Chonisandpijas: Slut-shaming and double standards in online performances among Spanish teens

Abstract

In a context of demonization of the working class in Western societies, the choni has become an epitome of the female incarnation of the failed underclass in Spain. During our focus group discussions with 16- to 20-year-olds, girls evoked clear-cut images of the tasteless and sexualized choni as a stigma to avoid, in contrast with the more classy pija. This article deals with gender and class regarding sexual scrutiny on social media in Spain. Youngsters’ readings of the choni/ pija eluded a socio-economic explanation, pointing to the ‘moral standards’ that chonis supposedly fail to attain. We argue that online spaces make it more difficult for chonis to avoid this omnipresent ‘double’ double standard.

Prejudice against members of a ridiculed working‐class group

“…In this case, warmth comprised both sociability and morality. In terms of emotional reactions, sociological research examining the media representation of chavs or white trash found negative emotional expressions of disgust and contempt towards these groups (Hartigan, 1997;Lawler, 2005;Tyler, 2008;Willem, Ara€ una, & Tortajada, 2019).…”

“…In Spain, there is a comparable working-class subgroup (see Moreno Segarra & Bern ardez Rodal, 2017) that is widely caricatured in the media and in popular imagination and considered the epitome of the failed underclass (e.g., Willem, et al, 2019). Its members are labelled as chonis (females) and canis (males) and are construed as being lower class, mainly young, uneducated, and noisy, who dress loudly, do not work or work in unstable jobs, show aggressive tendencies, and are sometimes on the margins of illegality (Willem et al, 2019). Based on this qualitative analysis of Willem et al and on previous research with chavs and similar groups (Durante et al, 2013;Loughnan et al, 2014), we conjecture that chonis/canis would be negatively evaluated, particularly in regard to their competence and morality, but not sociability (in line with Loughnan et al, 2014).…”

Whore! Affect, sexualized aggression and resistance in young social media users’ interaction

“…The users on this SNS often engaged in various forms of desirability tests according to a number of ‘hotness’ scales, for example from A-F, ‘fuck, marry, kill’ and lists codified by brand names. In this context, being perceived as desirable was central to the forms of self-presentation adopted by these young users (see also Bailey et al., 2013; Jackson and Vares, 2016; Renold and Ringrose, 2011; Ringrose, 2010; Willem et al., 2018). However, girls who often posted selfies were targeted as attention seeking (‘attention whores’).…”

“…Whore and slut are indeed offensive words that youth may employ when attempting to wound and shame others (see also Kofoed and Ringrose, 2012; Willem et al., 2018). However, young people may also use the terms in different and, at times, contradictory ways; they are not necessarily always negative epithets but may also be employed to demonstrate friendship (Ambjörnsson, 2004; Ringrose and Harvey, 2015).…”

“…Nevertheless, even though many may be called whore and temporarily be tainted by the term, certain bodies are recurrently pointed out as such and as worthy of disgust. In the pre-teen and early teenage years this particularly impacts girls who fail to present a ‘respectable’ body and thus transgress the border between being regarded as sexually attractive and sexually deviant (Ringrose and Harvey, 2015; Willem et al., 2018) or who are seen as un-feminine (Ambjörnsson, 2004). As a result, they may be shamed, chastised, bullied and harassed (Bailey et al., 2013; Jackson and Vares, 2016; Ringrose, 2011).…”