Gender differences online: self-representation and involvement in political communication on Facebook

Maximova, Olga; Lukyanova, Galina O.

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05613

“…Research indicates women's external efficacy, the extent they can influence others and be taken seriously, may be undermined on some platforms (Southern & Harmer, 2019). The experience of what Fox et al (2015) describe as ambient sexism: rebuttals to comments that suggest political engagement is not a women's domain as they lack the competence can undermine their sense of external efficacy and lead them to self-censor (Maximova & Lukyanova, 2020). Equally, public debates about women being intimidated, threatened or discredited can give the impression the online environment is a hostile space for women considering engaging in political discourse (Sobieraj, 2020).…”

Section: External and Internal Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have related this to the nature of discourse on platforms, with open environments (forums, Twitter) often found to be polarised and uncivil (Anderson & Huntington, 2017), whereas on more closed platforms the quality and civility is higher (Rowe, 2015). Given women avoid discussions that lead to interpersonal conflicts or openly hostile interactions (Vochocova et al, 2015;Maximova & Lukyanova, 2020), the perceived character of discourse on a platform may be a mitigating factor (Yamamoto et al, 2020). Trust in the platform, and trust other users will behave respectfully and honestly are both found to be important for facilitating the engagement of women (Song, 2021).…”

Section: Network Size and Platform Affordancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women learn while men talk?: revisiting gender differences in political engagement in online environments

Lilleker

¹

,

Koc-Michalska

²

,

Bimber

³

2021

Information, Communication & Society

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There is an inconclusive debate on whether male and female users of social media platforms engage with political content differently. While some highlight minimal differences others evidence an engagement gap where male are more visible within online environments. Drawing on data from a representative survey of citizens in France, the UK and USA we explore the engagement gap in more granular detail. Our data shows minimal gender differences for most forms of online political engagement, but there remain some indications of a gendered divide. While the feeling of external efficacy is crucial to engage online regardless gender, women appear to need a sense of higher levels of competence in order to engage with online political content, especially for sharing and commenting. The study confirms interest in politics, extreme political ideological views and large social media network as prompt for more eager political engagement, but we do not find any substantial gender differentiation. Our findings suggest some minimal country differences on women engagement in commenting. Overall, our data indicates that while women may be as likely as men to participate in online political expression, through sharing and commenting, and may have an equal overall share of voice, the voices of many women are at least more muted in open public political discussions environment.

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“…This is a common pattern in several studies unrelated to politics (Martin and Ford, 2018), so it is likely that this finding reflects general gender differences, such as men's preference for sexual or aggressive humor (Hofmann et al, 2020). Indeed, it has been observed that women prefer less offensive patterns of political behavior online (Maximova and Lukyanova, 2020), and the systematic review by Hofmann et al (2020) concluded that there could be social pressures that discourage women's use of aggressive humor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

#funnypoliticians: How Do Political Figures Use Humor on Twitter?

Mendiburo-Seguel

¹

,

Alenda

²

,

Ford

³

et al. 2022

Front. Sociol.

4

0

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Social media has increased its popularity among politicians. If they wish to succeed in the political arena, politicians need to present themselves to citizens as attractive individuals through these platforms. This study examined how politicians present themselves using humor on Twitter. We analyzed tweets (n = 6,443) from 27 politicians to determine their use of different types of humor and its relationship with age, gender, or political position. We also present changes in humor use in relation to the publication of a political survey in which politicians who were part of this study were evaluated. Results showed politicians' use of humor is relatively low in frequency and primarily aggressive. Politicians who are male, younger, and in the opposition tend to use more aggressive humor. We discuss the results considering the role of aggressive humor in political messages. Based on the analyses of tweets and the publication of the survey, we propose as a hypothesis for future studies that politicians' use of humor on Twitter could be affected by the publication of these kinds of surveys.

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“…Research indicates women's external efficacy, the extent they can influence others and be taken seriously, may be undermined on some platforms (Southern & Harmer, 2019). The experience of what Fox et al (2015) describe as ambient sexism: rebuttals to comments that suggest political engagement is not a women's domain as they lack the competence can undermine their sense of external efficacy and lead them to self-censor (Maximova & Lukyanova, 2020). Equally, public debates about women being intimidated, threatened or discredited can give the impression the online environment is a hostile space for women considering engaging in political discourse (Sobieraj, 2020).…”

Section: External and Internal Efficacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have related this to the nature of discourse on platforms, with open environments (forums, Twitter) often found to be polarised and uncivil (Anderson & Huntington, 2017), whereas on more closed platforms the quality and civility is higher (Rowe, 2015). Given women avoid discussions that lead to interpersonal conflicts or openly hostile interactions (Vochocova et al, 2015;Maximova & Lukyanova, 2020), the perceived character of discourse on a platform may be a mitigating factor (Yamamoto et al, 2020). Trust in the platform, and trust other users will behave respectfully and honestly are both found to be important for facilitating the engagement of women (Song, 2021).…”

Section: Network Size and Platform Affordancesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Women learn while men talk?: revisiting gender differences in political engagement in online environments

Lilleker¹,

Koc-Michalska²,

Bimber³

2023

Women in the Digital World

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is an inconclusive debate on whether male and female users of social media platforms engage with political content differently. While some highlight minimal differences others evidence an engagement gap where male are more visible within online environments. Drawing on data from a representative survey of citizens in France, the UK and USA we explore the engagement gap in more granular detail. Our data shows minimal gender differences for most forms of online political engagement, but there remain some indications of a gendered divide. While the feeling of external efficacy is crucial to engage online regardless gender, women appear to need a sense of higher levels of competence in order to engage with online political content, especially for sharing and commenting. The study confirms interest in politics, extreme political ideological views and large social media network as prompt for more eager political engagement, but we do not find any substantial gender differentiation. Our findings suggest some minimal country differences on women engagement in commenting. Overall, our data indicates that while women may be as likely as men to participate in online political expression, through sharing and commenting, and may have an equal overall share of voice, the voices of many women are at least more muted in open public political discussions environment.

show abstract

Gender differences online: self-representation and involvement in political communication on Facebook

Cited by 7 publications

References 36 publications

Women learn while men talk?: revisiting gender differences in political engagement in online environments

Women learn while men talk?: revisiting gender differences in political engagement in online environments

#funnypoliticians: How Do Political Figures Use Humor on Twitter?

Women learn while men talk?: revisiting gender differences in political engagement in online environments

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