Queering the Social Media Narrative
Influencers as Public Health Authorities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11198567 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kimberly Wiley (0000-0002-5921-5837, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA, corresponding author), Alicia Papanek (0000-0003-1001-4628, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA), Xiaobei Chen (0000-0001-6876-4996, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences University of Florida Gainesville Florida USA), Seth J Meyer (0000-0003-0255-9900, Department of Political Science Bridgewater State University Bridgewater Massachusetts USA) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Social Policy and Administration (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0144-5596 • E-ISSN: 1467-9515 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/spol.70064 |
| OpenAlex | W7150164122 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 42 |
Heteronormative public administration assumes that LGBTQIA+ communities will reflect their heterosexual counterparts. The resulting deficient outreach to vulnerable communities has worsened health disparities, as seen in the 2022 Mpox epidemic, in which gay and bisexual men experienced the highest infection rates. This research applied queer theory to examine social media efforts to eliminate Mpox spread. This study critically assessed 591 social media messages from influencers, non‐profits, and government for queer‐focused and heteronormative discourse. Findings revealed that most governmental and non‐profit accounts failed to augment content for the at‐risk audience. Gay and bisexual men had to navigate heteronormative content to locate resources critical to their well‐being. Conversely, influencers acted as a public health system through repeated messaging and by supplementing governmental guidance with steps tailored for a queer audience. Influencers' value came from leveraging their lived experiences to challenge discriminatory societal norms, highlighting the crucial role of culturally relevant communication
Government (linguistics · Health communication · Influencer marketing · Outreach · Public health · Queer · Social media · Value (mathematics · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Hate Speech and Cyberbullying Detection · Social Media in Health Education
Being First, Being Right, and Being Credible Since 2002
Government crisis messaging on social media, citizen online engagement and compliance with policies
Textual Analysis
The Role of Social Media Influencers in Public Health Communication
Are people incidentally exposed to news on social media? A comparative analysis
Communicating with the public during health crises
Stakeholder Engagement and Public Information Through Social Media
Social Media in the Workplace
Conservative ethnic minority LGTBQ
Actions for Queering American Public Administration
A Three‐Stage Adoption Process for Social Media Use in Government
The Limits of Social Media for Public Administration Research and Practice
Engaging stakeholders on TikTok
Collaboration Through a Computer Screen
Intersectionality and Social Welfare
Building Holistic Evidence for Social Media Impact
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Queer Visibility Through Selfies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |