A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

Belonging, responsibility and reflexivity: mediated intimacy among Finnish nonbinary and trans social media users




AuthorsHokkanen, Julius

PublisherInforma UK Limited

Publication year2023

JournalFeminist Media Studies

Volume25

Issue3

First page 529

Last page545

ISSN1468-0777

eISSN1471-5902

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2285710

Web address https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2285710

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/500000895


Abstract

Platforms are essential spaces for gender and sexual minorities to develop identities and build connections. However, even though social media activism has itself been a recurrent unit of analysis, less is known about the ways in which the everyday use of social media facilitates political agency as a form of subjectivity. This article examines the experiences of Finnish nonbinary and trans social media users through a conceptual focus on mediated intimacy. The conceptualisation sheds light on how divergent discourses and institutional sites interweave private and public domains through media, influencing subjectivity. An unstructured diary interview method is utilised to understand the participants’ specific experiences and guide the participants to a better awareness of the feelings sparked by daily media use. Three modes of political subjectivity— belonging, responsibility and reflexivity—are identified. These modes are used to discuss how non-cisgender users navigate their experiences in data-driven media. Emphasis is placed on how the processes of reflecting on one’s gender identity often involves the broader political milieu.


Downloadable publication

This is an electronic reprint of the original article.
This reprint may differ from the original in pagination and typographic detail. Please cite the original version.




Funding information in the publication
the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland, Grant no. 327392


Last updated on 2025-19-09 at 08:19