Famous and foe
Resistance and protection on social media – LGBTQ+ influencers’ responses to the attacks of an illiberal regime
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24238372 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Anna Zsubori (0000-0001-5820-8558, Loughborough University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-19 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Cultural Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1367-8779 • E-ISSN: 1460-356X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/13678779261499739 |
| OpenAlex | W7222937163 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 41 |
Social media's value among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer+ (LGBTQ+) individuals can be especially significant in illiberal environments, where public service media are in the hands of anti-LGBTQ+ elites. Nevertheless, the digital media practices of marginalised groups under systemic siege, such as the Hungarian LGBTQ+ community, remain under-researched. This article addresses this gap by examining the social media usage of eight prominent Hungarian LGBTQ+ influencers via in-depth interviews conducted in 2024. Utilising concepts of cultural capital, power and resistance, and master and counter-narratives, the study reveals that while influencers’ social media activities vary, they consistently both work to educate their followers to resist the regime and employ self-censorship to protect their community. By outlining a dual-strategy framework of resistance and protection, illustrating how Hungarian LGBTQ+ influencers navigate illiberal pressures, this work offers novel contributions to scholarly understandings of sexual minorities’ digital tactics in such circumstances.
counter-narratives · Cultural capital · illiberal regimes · Metanarrative · Resistance · self-censorship · Sexual minorities · Social media · Gender and Feminist Studies · Gender, Feminism, and Media · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
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| Highly cited | No |
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