Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FEMINIST MEDIA STUDIES, 2024 (SSCI)
In this paper, we examine a recent incident involving G & uuml;l & scedil;en, a Turkish singer who was brutally attacked on Twitter (now X), and demonstrate how moral panics translate into misogynist e-bile and violent cyber-attacks, both of which reinforce a polarized political environment. We analysed tweets posted 24-August 30 2022 and show that e-bile was used distinctly more often by opponents of G & uuml;l & scedil;en who are characterized by religiously conservative norms and values. We suggest that G & uuml;l & scedil;en's subsequent criminalization by state institutions (she was detained and arrested in the aftermath of #arrestg & uuml;l & scedil;en) effectively validated the violent attacks of G & uuml;l & scedil;en's opponents while leaving her supporters intimidated and paralysed. Our study contributes to the understanding of e-bile by suggesting that cultural intelligibility and political hegemony make space for and legitimize the graphic language of online communities. By the same token, misogynistic and homophobic invective turns into an instrument of symbolic violence that is exercised by culturally and politically privileged segments of society.