Unveiling childfree voices: representation, humor, and resistance on Instagram
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Resumo
Este estudio explora la representación social de la decisión de no tener hijos de manera voluntaria en Instagram, centrándose en cómo los individuos que eligen no tener hijos crean y negocian sus identidades en un espacio digital. Basándose en la Teoría de las Representaciones Sociales (RS), la investigación analiza 212 publicaciones de Instagram de creadores de contenido childfree para comprender cómo se enmarca y se contrarresta el RS. El análisis identifica dos mecanismos principales de representación: "anclaje" y "objetificación". El anclaje se observa en el uso de términos positivos como "childfree" en lugar de "childless", que conlleva una connotación más negativa. Este cambio en la terminología ayuda a replantear el estilo de vida childfree como una elección deliberada y empoderada en lugar de una deficiencia. La objetificación, por otro lado, ocurre a través del humor visual, a menudo en forma de memes que desafían los estigmas sociales sobre los individuos sin hijos. Estos memes abordan de manera humorística las críticas comunes, como la soledad, el arrepentimiento o el egoísmo, y presentan el estilo de vida sin hijos como una alternativa válida y satisfactoria a la paternidad. El estudio destaca el papel de Instagram al permitir que los individuos childfree resistan la estigmatización a la que se enfrentan en los medios tradicionales. A través del autoencuadre, el humor y el rechazo de las etiquetas sociales, estos usuarios participan en una comunicación defensiva para afirmar la legitimidad de sus decisiones. Este estudio ofrece perspectivas importantes sobre cómo las plataformas de redes sociales empoderan a los individuos para redefinir su identidad y combatir el estigma de maneras que los medios tradicionales no pueden.
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