Gender, Sexuality, and Embodiment in Digital Spheres: Connecting Intersectionality and Digitality

Abstract

Gender, sexuality and embodiment in digital spheres have been increasingly studied from various critical perspectives: From research highlighting the articulation of intimacies, desires, and sexualities in and through digital spaces to theoretical explorations of materiality in the digital realm. With such a high level of (inter)disciplinarity, theories, methods, and analyses of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in relation to digital spheres have become highly diversified. Aiming to reflect this diversity, this special issue brings together innovative and newly developed theoretical, empirical, analytical, and critical approaches in the study of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in digital spheres. By connecting intersectionality and digitality to one another, it adopts an integrated approach that reflects the intricacy and interconnectedness of social categories and markers of difference, privilege, performance, and discrimination. The contributions explore a range of differently situated digital cultural practices, including intimate and sexual experiences with(in) digital media, online self-presentation, expressions of digital resistance, and forms of backlash and online attacks. What connects all these articles, is their critical approach to intersectional inequalities and privileges in relation to digitality, plus their nuanced perspective on gender, sexuality, and embodiment interferentially. The final article is based on a roundtable discussion and aims to encourage interdisciplinary connections and suggests ways of doing research that builds bridges between academia and activism.

Rethinking ‘Sex Robots’: Gender, Desire, and Embodiment in Posthuman Sextech

Abstract

This paper interrogates the posthuman potential of sextech aimed at heterosexual men, positing that advertising and design of products with digital femininities emphasise the possibility for emotional interaction. This work firstly applies pressure to the monolithic conceptualisation of ‘sex robots’, that impedes rigorously appraising existing sextech constructions. Applying posthuman theory to sextech, particularly critical posthumanism and the formative work of Donna Haraway, affords this investigation the theoretical rigour to reflect on the potential for emotional interaction with digital feminised others. Through digital media analysis, this paper explores three gendered-female technologies: Azuma Hikari, (2020); the RealdollX Application (2020) and VirtualMate (2020) alongside their concomitant promotional material. This research illustrates that the complex convergence of interactive technologies, digital feminities and emotive advertising suggests a shift into posthuman sextech – where digital feminities are designed and advertised as capable of providing erotic and emotive interaction.

A Virtual Safe Space? An Approach of Intersectionality and Social Identity to Behavior in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Health measures in response to the Covid-19 pandemic have confined millions to their homes and minimized social contacts. During this period, a significant proportion of social activities—including work, education, and recreation—moved to digital media platforms. Among these platforms, social virtual reality (VR) has gained importance offering “alternative” realities in which users can engage with others, participate in cultural and sports events, complete education-related activities, and (mental) health treatments, to name but a few functions. With the increasing popularity of social VR and the expanding range of activities these platforms can host, hitherto-unexplored questions arise regarding social interactions and the representation of virtual bodies. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to outline a potential framework for assessing how avatars that represent various body types and demographic characteristics, such as gender or ethnicity, may impact behaviors and identity. The paper presents a theoretical study that combines social identity theory and theories of intersectionality and applies them to the case of digitally created human-like bodies. By doing this, it illuminates the challenges and benefits virtual reality platforms and digital body representations hold—including remote social interactions due to social isolation and social dynamics based on online personas.

Towards an Entrepreneurial Ethics of Desire? LGBTQ Location-based Dating/Hook-up Apps and the Configurations of Sexual-affective Relationships Among Gay Men in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to reflect on how changes in digital sociability practices influence on the affective and sexual relationships among gay men in Northeast Brazil. We argue some of these changes are associated with an entrepreneurial ethics of desire, which is a set of desiring and sociability practices influenced by neoliberal imperatives, such as free competition, high selectiveness, meritocracy, economic rationale, utilitarianism, and self-entrepreneurship. In a mediatised reality under platform capitalism, we wonder: by taking on market-oriented practices, how do individuals constitute themselves as differentiated desiring subjects? We seek to elucidate this point by analysing seven in-depth interviews conducted with gay men whose affective-sexual trajectories have been impacted by communication technologies’ transformations in the last three decades. All respondents were gay men between 25-34 years old, residents in Recife’s metropolitan area and were contacted via Grindr. Focused on cultural scripts for sex mediated by digital media and on self-presentation in profiles, we investigate how these individuals negotiate homoerotic sociabilities simultaneously on different social platforms. In an attempt to constitute themselves as “desirable” subjects in digital spheres, these individuals experience several tensions that are triggered by social markers of desire, such as race, class, gender performativity and physicality. Based on an intersectional approach, we aim to identify aspects of what we define as an entrepreneurial ethics of desire. We also propose to investigate whether, in terms of resistance and indiscipline, we can think of an alternative sexual-affective ethics for sociability and desiring practices – namely a queer ethics of desire.

Pushing Intersectionality, Hybridity, and (Inter)Disciplinary Research on Digitality to Its Limits: A Conversation Among Scholars of Gender, Sexuality, and Embodiment

Abstract

During the past two decades or so, the emergence and ever-accelerating development of digital media have sparked scholarly interest, debates, and complex challenges across many disciplines in the social sciences and the humanities. Within this diverse scholarship, the research on digitality, gender, sexuality, and embodiment has contributed substantially to many academic fields, such as media studies, sociology, religion, philosophy, and education studies. As a part of the special issue “Gender, Sexuality, and Embodiment in Digital Spheres: Connecting Intersectionality and Digitality,” this roundtable consists of a conversation between five researchers from different (inter)disciplinary locations, all addressing matters of methodology, intersectionality, positionality, and theory in relation to the topics of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in digital spheres. Said roundtable begins with a critical self-positioning of the participants’ (inter)disciplinary and embodied locations using examples from their own research. The conversation then progresses to how these researchers have employed contemporary theories, conceptual vocabularies, methods, and analyses of gender, sexuality, and embodiment in digital spheres to then conclude with some ethico-political notes about collaborations between scholars and (digital) activists.

Special Issue: Theory and Practice in Remote Teaching, Online Learning, and Distance Education for K-12

Abstract

There are many situations where digital technology has served as the lifeline or salvation for society. Unexpected and unpredictable situations like catastrophic floods, blizzards, earthquakes, and more recently the Covid-19 pandemic have forced families to stay home, meaning that digital technologies have become important tools for people to work and learn. Other examples are societal and regional challenges such as lack of qualified teachers, diminishing birth rates, and difficulties in filling classrooms that force digital and educational development. The symposium held in May 2021, which resulted in this special issue, was intended to explore possibilities for ensuring equal access to education in rural schools using remote teaching. At the symposium, different strategies to increase access to education in the context of K-12 using digital technologies was presented and discussed. It brought together researchers from Europe and North America, all represented in this issue.

Looking Back to See Ahead: An Analysis of K-12 Distance, Online, and Remote Learning During the Pandemic

Abstract

While the use of distance and online learning had been used for over a century in the K-12 setting (including in isolated ways during previous pandemics and natural disasters), the complete worldwide closure of schools focused attention on the use of distance and online tools and content to provide continuity of learning in a remote context. The way in which both practitioners and scholars make sense of what has occurred over the past 18 months, and what is likely to continue into the future, will impact both regular schooling and how we prepare for future crisis. This article explores this pandemic pedagogy, with a goal of situating the events since March 2020 within the broader field and providing guidance on a path forward.

Shifting Selves and Spaces: Conceptualising School Emergency Remote Teaching as a Third Space

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst for unprecedented change within education systems around the world. Teaching and learning which had traditionally taken place in school classrooms suddenly moved online. Teachers’ responses to the emergency changed not just pedagogy but who was teaching as well as when and where teaching took place. Bhabha’s ‘third space’ (1994) provides a way of re-imagining the new spaces (both physical and virtual) which were created in response to the pandemic. We report on data from two research studies in Scotland conducted in the 2020-21 academic year covering two lockdown (stay at home) periods: one comprising interviews with nine educators in Scotland; the other study using two rounds of focus groups with eleven early career teachers. Our research thus enquires into the lockdown practices of a range of teachers and managers across different local authorities in Scotland, exploring how they engaged learners using digital technologies during two national lockdowns. Across both studies, digital technology played a key role in how this third space was mediated and the findings show participants’ emotional highs and lows of working within this new space. It also shows teachers’ changing perceptions of children and families and how power relations evolved over the lockdown periods. Technology facilitated the emergency response, but questions remain as to what the legacy of this forced shift will be. This paper points to the importance of two-way communication between home and school and how third spaces using digital technologies could bring home and school funds of knowledge closer together.

In Need of Development, Learning and Research? : On the Possibilities of a Common Point of Departure for Digital and Educational Development

Abstract

A growing body of initiatives aims to connect school improvement with external actors, such as universities, by means of networks and collaborative partnerships of different kinds. Simultaneously, many schools have difficulties in assessing or predicting their needs associated with the digitalization of a specific local school practice given their lack of existing tools to articulate those needs. This has made it difficult to study digitalization in a complementary and symmetrical way between academia and practice. In this study, we used a quantitative instrument to generate findings and development needs relevant to both research and school development. The instrument, which we distributed to all school leaders in one municipality, measures perceptions of three overall areas: (a) levels of digitalization, (b) organizational digital maturity, and (c) notions of leadership. The data shows, for example, that digitalization, in this municipality, was a concern or issue on an individual level. Achieving a more complex view of digitalization as school development—a collegial approach and mindset together with leadership and organization that focuses on strategy and common goals—appears to be a high priority for research and practice. To conclude, the results generated from the instrument used in this study can contribute to a shared understanding of the findings and the needs relevant to both research and school development.

Through the Lens of Situated Learning and Levels of Scale: Theorizing Development of Remote Teaching and the Role of On-Site Facilitators

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to contribute to theoretical development within a field otherwise mostly characterized by empirical contributions, with a primary focus on the practice and perspectives of on-site facilitators. To theoretically understand the development and use of remote teaching, we focus on the interaction between systems of human activity in education and the relationships enacted in practice through their interaction, with a focus on on-site facilitators’ work. In doing so, we use the concept levels of scale in situated learning. Through levels of scale, we conceptualize the historical development of remote teaching as the large scale and the remote learning environment as the small scale. Integrating the levels of scale and tracing the historical development of remote teaching in Sweden into the enactments taking place in a classroom of modern language teaching is the concrete theoretical development that our aim entails.

A Theoretical Framework for Synchronous Remote Teaching? Reshaping the Pedagogical Triangle

Abstract

This paper explores synchronous remote teaching as a pedagogical practice and elaborates upon a framework with which to understand the practice theoretically. The empirical backdrop comprises remote teaching practice in Sweden, where this practice is implemented via digital technology and with an onsite facilitator who is present with the students. The pedagogical triangle is revisited, examined, and explored in relation to remote teaching as a new pedagogical practice. In the theoretical elaboration, the pedagogical triangle is reshaped into a pyramid due to the onsite facilitator’s participation in the remote teaching. This elaboration is a first step to establishing a theoretical understanding of remote teaching practice on its own terms.

Book Review: Indigenous Efflorescence. Beyond revitalisation in Sápmi and Ainu Mosir

Abstract

This is a book review of an anthropological anthology, Indigenous Efflorescence. Beyond revitalisation in Sápmi and Ainu Mosiredited by Gerhard Roche, Hiroshi Maruyama and Åsa Virdi Kråik (2018). The volume acknowledge ongoing efforts around the globe to revtalise languages and cultures, defining Indigenous efflorescence as a slow revolution occurring almost unnoticeably. Examples from two Indigenous peoples are provided, Sámi and Ainu, giving voice to thirty contributors who describe contexts and practices of ´Indigenous efflorescence´ in a broad variety of settings. The review focusses on the merits of the concept of Indigenous efflorescence with a special emphasis on three of the chapters where digital contexts are provided. (Indigenous) efflorescence is an interesting theoretical concept to investigate in relation to theory and practice in remote teaching, online learning, and distance education for K-12 schools as it stresses the aim with any educational practice, which is the growth and flourishing of those involved. It also offers leverage against simplistic narratives of both decline and progress. This volume does what it sets out to do: offer hope and stimulate projects for supporting Indigenous efflorescence.

Exploring Siri’s Content Diversity Using a Crowdsourced Audit

Abstract

This study aims to describe the content diversity of Siri’s search results in the polarized context of US politics. To do so, a crowdsourced audit was conducted. A diverse sample of 170 US-based Siri users between the ages of 18-64 performed five identical queries about politically controversial issues. The data were analyzed using the concept of algorithmic bias. The results suggest that Siri’s search algorithm produces a long tail distribution of search results: Forty-two percent of the participants received the six most frequent answers, while 22% of the users received unique answers. These statistics indicate that Siri’s search algorithm causes moderate concentration and low fragmentation. The age and, surprisingly, the political orientation of users, do not seem to be driving either concentration or fragmentation. However, the users' gender and location appear to cause low concentration.

Tweeted Attitudes towards Women Parliamentary Candidates in Kuwait: A Social Dominance Perspective

Abstract

This study explores how Kuwaitis use Twitter to communicate their attitudes towards women Parliamentary candidates (WCs) in a traditionally male-dominated society, and how these tweeted attitudes are thematically constructed, either negatively or positively. The study also explores how these attitudes differ according to gender and evolve quantitatively and qualitatively over subsequent elections. A total of 1744 tweets about all eight women candidates in 2013 posted for 40 days prior to the Kuwait Parliamentary Election were retrieved and analyzed. The tweets posted about the two women candidates of those eight who continued to run in 2016 and 2020 were also analyzed in terms of length, content, and themes. Gender significantly correlated with attitudes in the first election, but not in the subsequent two elections. Tweeted attitudes turned to be more elaborate, information-based, and longer over consecutive elections. The dominant positive theme was generic, whereas the dominant negative theme was specific, and candidate based. Women candidates were praised for acting like men, whereas they are mocked for looking like men.

#VACHINA: How Politicians Help to Spread Disinformation About COVID-19 Vaccines

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on how Brazilian politicians helped to spread disinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, discussing legitimation strategies and actors that played a significant role on Twitter and Facebook. Based on data gathered through CrowdTangle and Twitter API, we selected the 250 most shared/retweeted posts for each dataset (n=500) and examined if they contained disinformation, who posted it, and what strategy was used to legitimize this discourse. Our findings indicate that politicians and hyperpartisan accounts have a key influence in validating the Brazilian president’s populist discourse through rationalization (pseudo-science) and denunciation (against the vaccine). The political frame also plays an important role in disinformation messages.

It's Crowded at the Bottom: Trust, Visibility, and Search Algorithms on Care.com

ABSTRACT

Trust, visibility, and the deepening of existing inequalities are major themes within the platform care work literature. However, no study to date has applied these themes to an analysis of worker profiles. I investigate both how workers communicate trustworthiness through their profiles on Care.com, the world’s largest care work platform, and which of these profiles are rendered more and less visible to clients. Through a qualitative content analysis of profiles (n=60) sampled from the top and bottom search results in three different US zip codes, I find that visibility is often related to connectivity, response time, and positive reviews, and who is rendered visible mirrors preexisting inequalities. The language of “passion” for the job is common across top and bottom profiles, indicating a contradiction between the deemphasis on professionalization and the high level of connectivity and responsiveness present in top profiles.

Ethical Use of Informant Internet Data: Scholarly Concerns and Conflicts

Abstract

This article explores the scholarly concerns and conflicts debated by authors in the field of the use of informant internet data in research. The importance lies in informant protection and how to minimize harm to them, a long-standing cornerstone of research practice. It is also a public domain issue as increased calls for data privacy grew because of reported data breach scandals. Although not a new problem, academic researchers and university ethics boards struggle with concerns over data use and are in conflict about managing the problem. This article uses thematic analysis to identify, analyze and interpret patterns of concerns and conflicts over internet data use. Data was obtained from academic publications on these issues. Three themes from this data are discussed with examples demonstrating the types of, and complexity of, scholarly concerns and conflicts. These themes are: the problems of informant data use risks, gaining mass informed consent and the challenges ethics boards face, especially conflicts with researchers over internet data use on projects. This article contributes insights into a widely, and continuously, debated area which is constantly evolving as privacy laws and public awareness place pressure on researchers and ethics boards to address protecting informant public internet data.

Memetic Moments: The Speed of Twitter Memes

ABSTRACT

This paper examines how speed shapes internet culture. To do so, it analyses ‘memetic moments’ on Twitter, short-lived and rapidly circulated memes that quickly reach saturation. The paper examines two ‘memetic moments’ on Twitter in 2018 and 2019 to assess how they develop over time. Each case study comprises a week’s worth of relevant tweets that were analysed for temporal patterns. We analyse these ‘memetic moments’ through Lefebvre’s (2004) work on rhythmanalysis, arguing that the temporal patterns of memes on Twitter can be understood through his concepts of repetition, presence and dialogue. While seemingly trivial, memetic moments underscore the didactic relationship between social media and news media while also providing a way to approach complex social issues.

”I don’t know if I can share this.” : Agency and sociomateriality in digital text sharing of business communication

ABSTRACT

In modern business organizations, digital practices are enacted daily, often when sharing texts, which is crucial for knowledge management. How professionals experience digital text sharing is an issue that is often overlooked. In this paper, we focus on a relatively new aspect of business digital literacy: the literacy practice of digital text sharing in workplaces. Our analysis was conducted on ethnographic data from business organizations. The results show that sociomaterial aspects are enacted by professionals by discussing 1) the protection of borders of their own and other organizations, and 2) the status and digital location of texts. The analysis highlights two means of expressing agency that indicate conflicting norms: joking and showing strong emotions. The study places the hitherto backgrounded literacy practice of digital text sharing in workplaces in the foreground, proposes methods for studying this phenomenon, and highlights issues concerning digital text sharing that should be addressed by organizations.

"Within the hour" and "wherever you are": Exploring the promises of digital healthcare apps

ABSTRACT

The use of healthcare apps for medical advice is becoming increasingly common. This paper explores apps that offer interaction with medical experts. Working from the supposition that digital technologies are intimately entangled in their cultural context, we argue that the apps do more than just neutrally mediate contacts and offer medical and psychological advice. The article addresses the cultural dimensions of healthcare apps and answers questions about the ways in which such apps contribute to forming changing notions of what “healthcare” and being a “patient” entail. Three popular Swedish apps and their marketing material is studied using a discursive interface analysis of the apps’ affordances. The results show that the apps significantly contribute to producing a marketable narrative about app health care that includes accessibility, security/safety and personalisation, and which is partly produced as an alternative to what is offered by Swedish public health care. The results further show that this narrative primarily represents and addresses users who are young, busy, urban consumers of care – partly contrasting policy expectations and hopes.