This collection aims to delve into the complex domain of contemporary culture wars, focusing on gender dynamics, body positivity, and women’s rights. Through a detailed analysis of language and/or other modalities used on social media, this collection will provide a nuanced view of how specific communication strategies both mirror and contest, as well as sustain, societal views of women’s roles and identities. The articles will explore a wide spectrum of negative communication, including but not limited to mockery, sarcasm, degrading language, explicit language aggression, gaslighting, tone policing, and microaggressions. This examination aims to offer a comprehensive view at how these expressive means shape public discourse across different social media platforms.
Social media has become a pivotal battleground in the gender-related culture wars, underscoring the importance of understanding the linguistic and/or other modalities deployed to shape and challenge gender narratives online. This collection’s focus on negative and aggressive communication—investigating its various types, functions, and expressions—is particularly vital. By exploring these phenomena, we can gain insights into how intrinsically divisive communication strategies not only perpetuate negative stereotypes and delineate out-group boundaries but also strengthen in-group identities by disparaging others. Moreover, the collection aims to illuminate the broader impact of these communication strategies on public discourse surrounding women’s rights and gender roles, including their influence on mental health, policymaking, and community solidarity. By including examples and discussing countermeasures, this collection seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of how aggressive communication fuels ongoing conflicts and escalates aggression in public discourse, thus influencing societal views on these critical issues.
We invite scholars from disciplines such as linguistics, gender studies, media studies, and communication to contribute to our collection. We are particularly interested in articles that:
- Analyze specific case studies of social media interactions/production to elucidate the dynamics of verbal and non-verbal language aggression (e.g., digital affordances; gestures)
- Discuss theoretical frameworks adept at unpacking the impact of linguistic and multimodal communication on the perception and construction of gender identities
- Conduct comparative studies across different social media platforms to explore how discourse on gender issues varies and the unique modalities through which such discussions are conveyed.
- Explore how visual elements like images, videos, and emojis interact with verbal expressions to either amplify or counteract negative communication concerning gender, body politics, and women’s rights.
We encourage submissions in the form of original research, as outlined in the journal’s guidelines. Contributions that foster interdisciplinary collaboration or employ innovative methodologies are especially welcome.
Keywords
- negative communication
- language aggression
- social media
- culture wars
- gender identity and women’s rights
