority of the people photographed (78%) wear formal clothing, understood as conservative and serious style clothing, generally associated with work and academic contexts. To a lesser extent, it is observed that in 17% of the cases, the people photographed have an urban style, 3% with a uniform, and 1% with other types of clothing.
In the USC photographs, the most frequent clothing is urban or casual (60%), and we only find 24% of people wearing party dresses and 6% of people in uniform.
Regarding the contingency analysis of sex and clothing, the sample provides these results by universities. At UVigo, both women and men mostly wear urban clothing (40%). Furthermore, men alone or in a group, besides wearing urban clothing, appear in 24% with formal clothing and 14% with sportswear. And the women photographed dress 20% in sportswear and 10% in party clothes.
At UDC, men and women alone and in groups mostly wear formal clothes, men 32% and women 18%. To a lesser extent, men wear uniforms (14%) and casual clothing (7%), and women, urban clothing (16%) and uniforms (6%).
At USC, 40% of the men photographed alone or in a group wear urban clothing, 13% party clothing, and 4% formal clothing. Women alone or in a group wear mostly urban clothing (18%), party clothing in 12%, and to a lesser extent formal clothing (1%).
Regarding the coverage of the body, the degree of coverage of the body has been analyzed. In the images associated with the three universities, the people photographed wear everyday clothes, revealing only part of the arms, trunk, or legs. At UVigo, it corresponds to 100% of the images, at UDC to 98%, and at USC to 91%.
Another degree of body coverage can be seen in the UDC and USC images. In them, it is possible to find people or groups of people wearing short garments identified as suggestive body coverage. In the case of the UDC, a percentage of 1% associated with groups of men and women is distinguished. In USC, the percentage of suggestive body coverage corresponds to 9%, of which 11 cases are women alone or in a group, and 6 cases are men alone or in a group.
Message dimension
Expression
It has been observed that the expression of satisfaction is the one that represents the majority of the photographed people, present with several or some of those indications such as: pronounced smile, upright body and head, open chest, firm gaze. These signs indicate a situation of well-being, joy, and happiness.
People linked to UVigo appear mostly with an expression of satisfaction in 46% of the cases. Other less represented expressions are concentration with 20%, vigor with 3%, socialization with 3%, transgression with 2%, seduction and authority, both with 1%.
The prominence of the expression of concentration on the A Xunqueira Campus will be less present on the other two campuses. This can be explained by the images recorded during practical activities within the framework of the educational processes. That is to say, times in which students develop tasks from which specific results are expected, such as the practices of Physiotherapy students, who work on real bodies.
However, the most remarkable thing about the analysis of the expression of the people photographed at the UVigo, especially when compared with the images recorded at the UDC and the USC, is the fact that no image identifies a gesture that indicates complicity between the photographed people.
At UDC, the expression of complicity (46%) is the most common in the photographed people. This expression is identified with the following characteristics: crossed glances, body facing the other person, physical contact between them, or smile. That is, an attitude or relationship of cooperation or sympathy between them.
Other expressions observed in people from the UDC are satisfaction in 30%, serenity or tranquility in 10%, seduction in 2%, socialization in 2%, and vigor in 1%.
At USC, as at UVigo, the expression of satisfaction (51%) is the one that appears in a high number of the photographed people. With a lower incidence, there are gestures compatible with concentration (8%), seduction (6%), complicity (6%), authority (6%), transgression (1%), introspection (1%), and other expressions.
For this study, it is relevant to highlight the absence of expressions and manifestations of transgression, understood as gestures that indicate the intention of provocation, disobedience, and rupture of the expression of gender norms.
Regarding the expression, taking into account the sex of the photographed people, at UVigo the expression of satisfaction is observed in 50% of men alone and in groups. Among women alone and in a group, it is found in 45% of cases. There are other different gestures and expressions in men, such as concentration (20%), vigor (10%), socialization (5%), and authority (5%). In the images of women, looks and gestures oriented to concentration (45%) and satisfaction (45%) are perceived, and to a lesser percentage the expression of security (9%).
In the images of the UDC, men alone or in a group show mostly satisfaction (31%) and serenity (31%), and with lower incidence complicity (25%) and concentration (6%). The expressions observed in women are complicity (45%), satisfaction (37%), and to a lesser extent, the expression of serenity (12%), seduction (1%), introspection (1%), and concentration (1%).
The men and women photographed associated with USC have satisfaction as the predominant expression, men in a percentage of 50%, and women in a percentage of 47%. Moreover, several gestures and expressions in men suggest intentionality of concentration (13%), socialization (8%), transgression (1%), and seduction (1%). The gestures and glances of the USC women are more focused on complicity (15%), introspection (4%), serenity (4%), and socialization (4%).
In the case of this USC campus, the expression of complicity is striking. Although it is an expression that is repeated in the analyzed images, there is not a single case of complicity between men, and only one case of complicity between men and women. The remaining cases correspond to samples of complicity between women.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
It is necessary to begin this section aimed at the conclusions of the study by referring to one of its limitations since, in light of the obtained data, it is possible to intuit that the sample used suffers from a certain degree of selection bias, which limits the generalizability of the obtained conclusions. Thus, although it offers an accurate photograph of the reality found in the profiles linked to Galician university campuses, these results will hardly be extrapolated to other sectors of society.
In general terms, it is observed that most of the images shared on the social network during the selected months are limited to documenting events held within the framework of university activity (given the dates, many images record the different graduation events that took place in the faculties). Thus, even group images in which parties after academic events are recorded are somewhat impersonal since there is hardly any evidence of tastes, attitudes, commitments, affiliations, or phobias. The images of these parties are very similar on the different campuses, and even in the different faculties. Therefore, one can speak of a certain narrative homogeneity.
Beyond attitudes, slogans, or evidence of feminist or queer thinking, there are no obvious manifestations in the field of political activism either. The USC Faculty of Geography and History is the only one that records images whose narratives show an important political component. In the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communication of the UVigo, although activities related to the creation and implementation of political communication campaigns are recorded as part of the work of a subject, there are no real political slogans that can be extrapolated beyond the internal dynamics of the student group itself.
The sexual orientation of the photographed people is difficult to identify, taking into account the images that are part of the sample. This means that it is not possible to conclude this point, except for the fact that it is an aspect that is not visible in most of the images found. This fact leads to the idea that, when it comes to social media, many people prefer to keep certain aspects of their private lives -such as sexual orientation- private, as argued byHorvát, Hanselmann, Hamprecht, and Zweig (2012) in their study One Plus One Makes Three (for Social Networks).
Based on the analyzed images, it can be concluded that men adopt a generally heteronormative and highly masculinized pose, especially in their interactions with women. There are very traditional gender relations. In this sense, the comparison between centers shows that the images linked to the communication faculties of the three campuses present, in general terms, freer and more transgressive narratives, aesthetics, and attitudes than in the rest of the centers.
During the analysis, no “disobedient” gender identities (manifestations and identities other than the heteronormative cisgender) were found that operates as a laboratory for the exploration and search for new corporeities/identities. This fact can be justified due to the strong institutionalization of virtual spaces associated with university campuses, which could have a normative effect. An effect already contemplated by Martínez Labrín and Bivort-Urrutia (2014, p. 17), when they refer to the “micro-social environment that will develop gender relations consistent with the binary Male vs. Female” within universities.
Thus, regardless of the attitudinal nuances present in the images linked to the three analyzed campuses, in general, it can be stated that, regarding the publication and dissemination of a gender imaginary constructed by the campus students, Instagram works as a tool to legitimize the binary, normative, and, therefore, hegemonic proposal, thus wasting its disruptive potential as a means of collective and anonymous construction. This fact could respond to the interest of young people/adults to express and show the world a self that they assume as ideal or preferable, their best version, as suggested by Renau, Carbonell, and Oberst (2012, p. 98). In this sense, it would be interesting to complete the present study with a qualitative approach, focused on the narration of the protagonists themselves, that allows users of the networks to contextualize and define the aspects related to the representation of the self on Instagram.
In any case, it is considered that this research opens new ways to understand the nature of body and identity self-representation through images shared on social networks. Therefore, it seems relevant to propose future research that will allow us to continue delving into the study of the exhibition of the corporeities of young people, taking into account the possible influence of influencers on social profiles. Studies that, as is the case at present, could be applied to the educational and pedagogical field.