Insta(nt)famous? Visual self-presentation and the use of masculine and feminine issues by female politicians on Instagram

Abstract

This study examines how female politicians are using Instagram to present themselves to the electorate and how this affects audience engagement. A manual content analysis was conducted to explore how female politicians, compared to male politicians (N = 40), use Instagram in terms of visual self-presentation, the use of masculine and feminine issues, and how this may lead to increased engagement (i.e., likes and comments). In total, N = 762 posts were manually analyzed. The study shows that female politicians receive more likes when they are visible in a picture compared to male politicians. It also reveals that male and female politicians both refer more to feminine issues than to masculine issues, although the use of feminine issues resulted in less likes. We find that some issues lead to more discussion amongst Instagram users, and that this differs between male and female politicians. The study sheds light on how politicians use Instagram and offers insights into how (female) politicians can use the platform to their advantage.