Feminidad y masculinidad más inclusivas y respetuosas hacia el colectivo LGTBIQ*: ¿Cómo representan los y las influencers españoles sus identidades de género?

Academic research in media studies has often highlighted the role of the media in the socialization process of adolescents and young people, in the construction of their individual and collective identities, and in the acquisition of values, models and stereotypes, including those related to gender identities. Precisely social media such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are privileged spaces for the construction and (self)representation of youth and gender identity, especially through its protagonists, the so-called influencers or micro-celebrities. Therefore, the main objective of this article is to identify and analyze the media representations portrayed by young Spanish influencers in relation to the construction of gender identities (including non-binary genders). The methodological design of the study has included a socio-semiotic analysis of ten influencers and their value structures, according to the Hall-Tonna model; a qualitative multimodal analysis of YouTube and Instagram profiles and an audiovisual analysis of the contents of both networks; a qualitative thematic analysis and a textual analysis of the discourse of the selected contents. The results show that, although there are still certain normative elements regarding gender representation, there is a good variety of models, stereotypes and media representations, which allows the dissemination of nonsexist representations, away from hegemonic gender stereotypes, and linked to new more inclusive models of femininity and masculinity.