“Completely incapable of logical thought”
Delegitimating the MeToo Movement in YouTube comment sections
While the MeToo Movement has generally been accepted as a legitimate response to what was considered endemic
sexual harassment and discrimination in Hollywood, its goals and values have nonetheless been questioned and undermined. This
study examines the comment sections of two YouTube videos produced by major broadcasting corporations in which the MeToo Movement
in Europe is discussed. The comment sections are analysed in terms of expressions of attitude and evaluation, using the Appraisal
framework. Through this analysis it is revealed that attitudes expressed in the comments legitimate and normalise anti-feminist
ideologies through discursive construction of social norms. Conversely, feminism, as well as immigration, are delegitimated.
Commenters delegitimate the MeToo Movement by construing its goals and values as misdirected or insincere. These attitudes are
furthermore expressed through dialogically contractive comments, thus constructing them as accepted and matter-of-fact, rather
than ideological.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Feminism and anti-feminism in online spaces
- 3.Theoretical framework
- 3.1Appraisal framework
- 3.2Identifying discourses of (de)legitimation
- 4.Materials and methods
- 4.1YouTube videos
- 4.2Coding ideologies
- 5.Results
- 5.1Research question 1
- 5.1.1Attitude
- 5.1.2Engagement
- 5.2Research question 2
- 5.2.1Scapegoating
- 5.2.2Denaturalisation
- 5.2.3Corruption
- 6.Discussion
- 7.Conclusion
-
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Choe, Hanwool & Cynthia Gordon
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