Emotions on Social Media as Catalysts for Change: Epistemic and Motivational Potentialities for Gender Equality

Abstract

To this day, people still face gender discrimination and battle with gender injustices. To change this, we both need accurate knowledge about these injustices and we need to strive for active change. This article provides a theoretical reflection on how social media, by serving as an accessible platform for people to portray their emotions, can be a tool for both of these needs. In terms of the topics it discusses, the article operates at the intersection of the literature on digital activism on the one hand and emotions and social media on the other. However, I approach these topics using a combination of multidisciplinary lenses. I employ the epistemic injustice framework to emphasise the link between gender inequality and the production and distribution of knowledge. In line with the literature on affect theory, I argue both that emotions can generate epistemic novelties and that emotions have collectivising and motivational power. Finally, the article builds on existing research on how social media provide a space for people to portray, distribute, and adopt emotions. The theoretical reflection in this article then combines these insights to demonstrate how social media - by allowing the expression and distribution of emotions - can catalyse both the production of new knowledge and active change. With social media enabling emotions to be heard and seen, this online sphere can contribute to the epistemic empowerment of women and to the fight against gender discrimination and gender injustices.