Feminismo, identidad de género y polarización en TikTok y Twitter

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).