ID: 116442
Recei ed: 2022-09-30
Re iewed: 2022-10-23
Accep ed: 2022-11-29
OnlineFi s : 2023-01-30
Published: 2023-04-01
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.3916/C75-2023-04
Feminism, gende iden i y and pola iza ion in TikTok and Twi e
Feminismo, iden idad de géne o y pola ización en TikTok y Twi e
D . Simón Peña-Fe nández
Full P o esso , Depa men o Jou nalism, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Leioa (Spain)
D . Aina a La ondo-U e a
Associa e P o esso , Depa men o Jou nalism, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Leioa (Spain)
D . Jo di Mo ales-i-G as
Resea che , Depa men o Jou nalism, Uni e si y o he Basque Coun y (UPV/EHU), Leioa (Spain)
Abs ac
The po en ial o social media o c ea e open, collabo a i e and pa icipa o y spaces allows young women o engage and
empowe hemsel es in poli ical and social ac i ism. In his con ex , he objec i e o his esea ch is o analyze he
pola iza ion in he deba e a he in e sec ion be ween he de ense o eminism and anssexuali y, p e e ably among he
young popula ion, symbolized in he use o he e m “TERF”. To do his, he exis ing communi ies on his subjec on Twi e
and TikTok ha e been analyzed wi h Social Ne wo k Analysis echniques, in addi ion o he p esence o young people in
hem. The esul s indica e ha he deba es be ween bo h ne wo ks a e no e y cohesi e, wi h a highly modula ized
s uc u e ha sugges s isola ion o each communi y. Fo his eason, i may be conside ed ha he deba e on sexual
iden i y has esul ed in a s ong pola iza ion o eminis ac i ism in social media. Likewise, he posi ions o ansinclusi e
eminism a e e y much in he majo i y among young people; his ein o ces he idea o an ideological deba e ha can
also be unde s ood om a gene a ional pe spec i e. Finally, di e en ial use be ween bo h social ne wo ks has been
iden i ied, whe e TikTok is a less pa isan and mo e dialogue-based ne wo k han Twi e , which leads o discussions and
pa icipa ion in a mo e neu al one.
Resumen
El po encial de las edes sociales pa a c ea espacios abie os, colabo a i os y pa icipa i os ha pe mi ido in oluc a y
empode a a las muje es jó enes en el ac i ismo polí ico y social. En es e con ex o, el obje i o de es a in es igación se
cen a en el análisis de la pola ización que se p oduce en el deba e de las edes sociales en la in e sección en e la
de ensa del eminismo y de la ansexualidad, p e e en emen e en e el público jo en, simbolizada en el uso del cali ica i o
«TERF». Pa a ello, se han analizado las comunidades exis en es en Twi e y TikTok median e écnicas de Análisis de
Redes Sociales, y la p esencia de los y las jó enes en ellas. Los esul ados indican que los deba es en ambas edes son
poco cohesi os, con una es uc u a al amen e modula izada que sugie e aislamien o de cada comunidad en sí misma.
Po odo ello, puede conside a se que el deba e sob e la iden idad sexual iene como esul ado una ue e pola ización
del ac i ismo eminis a en las edes sociales. Asimismo, las pos u as del eminismo ansinclusi o son muy mayo i a ias
en e las pe sonas jó enes, lo que e ue za la idea de un deba e ideológico en el seno del mo imien o eminis a que
ambién puede en ende se en cla e gene acional. Po úl imo, ha podido cons a a se un uso di e encial en e ambas edes
sociales, donde TikTok se mues a en es a emá ica como una ed menos pa isana y más dialógica que Twi e , pues
conduce a discusiones y pa icipaciones en un ono más neu o.
Keywo ds / Palab as cla e
Young people, gende s udies, iden i y, eminism, social media, digi al ac i ism.
Jó enes, es udios de géne o, iden idad, eminismo, edes sociales, ac i ismo digi al.
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
1. In oduc ion
1.1. Feminism on social media
Social media has conside able po en ial o in ol e and empowe young women in poli ical and social ac i ism
(Ba slee & McMahon, 2016), hanks o i s capaci y o c ea e open, collabo a i e and pa icipa o y spaces o
eminism (O , 2018). Pla o ms such as Twi e and TikTok allow young women eely o exp ess hemsel es
and con e se wi h all manne o social agen s o exp ess hei opinions and eelings. They a e also able o
exchange in o ma ion as o he issues in ol ed in he cons uc ion o sexual iden i ies, o gende -based
injus ices ha hey ha e expe ienced o wi nessed (Jackson, 2018).
The sp ead o social media has likewise allowed he eminis mo emen o c ea e and aise awa eness o a
hos o issues, whe he i be sexism, inequali y, o gende iolence (Bae , 2016), se ing o ex end he scope
o he mo emen 's claims. In his ega d, Social Sciences d i e o ad ance and add ess pa ame e s which go
beyond he in luence which can be measu ed in e ms o he numbe o ollowe s and e wee s, because in a
hype connec ed and in e ac i e wo ld, social ac i ism is, abo e all, a con e sa ion. The ends encapsula ed
wi hin wha is known as he “a ec i e u n” in his academic ield (Ticine o-Clough & Halley, 2007) also plays
an impo an ole ega ding his epis emological ad ance, as has he momen um gi en o ce ain ac i isms
online.
Among hose social mo emen s ha ha e de eloped on social media, eminism has e ealed a p ominen
ole, as highligh ed by gende s udies conduc ed in conjunc ion wi h sociology, pedagogy, and communica ion.
Twi e , TikTok and o he social media pla o ms ha e communica i e cha ac e is ics (immediacy, media
impac , message simpli ica ion, mobiliza ion capaci y, e c.) which a ou he c ea ion o ideologically like-
minded communi ies. As demons a ed in he case o wha is known as “ eminis hash i ism”, h ough such
high-p o ile campaigns as #Me oo, #WomensMa ch, e c. (Jinsook, 2017; Tu ley & Fishe , 2018; S o e &
Rod iguez, 2020; Linaba y e al., 2020).
Acco ding o he mos ecen Repo on You h in Spain (Inju e, 2021), he in e es among he younge
popula ion ega ding gende inequali ies could be connec ed wi h he ac ha hey a e socialising wi hin a
con ex in which he main mobiliza ions a e linked o he eminis cause. In pa allel, he e has been, o e ecen
yea s, an inc ease in he numbe o c i ical oices demanding an in e sec ional eading o online ac i ism, as
he e y concep s o cybe eminism and gende ha e been o e aken by p essing social changes and deba es
in he i ual wo ld (Salido-Machado, 2017). In his sense, he eminis mo emen has succeeded in a ousing
he in e es o a younge popula ion, pushing hem owa ds mobiliza ion in he o line and online sphe e, bu in
pa icula in he la e .
This ype o analysis p o es o in e es in explo ing in g ea e dep h he mechanisms allowing young people,
as a g oup, o cons uc and socialize hei iden i y o eminis consciousness h ough all manne o sys emic
and coun e -sys emic posi ions ia online media pla o ms. Wha is mo e, an analysis o such media p o es o
in e es in o de o unde s and posi ions o discou ses o ha e based on dialec ic con on a ions, which cu en ly
ep esen a sphe e which has s ill no been explo ed o any g ea ex en in he li e a u e ocused on exp essions
o he iden i y o he young popula ion in connec ion wi h gende in digi al en i onmen s.
1.2. Pola iza ion o discou se as o iden i y
In he con empo a y eminis mo emen , he e has been an in ense deba e abou iden i ies and hei poli ical
subjec , cha ac e ized by he ex ensi e use o digi al pla o ms (Willem & To ajada, 2021). The inclusion wi hin
he eminis s uggle o claims linked o en i onmen alism and he LGTBI collec i e has deep oo s and a
leng hy heo e ical discussion behind i (Ea les, 2017). The deba e abou iden i ies in eminism is a complex
one, and ans issues and he e y language used by di e en agen s in hese deba es no only cons i u e
dispu es in e ms o e minology o how sex and gende should be concep ualized, bu a e also o ms o
ep esen ing a posi ioning in his dispu e. T ans/ eminis con lic s, also known as “TERF wa s”, e lec he
cu en condi ions o ou day, in which public discou se is domina ed by pola iza ion and he p oli e a ion o
disin o ma ion.
Wha is known as T ans-Exclusiona y Radical Feminism (o “TERF”) is one o he mos widesp ead e ms
wi hin he con ex o he digi al eminis deba e. The e m was i s used a ound he yea 2008 and is now e y
commonly employed in digi al con e sa ions on such social media pla o ms as Twi e (Sulba án, 2020). The
e m "TERF" is he e used wi h nega i e conno a ions linked o he alleged ansphobia shown by eminis s
who iden i y wi h hei biological gende , owa ds ansgende women o women who do no sel -iden i y wi h
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
hei biological agenda. In his ega d, eminis s classi ied as “TERF” pe cei e his e m as ha ing nega i e
conno a ions, o e en as an insul (Mala ino, 2021). The academic li e a u e includes ecen s udies which
examine he ise o he “TERF” an i- ansgende mo emen in English-speaking con ex s (Mclean, 2021).
Recen wo ks such as “TERF wa s: An in oduc ion” (Pea ce e al., 2020) ha e highligh ed he in ensi y o
hese deba es o “dialec ic wa s” on social media, as well as hei impo ance in ex ending ou unde s anding
o he ans phenomenon om he pe spec i e o a younge popula ion, h ough he analy ical amewo k o
cybe eminism, and also om he ideological con ex om which ans-exclusiona y a gumen s eme ge.
The discou ses ega ding ans-inclusi e posi ions ha e been highly pola ized (Ca e a-Fe nández &
DePalma, 2020), gene a ing an in e es in unde s anding he way in which hese deba es sp ead ia social
media. The dialec ical s uggle be ween he di e en concep s as o he poli ical subjec o eminism and he
loca ion o iden i ies wi hin his sphe e ha e been in es iga ed on such social media pla o ms as Ins ag am
(Vázquez-González & Cá denes-He nández, 2021), Twi e (Lu, 2020) and YouTube (To ajada e al., 2021).
The analy ical and concep ual amewo k which has hus a been p o ided by s udies linked o digi al eminism
is becoming inc easingly ex ensi e. Among hese analyses, we he e highligh he case in es iga ion in o he
hash ag #Con aElBo adoDeLasMuje es (“#Again TheDele ionO Women”), indica ing ha he discou se
gene a ed in connec ion wi h his hash ag is highly emo i e (Fe é-Pa ia & Zaldí a , 2022). Simila s udies
highligh ha his ype o ag ein o ces posi ions and se es o iden i y discou ses in he digi al public deba e,
in pa icula among a younge popula ion, as he main use g oup o he spaces co e ing his ype o dialogue.
As se o h in a ious s udies, social media use s end o become majo i ies wi h adical posi ions hanks o
he in luence o phenomena o ecip ocal in luence, such as pola iza ion and echo chambe s (Demszky e al.,
2019). The exis ence o pa ame e s o indica o s such as language p o es use ul in hese analyses o de ec
a ini ies in he con e sa ion o , whe e applicable, pola i ies de e mining he democ a ic and social use ulness
o public digi al spaces.
Rega ding he opic which he e conce ns us, “ eminis hash i ism” has been upheld in gene al e ms as an
enhanced and en iched digi al eminis ac i ism, d awing on heo e ical-concep ual a e ac s such as
in e sec ion, colonialism, mul imodal iolence, e c. This phenomenon began o eme ge p ominen ly as a esul
o he #MeToo mobiliza ions and ep esen ed a co ne s one no only o o he digi al eminis mobiliza ions in
comba ing all o ms o sexis disc imina ion ( iolence, pay inequali y, disc imina ion o any ype, e c.), bu also
o all manne o esea ch in o he alue o social media o his mo emen (Manikonda e al., 2018).
Feminism is o in e es in his ega d, since i de ines i sel as a mo emen wi h a heo e ical co pus which is
no closed, and wi h a p ac ice which e ol es owa ds new o ms o ac ion and p o es , such as hose occu ing
in di e en ealms and con ex s o he digi al public-poli ical sphe e. I is no coincidence ha young people
ypically encoun e ha ed in hei ac i i ies online, and deba es conce ning LGBTI issues a e among he mos
a ec ed (Council o Eu ope, 2014; Inju e, 2019).
In his con ex , he objec i e o his esea ch ocuses on an analysis o ac i ism and pola iza ion a ising in he
social media deba e a he in e sec ion be ween he de ense o eminism and anssexuali y, abo e all among
a younge popula ion, symbolized in he use o he e m “TERF” (T ans-Exclusiona y Radical Feminism). On
his basis, he ollowing esea ch ques ions a e aised:
RQ1. Which social media communi ies ha e been c ea ed in connec ion wi h eminis ac i ism in e ms
o he inclusion o demands connec ed wi h gende iden i y?
RQ2. Wha is he p esence o young people in hese communi ies, and hei posi ion ega ding his
ma e ?
RQ3. Wha is he deg ee o pola iza ion in he deba e wi hin eminis ac i ism on social media
conce ning his opic?
2. Me hodology
In o de o measu e he pola iza ion which occu s in eminis ac i ism on social media, in pa icula among
young people, an analysis was conduc ed o he use o he e m “TERF” on TikTok and Twi e be ween 5
Ma ch and 11 Ma ch. In o he wo ds, da a we e compiled o 8 Ma ch ±3 days, aking ad an age o he
inc eased deba e occu ing on social media ega ding opics connec ed wi h eminism as a esul o
In e na ional Women's Day.
The choice o Twi e ollows on om p io esea ch in o pola iza ion and eminism on his pla o m, and he
in luence ha i acqui es as he soapbox used by public igu es o exp ess hei opinions. Twi e has 4.2 million
egis e ed accoun s in Spain, o which 796,385 a e conside ed ac i e accoun s (ha ing published con en in
he las wo mon hs) (Social Media Family, 2022). By use gende , men (32%) sligh ly ou numbe women
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
(28%), al hough 40% do no speci y hei gende . Meanwhile, he choice o TikTok is based on he ac ha
his is a social media pla o m wi h a e y young audience, 41.4% o use s being aged be ween 18 and 24,
while 59.3% a e women. On his pla o m, he mos popula ca ego y is News and En e ainmen .
Twi e da a we e accessed by means o he API 2.0 wi h academic access, which se es o analyze a la ge
olume o da a de ined bo h in seman ic and empo al e ms. Meanwhile, he TikTok da a we e acqui ed by
means o web sc aping echniques, as he pla o m does no ye p o ide access o an academic API, a leas
o he momen (TikTok, 2022). The di e ence in he condi ions o access o da a on Twi e and TikTok is he
i s limi a ion o he s udy which mus be aken in o accoun in e ms o me hodological design i sel . Once he
da a we e downloaded, bo h con e sa ions we e hen analyzed by means o Social Media Analysis echniques
wi h a wo old objec i e: 1) iden i y s uc u al dynamics on bo h pla o ms o asce ain he uses made o digi al
con en by de ined use g oups; and 2) acili a e basic condi ions o compa e wha happens on he wo
pla o ms, o which he same da a access condi ions a e no a ailable.
I should las ly be emphasized ha he e m “TERF” i sel is con o e sial and is no used in his esea ch in i s
desc ip i e o cha ac e izing ace , bu as a co e a ound which deba es conce ning sexual iden i y can be
iden i ied on social media, in he con ex o digi al eminis ac i ism. In his ega d, he second limi a ion o his
s udy lies in his di e en ial iden i ica ion wi h he e m and he in en ionali y wi h which i is used, which
in luences he equency o i s use by each o he communi ies, and which does no co e he social media
deba e as o sexual iden i y and i s ela ionship wi h eminism o i s ull ex en .
2.1. Da a analysis on Twi e
Fo he Twi e analysis, 24,714 wee s wi h he e m “TERF” in he singula and plu al we e cap u ed du ing
he pe iod analyzed. The con e sa ion was subsequen ly con e ed in o a di ec ed ne wo k o e wee s in
which each node ep esen s a use who e wee ed o was e wee ed by ano he . In o al, he ne wo k
comp ised 10,449 nodes which e wee ed wi h one ano he 10,970 imes. O hese, 8,666 nodes did no
ecei e any e wee , and 1,478 did no e wee o anyone else. Only 305 nodes (2.92% o he o al) sen and
ecei ed a leas one e wee . I we ake in o accoun only hose nodes ha e wee ed o ano he node, hus
disca ding hose ha only ecei ed e wee s, he a e age numbe o e wee s pe use is 1.27.
The i s analy ical s ep in ol ed iden i ying he use g oups ha conduc ed con e sa ions among hemsel es.
Following applica ion o he Lou ain algo i hm (Blondel e al., 2008) o communi y de ec ion (RQ1) wi h
Ne wo kX (Hagbe g e al., 2008) o Py hon, 980 communi ies we e iden i ied (Figu e 1).
To es ima e age (RQ2), he baseline si ua ion is ha he Twi e API does no p o ide da a as o use s' ages.
Any algo i hm-based in e ence is essen ially p eca ious, since i equi es decla a i e da a om use s who do
no always exis , o ad anced da a-mining p ocedu es which, al hough hey may ul ima ely be p ecise, a e
always e y di icul o co obo a e.
Las ly, o es ima e he a e age age o he nodes o each clus e , a di e en s a egy was employed, based on
he a i icial in elligence de eloped by Twi e i sel o classi y i s use s. The c ea ion o wo ad e ising
campaigns was hus simula ed, espec i ely segmen ing use s simila o he ans-inclusi e and non- ans-
inclusi e clus e nodes, compa ing he es ima ions o hei scope by age band. Segmen a ion o use s sha ing
he node cha ac e is ics and di e en ia ed by age band hus se ed o es ima e he suppo o each o he wo
posi ions among young people. The age bands ha Twi e allows o segmen a ion a e 13 o 24 yea s, 21 o
34, 35 o 49, and o e 50.
This mode o segmen a ion has i s limi a ions. To begin wi h, he age bands used by Twi e pa ially o e lap,
since wo o hem include young people aged be ween 21 and 24. This is because he ool is no in ended o
scien i ic esea ch, bu a he o audience segmen a ion in ad e ising campaigns. Las ly, he discou se o
each o he communi ies was cha ac e ized (RQ3) on he basis o he con en analysis o he mos e wee ed
messages, and o he mos ollowed accoun s and he ags mos sha ed by hese communi ies.
2.2. Da a analysis on TikTok
To analyse he TikTok da a, he s a egy deployed was di e en om he case o Twi e because o he
di e ences be ween he wo pla o ms in he ype o communica ion hey pe mi be ween use s, and in he
access o da a. While in he la e he in e ac ions a e based on likes, e wee s, eplies, quo es and o he ypes
o e e ence (wi h a e wee being he in e ac ion bes deno ing a ini y be ween use s), on TikTok he
in e ac ions essen ially comp ise likes and eplies o con en uploaded by use s in ideo o m. While on Twi e
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
he in o ma ion was ob ained ia he academic API, which o e s e y good da a access, e en e oac i ely,
on TikTok, da a can only be ob ained by means o web sc aping echniques.
To conduc he analysis, da a we e downloaded o he 500 mos iewed ideos con aining he e m “TERF”
wi h Phan omBus e . O hese, 165 (33%) con ained desc ip ions in Spanish, he commen s on which we e
downloaded wi h he Google Ch ome Web Sc ape plug-in. This echnique p o ided access o he commen s
di ec ly pos ed o he ideo, se ing aside eplies o he commen s. In o al, 16,974 commen s we e
downloaded, and analyzed by means o Social Media Analysis echniques, wi h each ne wo k node being a
use , and each link co esponding o one o mo e commen s made by one use owa ds ano he . Las ly, he
ne wo k analyzed comp ised 12,687 nodes and 16,091 edges.
3. Resul s
3. Communi ies and pola iza ion
In he case o Twi e , he 24,714 wee s analyzed se ed o iden i y 980 communi ies, wi h a Modula i y o
0.939. This pa ame e measu es he quan i y o agmen a ion o a g aph, p esen ing alues close o 0 when
he g aph comp ises one single communi y in which all nodes a e symme ically and ho izon ally ela ed, and
alues close o one when he nodes end o comp ise agmen ed communi ies wi hou con ac s among hem.
These igu es hus show ha he con e sa ion is highly agmen ed and ha each communi y is indi idually
isola ed. Fo his opic, hen, Twi e p o es o be a ne wo k wi h e y li le cohesion, and use opinions a e
mos likely pola ized (Figu e 1).
A e applying he same Lou ain algo i hm o he ne wo k o commen s on TikTok, we no e ha he ne wo k o
eplies sha es some s uc u al cha ac e is ics wi h he ne wo k o e wee s on Twi e , such as a high deg ee
o modula i y, o 0.854 poin s, and an a chi ec u e e ealing li le cohesion, wi h each communi y being
indi idually isola ed. This means ha on bo h social media pla o ms, in e ac ions in he “TERF” deba e end
o ake place wi hin closed ci cles. The ne wo k densi y was 0.000097 on Twi e and 0.0001 on TikTok. This
means ha on bo h pla o ms, he as majo i y o possible links be ween nodes emain unexplo ed: use s
p e e o in e ac wi h e y small g oups o o he use s, he eby limi ing hei o m o pa icipa ion, and
eschewing mo e b oad-based deba es.
To iden i y which modes o cohesion ope a e wi hin he ne wo k, a se ies o ca ego ies we e syn hesized,
classi ying nodes in acco dance wi h ou a iables: he language mos used by each node in i s e wee s, he
language mos used in each communi y, he p o enance o he use s (Spain o elsewhe e), and wi hin he
Spanish communi ies, whe he he posi ion upheld is o is no inclusi e. All hese ca ego ies we e isualized
(Figu e 2) and e alua ed by means o he ca ego ical asso a i i y s a is ic a ailable in Ne wo kX (Hagbe g e
al., 2008), his being one o he mos ypical o ms o measu e in a-communi y homophily in social media
poli ical pola iza ion s udies (Lei eld, 2018; Taylo e al., 2018; Salloum, 2021) (Table 1).
Figu e 1. Ne wo k o e wee s (Twi e ) and commen s (TikTok)
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
All he ca ego ies conside ed p o ed o be highly asso a i e. E idence is hus ound o linguis ic, na ional and
ideological homophily in a highly pola ized ne wo k in all asso a i i y indica o s consul ed. Language, whe he
measu ed indi idually o each node o measu ed acco ding o he majo i y use o each communi y, p o es a
undamen al elemen in explaining he ela ionship be ween nodes. Use s end o e wee con en always in
he same language, and communi ies likewise end o be o med in acco dance wi h c i e ia o linguis ic
homogenei y.
Table 1. Ca ego ical asso a i i y by di e en ca ego ies on Twi e
Ca ego y
Ca ego ical asso a i i y
Language o he use
0.813
Main language o he communi y
0.991
Main coun y in he communi y (Spain s. O he s)
0.969
Posi ion, o he Spanish communi ies (Inclusi e/Non-inclusi e)
1.0
We can likewise see ha use s belonging o mainly Spanish communi ies end o ela e o like communi ies,
and o isola e hemsel es om di e en communi ies. Wi hin he Spanish communi ies, o al asso a i i y is
also ound wi h ega d o he wo posi ions: he nodes wi h ans-inclusi e and non- ans-inclusi e eminis
posi ions do no ela e o one ano he .
Al hough he s a is ics o e alua e pola iza ion can only be applied o Twi e , he da a show ha bo h ne wo ks
ha e li le cohesion, since he nodes a e mainly disconnec ed om one ano he , and connec ed only o he
mos e wee ed use s o o he con en c ea o s. They u he mo e ha e a highly modula ized s uc u e, wi h a
modula i y igu e close o 1, which sugges s ha each communi y is indi idually isola ed.
3.2. Young women
Posi ioning by age was es ablished di ec ly on he basis o simula ion conduc ed in Twi e by means o i s
ma ke ing ool, and indi ec ly by means o he use p o iles on each o he social media pla o ms analyzed.
Figu e 2. Nodes by posi ion
In he o me case, Twi e shows ha ans-inclusi e eminis posi ions a e e y much he majo i y among
young women, as we may es ima e acco ding o he da a analyzed ha h ee in e e y ou use s suppo ing
his op ion a e aged unde 34 (Figu e 3). Meanwhile, 45.4% o eminis s upholding non- ans-inclusi e
posi ions a e aged 35 o o e , and in he segmen aged o e 50, non-inclusi e posi ions ou numbe he
opposi e iew almos 5 imes o e . In he ligh o hese da a, i may be asse ed ha he suppo e s o his
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
discou se on social media ha e an olde audience, ein o cing he idea o an ideological deba e a he hea o
he eminis mo emen , which may also be unde s ood in gene a ional e ms.
3.3. Discou se
On Twi e , he communi y which e e s o i sel as “an iTERF” a icula es a con on a ional, con lic i e and
e en iolen discou se in e ms o he symbology deployed. The e a e cons an sugges ions ha non- ans-
inclusi e eminis s should be isola ed and expelled om In e na ional Women's Day ma ches, e en denying
ha he e is a place o hem in he eminis mo emen . The non-inclusi e discou se is p esen ed in hese
communi ies as disc imina o y, a b each o human igh s, ega ding which no o m o deba e is possible.
The discou se o he di e en communi ies ha ha e been iden i ied can be cha ac e ized on he basis o he
mos ollowed p o iles and he mos used ags. Fo example, in communi y 3 (Table 2), which s ands ou o
i s non- ans-inclusi e discou se, he leading accoun s include @Con aBo ado, ha o he in luence
@Ba bijapu a, and he w i e @jk_ owling. The p esence o his ype o accoun , and he impo ance o
hash ags opposing he Spanish legisla ion known as he “T ans Bill”, bea wi ness o he high deg ee o
ac i ism wi hin he communi y: his is a communi y made up o ac i is s, in which o he opics sca cely ha e a
p esence.
In communi ies aligned wi h ans-inclusi e eminism, meanwhile, he e a e no able opinion-leade s associa ed
wi h quee discou se, bu one also inds leading igu es among popula you h cul u e in Spain, such as he
YouTube s Ibai Llanos, Au onPlay and Mis e Jägge , who a e no pa icula ly connec ed wi h eminis ac i ism
on social media, beyond occasional s a emen s. Bo h he ype o leade ship iden i ied in hese communi ies
and he hash ags used (such as #eu o ision, #laisladelas en aciones, #eu obaske and #wo dle) e eal a less
ac i is use o Twi e on he pa o he accoun s o hese communi ies, which include he opic in a mo e
ho izon al manne .
Figu e 3. Dis ibu ion by age acco ding o posi ioning
On Twi e , some o he messages mos sha ed by ans-inclusi e eminis s cha ac e ize non- ans-inclusi e
eminis s, whom hey e e o as “TERF”, as p i ileged, whi e, well- o-do and almos always he e osexual
women. Al hough age does no o m pa o he se o p i ileges o non- ans-inclusi e eminism, he p esence
o e e ences o age in some o he messages se es o indica e ha he gene a ional elemen ho e s o e he
dispu e, wi h ans-inclusi e eminis s seeing hemsel es as he u u e o eminism.
Table 2. Cha ac e iza ion o he mos ele an ne wo ks on Twi e
Communi y
Discou se
Nodes
% Nodes
Mos ollowed p o iles
Mos popula hash ags
3
No T ans
524
4.99%
@Con aBo ado,
@A anguezTasia,
@jk_ owling, @Ba bijapu a,
@peli ad em
#mo imien o eminis a,
#s opdeli io ans,
#ley ansesmisoginia,
#ley ansesmal a oin an il,
# ompeelgene onosucue po
4
T ans
523
4.98%
@__e osga cia,
@Pu oMikel, @ i ec acke x,
#eu o ision,
#maes osdelacos u a,
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
@Sa aRi ei o,
@Pu eadoMikel
#laisladelas en aciones,
#cybe punkedge unne s,
#edge unne s
11
T ans
199
1.90%
@IbaiLlanos,
@badbixsaman ha,
@Pu oMikel, @au onplay,
@Mis e Jagge _
#70ssi ,
#del a une,
#s eddyhands,
# heowlhouse,
#digi ala
17
T ans
169
1.61%
@iam hekille q,
@badbixsaman ha,
@D agRaceEs,
@hugaceo_c uji,
@ladygaga
#eu o ision,
#shehulk,
#cánce .,
# o e e lo e,
#mewsuppasi
20
T ans
149
1.42%
@IbaiLlanos,
@na alialacunza,
@_albx eche, @au onplay,
@Ai anax
#laisladelas en aciones,
#eu o ision,
#eu obaske ,
#jaehyun, #wo dle
21
T ans
147
1.40%
@badbixsaman ha,
@IbaiLlanos,
@I eneMon e o,
@seno ci o,
@Vel e Molo o
#laisladelas en aciones,
#spla oon3mm,
#pic dle,
#elal ilyladama,
#discapacidad
On Twi e , meanwhile, he ypical con en o non- ans-inclusi e discou se is o complain o he iolence which
hey su e a he hands o ansac i is s. I should be ecalled ha he concep o “TERF” i sel , al hough i was
c ea ed as an explana o y a he han de oga o y e m (Smy e, 2018) is conside ed an insul by mos o i no
all o he women accused o belonging o his ca ego y.
Table 3. Cha ac e iza ion o he mos ele an ne wo ks on TikTok
Communi y
Discou se
Nodes
% Nodes
Mos commen ed p o iles
1
T ans
1785
14.07%
@hdeha a
2
T ans
907
7.15%
@le_dude e
3
No T ans
614
4.84%
@joanne_ em
4
T ans
593
4.67%
@_pic0 es, @shinji.an i. e s
5
No T ans
471
3.71%
@so .duh
6
T ans
427
3.37%
@cam adhoe, @bella ie a, @noag cia_
7
T ans
369
2.91%
@ga o.de.biblio eca, @ ocioespe illa
8
T ans
368
2.90%
@ilinkaanda cia
9
T ans
368
2.90%
@melii_jade
10
T ans
316
2.49%
@emmapalmina
11
Mixed
296
2.33%
@lamejo cap ico niana, @ddaimode, @myquee dom
12
T ans
292
2.30%
@ ebela me
13
No T ans
290
2.29%
@lili h_131
14
T ans
289
2.28%
@gg_well_play
15
T ans
241
1.90%
@ma ia_byw_lo e
16
Mixed
208
1.64%
@sung.jinnie, @hell.alexaa
17
T ans
206
1.62%
@aannaabbeeell, @c is inapad ol o
18
T ans
187
1.47%
@b a o_joack, @juancamilo eyes
19
T ans
170
1.34%
@ anchesqui__lopez
20
T ans
158
1.25%
@luisii.4370
21
Ambiguous
156
1.23%
@ma eo osko
22
T ans
152
1.20%
@diegocond1
23
Ambiguous
152
1.20%
@choco e e
24
T ans
150
1.18%
@yosoyma iamaya
25
T ans
144
1.14%
@heyi schiquia
Wha e e he case, when he e m “TERF” is used in he communi ies we ha e he e designa ed as non- ans-
inclusi e, his is o c i icize he ca ica u e which hey see as being applied o hem om ans posi ions. The
a gumen is ha he clima e a ma ches is iolen , ha hei ac i is s a e insul ed and a acked, and ha he e
is no possible econcilia ion be ween he wo posi ions. They e en accuse hei ad e sa ies as se ing as he
weapon o age-old pa ia chal iolence agains women.
In he case o TikTok, gi en he cha ac e is ics o he da a comp ising he ne wo k, he same cohesion and
homophily es s canno be pe o med as o Twi e , no can we es ima e ei he he geog aphical loca ion o
© COMUNICAR, 75 (2023-2); e-ISSN: 1988-3293; OnlineFi s DOI: 10.3916/C75-2023-04
age o he use s by means o he ad e ise pla o m. None heless, he compa a i e analyses ha can be
pe o med se e o e eal ce ain ends on his pla o m.
Table 4. Languages o con e sa ion on Twi e
Communi y
Nodes
% Nodes
Main language
1
811
7.72%
Spanish
2
572
5.45%
English
3
524
4.99%
Spanish
4
523
4.98%
Spanish
5
309
2.94%
Spanish
6
305
2.91%
English
7
235
2.24%
English
8
211
2.01%
Japanese
9
207
1.97%
English
10
201
1.91%
English
11
199
1.90%
Spanish
12
197
1.88%
Spanish
13
191
1.82%
English
14
190
1.81%
English
15
178
1.70%
English
16
173
1.65%
F ench
17
169
1.61%
Spanish
18
164
1.56%
English
19
161
1.53%
English
20
149
1.42%
Spanish
22
147
1.40%
English
21
147
1.40%
Spanish
23
129
1.23%
English
24
122
1.16%
English
25
105
1.00%
English
Fi s o all, in he ne wo k o TikTok commen s, he posi ions a e no so clea ly de ined as in he ne wo k o
Twi e e wee s (Table 3). In he analysis o he mos impo an communi ies on his pla o m, conduc ed by
means o he numbe and he pe cen age o nodes hey con ain, he implici posi ion in hei con en and he
main con en c ea o s indica e ha he e con inues o be a deg ee o deba e in communi ies on ei he side o
he di iding line.
This dialogue is no always o g ea quali y, since he e is conside able ca ica u ing and e en ad hominem
a gumen s, bu none heless, unlike on Twi e , he exchange o a gumen s o and agains he posi ion o each
g oup is mo e p esen on TikTok.
On TikTok, hose communi ies suppo ing ans-inclusi e eminism, unlike he mo e agg essi e app oach in
he Twi e discou se, denounce he iolence o which hey a e subjec ed a he hands o non- ans-inclusi e
ac i is s. The e is also plen y o he con en ypical o TikTok, ca ica u ing he ad e sa y, o e en ideos in
esponse o o he ideos pos ed by p oponen s o he opposing posi ion. I should none heless be emphasized
ha al hough he opinions a ibu ed o he in e locu o a e o en dis o ed, idiculed and simpli ied by bo h
communi ies, TikTok and i s commen s much mo e closely esemble he supposed own squa e o deba e
ha so many au ho s hoped Twi e would se e as mo e han a decade ago now. This is also e lec ed in he
exis ence o communi ies in which mul iple discou ses coexis , which we ha e e e ed o as mixed
communi ies. In e ms o language, he e is a subs an ial p esence o Spanish as he language o he "TERF"
deba e, indica ing he inc easing p ominence o he deba e in Spain and La in Ame ican coun ies.
4. Conclusions and discussion
The deba e cen ed on he use o he e m “TERF” illus a es i s ly he conside able pola iza ion caused wi hin
eminis ac i ism on social media by he inclusion wi hin his con ex o he claims o he ans mo emen . The
deba e as o he poli ical subjec o eminis claims is a complex and long-s anding one, which has been
ein o ced by i s ans e o digi al spaces (Ea les, 2017). The s udy o Twi e and TikTok se ed o iden i y
communi ies wi h conside able cohesion, li le po osi y, cha ac e ized by a high deg ee o homophily, and wi h
e y li le dialogue be ween hem. Pola ized and agg essi e, e en dialec ically iolen , con e sa ions can
likewise be ound, wi h a subs an ial deg ee o con on a ion (Williams, 2020; Fe é-Pa ia & Zaldí a , 2022).
