Good vibes and collective action: gendered politics on Instagram

Abstract

This article investigates gendered politics on Instagram. Although there is a growing body of research concerning political communication on Instagram and Instagram as a platform for everyday politics, less is known about the different dimensions of gendered politics on Instagram. This article sheds light on the persona and everyday life of the politician, political practices, and political content by analyzing how female political leaders use Instagram. It uses five female political leaders’ Instagram images and captions (N = 915) and stories (N = 550) as data and combines quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The article draws from feminist media studies, feminist institutionalism, and feminist political sciences to shed light on gendered politics on Instagram and the gendered processes of depoliticization and politicization therein. It shows that gendered politics takes shape in tensions between Instagram’s and political institutions’ norms and rules, their institutional filters. To find balance, politicians adjust, emphasize, and conceal aspects of their selves and their politics. Adjusting the personal with the political allows politicians to represent their political values and politicize gendered norms in politics in a likable and relatable way. Politicians emphasize collective action in politics but depoliticize it by concealing conflicts, struggles, failures, and “negative” affect.