Intersectional representation in online media discourse: reflecting anti-discrimination position in reporting on same-sex partnerships

Abstract

The theory of intersectionality has been broadly used in various research but we notice a persistent gap in reflecting its application to media analysis. In our study, we focus on the concept of “representational intersectionality” which Kimberlé Crenshaw uses to illustrate the dynamics between different discourses. Taking the example of online media reporting on same-sex partnerships in Slovenia, we analyze how power relations are reinforced when one type of media discourse fails to acknowledge the importance of other discourses. Our media discourse analysis based on Norman Fairclough demonstrates that the discourses that advocated equality between heterosexual and same-sex couples in Slovenia did not recognize the importance of specifying the different contexts of social exclusion of same-sex couples and that this non-recognition weakened their power and strengthened the discourses directed against them. The main contribution of our study is to show how the theory of intersectionality, focusing on representation and social location, can be useful within critical discourse analysis, specifically to reflect the anti-discrimination position in media reporting.

Keywords:

• Intersectionality
• representational intersectionality
• social hierarchies
• online media discourse
• same-sex partnerships
• Slovenia

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive and helpful comments on the original version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It should be made clear that the use of “gender theory” in anti-gender mobilization has nothing to do with the academic field of gender studies. Paternotte and Kuhar (2017, p. 15) explain that it is an empty signifier used by anti-gender movements with the aim of discrediting academic knowledge on LGBTIQ+ issues.

2 Kuhar (2017, pp. 223–228) explains the success of the anti-gender movement in Slovenia that efficiently used the “resonating” discourse about heteronormative beliefs and values about the family, children, or the nation, and staged self-victimization against the corrupt elites who govern “us”. See also the analysis of the anti-gender actors networking in Slovenia and their discourses on own internet platforms (Kuhar & Pajnik, 2020).

3 We have selected media texts published in the calendar year 2015 as most of the events on the issue and consequently the most intense media reporting relate to this period.

4 Media texts were collected using search engines on the online portals in focus. We collected all media texts that contained any of the following keywords: “same-sex persons”, “same-sex couples”, “LGBT”, “Marriage and Family Relations Act” and “ZZZDR” (the latter is the Slovenian acronym for the draft law in focus). We searched for media texts under each keyword separately, and then we combined the collected data, removing duplicates.

5 The first is owned by PRO PLUS company, part of the Central European Media Enterprises, the second by a telecommunication company TSmedia, and the third by related individual private owners that are close to the right wing Slovenian Democratic Party.

6 It was the largest parliamentary party at the time that received the 36,4% of the vote in the 2014 parliamentary elections.

Additional information

Funding

This research work was conducted as part of the research project Citizenship and Discrimination: Intersectional Approach to Research of Social Exclusion [J6-9381, 2018–2021], the research program Equality and Human Rights in Times of Global Governance [P5-0413, 2020–2023], the research program Problems of Autonomy and Identities at the Time of Globalization [P6-0194, 2019–2024] (all three funded by the Slovenian Research Agency), and as part of the activities funded by the eng. Milan Lenarčič University Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Rok Smrdelj

Rok Smrdelj (PhD) is an assistant at the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana. His research focuses on how different social minorities (e.g., refugees, migrants, LGBTIQ+ people, victims of domestic violence) are represented in the contemporary digital media landscape. In 2017–2022, he was the holder of a scholarship from the eng. Milan Lenarčič University Foundation.

Mojca Pajnik

Mojca Pajnik (PhD) is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Media and Communication, University of Ljubljana and senior research advisor at the Peace Institute in Ljubljana. Her research focuses on media and communication, gender (in)equality, populism and citizenship. She has published extensively on these topics, recently in Journalism, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Communications and Southeastern Europe.