Open research questions in Gender, Feminism, and Media

What the literature leaves open

• The study identifies a gap in understanding how news media framing of young people's social media use changes in response to major cultural events. There is a need for research-informed responses to shifts in media discourse.

  Framing youth and social media: mixed-methods media discourses before and after Netflix’s Adolescence · 2026 · DOI

• The number of studies on sexting does not correspond to the vast number of potential victims, indicating that this type of behavior is not adequately reflected in social awareness. There is a need to explore the concept of consent in sending and receiving erotic messages.

  Characteristics and Correlates of Sexting among Young Adults in Poland · 2026 · DOI

• Most sexting studies rely on national samples, restricting insights into cross-cultural differences, - The study was part of a larger European project, - The sample was limited to three European countries

  Belgian, French, and Slovenian Adolescents’ Visual Sexting Practices and Its Links with Body Image and Sexuality · 2026 · DOI

• Introduction of a positive approach, focusing on healthy sexuality development related to sexting, - Examination of cross-cultural differences in sexting behaviors, - Further research on the relationship between sexting and body image

  Belgian, French, and Slovenian Adolescents’ Visual Sexting Practices and Its Links with Body Image and Sexuality · 2026 · DOI

• Further research should investigate the relationship between sexting and sexual satisfaction in different populations - Future studies should examine the impact of consent on sexting behavior - Research should explore the differences in sexting behavior between individuals in different types of relationships

  Characteristics and Correlates of Sexting among Young Adults in Poland · 2026 · DOI

• Yet, this emphasis on explicit harm leaves a gap in understanding how college students interpret subtle, hidden, and ambiguous media messages.

  Empowerment or Oppression? College Students’ Interpretations of Sex and Relationships in the Popular Media · 2026

• Although recent studies have suggested that social media sites play a crucial role in amplifying far-right ideas, the exact mechanisms by which this process occurs remain unclear.

  From Screens to Campuses: The Role of YouTube in Shaping Far-Right Activism Among University Students in North America · 2026 · DOI

• Although digital media scholarship across African contexts is growing, how content creators negotiate, conform to, or challenge norms of femininity online remains understudied.

  Constructing Ideal Femininity: Beauty Representation by Kenyan Female TikTok Creators in the Digital Sphere · 2026 · DOI

• Claims here concern male, heterosexual incel communities, which dominate the empirical literature; female incel (“femcel”) communities remain under-researched and are not the focus of this article.

  The psychology of incels: a dual-pathways framework for mental health, ideology, and harm · 2026 · DOI

• Youth are often positioned as lacking – lacking experience, lacking knowledge, lacking awareness, lacking control, specifically with gender and sexuality.

  Discursive forces of gender and sexuality–both in fiction and reality: as told by teens · 2025 · DOI

• However, the occurrence of abusive interactions, such as non-consensual sexting, warrants attention.

  Emotionally Tough, Sexting Rough: Relationship Between Callous Unemotional Traits and Aggravated Sexting in 11 Countries · 2025 · DOI

• Showing that racial/ethnic authenticity is insufficient for addressing the concerns the #OwnVoices movement raises, this essay supplies a new direction and language that this movement and those sharing its concern might turn toward.

  Debating #OwnVoices: Racial/Ethnic Authenticity, Controlling Images, and Gang Life in Erika T. Wurth’s You Who Enter Here · 2024 · DOI

• However, playful promotion in the field of HPV immunization has not been explored.

  Campaign Governance and Playfulness: Unraveling Chinese HPV Immunization Promotion Efforts on Douyin · 2024 · DOI

• Women face concerns such as fear of judgment and backlash when sharing online. Women must navigate self-imposed standards for sharing, including the need for logical coherence. Women's voices are subject to heightened scrutiny and are more likely to be dismissed, questioned, or criticized when made public.

  "Without AI, I Would Never Share This Online": Unpacking How LLMs Catalyze Women's Sharing of Gendered Experiences on Social Media · 2026 · DOI

• The study identifies a gap in prior research on women's online expression, highlighting the need to consider self-imposed standards and perceived risks of speaking up. The study addresses this gap by examining how interactions with LLMs support women's sharing of gendered experiences.

  "Without AI, I Would Never Share This Online": Unpacking How LLMs Catalyze Women's Sharing of Gendered Experiences on Social Media · 2026 · DOI

• The gap is the lack of understanding of the role of hashtags in digital activism. The gap is the lack of understanding of the specific uses and applications of femitags.

  Capítulo 5. Femitags: los hashtags como caja de herramientas para el activismo feminista · 2026 · DOI

• The gap in understanding the discourse on prostitution in the manosphere. The lack of research on the forum for prostitution clients in the context of the manosphere.

  Exploring the manosphere’s discourse on prostitution: unraveling masculine self-perceptions · 2026 · DOI

• The study identifies a gap in the understanding of how regulatory frameworks interact with industry practices to influence the portrayal of bold dressing and intimacy. The research highlights the need for more effective enforcement of indecency guidelines.

  Bold Dressing and Intimate Scenes in Pakistani Dramas: A Qualitative Study of PEMRA Guidelines and Channel Practices · 2026 · DOI

• While this study provides a detailed qualitative analysis of regulatory erosion and visual aesthetics in Pakistani dramas, certain limitations must be acknowledged: 1. Absence of Producer Perspectives: A primary con- straint of this research is the lack of primary data from industry professionals, such as directors, producers, and scriptwriters. Their subjective rationale for “crea- tive workarounds” could provide deeper insights into the commercial-regulatory conflict. 2. Subjectivity in Interpretation: As a qualitative study focused on visual semiotics, the interpretation of “bold- ness” or “sensuality” is inherently subjective and influ- enced by the researchers’ socio-cultural perspective. 3. Lack of Quantitative Data: The study does not employ quantitative methods, such as frequency counts or large- scale audience surveys, which limits the ability to sta- tistically generalize the findings across the entire media industry. 4. Genre Specificity: By focusing exclusively on romantic dramas, the study excludes other genres like social-issue dramas or comedy, where regulatory compliance pat- terns might differ. 5. Non-representative Audience Data: The reliance on social media comments captures only the vocal segment of the digital audience. Due to the lack of demographic data (age, gender, socioeconomic status) of these com- menters, the findings regarding audience sentiment should be viewed as exploratory rather than a definitive measure of broad audience polarization. Future Research Future studies should incorporate semi- structured interviews with media executives and PEMRA officials to bridge the gap between production intent and regulatory enforcement. Additionally, a mixed-methods approach combining content analysis with audience sur- veys would help quantify the “cultivation” effect on different demographic groups in Pakistan.

  Bold Dressing and Intimate Scenes in Pakistani Dramas: A Qualitative Study of PEMRA Guidelines and Channel Practices · 2026 · DOI

• The gap in research on internalized misogyny, which has focused on hostile and hateful speech directed at women. The lack of understanding of how pro-women discourse can become a disciplinary environment that reproduces patriarchal femininity norms.

  “In the Name of Pro-Women”: Intra-Women Surveillance and Internalized Misogyny in Digital East Asia · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should continue to explore the mechanisms behind online sexual violence and the social infrastructure that supports it. Studies should investigate how to prevent, disrupt, and prosecute online rape communities.

  The Truly Horrific Face of Masculinity: Unravelling the Phenomenon of a Global Online Rape Academy · 2026 · DOI

• The paper identifies a gap in understanding the broader mechanisms that contribute to online sexual violence, beyond individual pathology. The study highlights the need to explore the social infrastructure that supports online rape communities.

  The Truly Horrific Face of Masculinity: Unravelling the Phenomenon of a Global Online Rape Academy · 2026 · DOI

• The lack of understanding of how digital fitness culture operates as a digital-age terrain of subject formation. The need to examine how discourses on sport and the body are constructed in the Instagram content of fitness influencers in Turkey.

  Disciplining and self-regulating the body on instagram: A Foucauldian discourse analysis of Fitfluencers in Turkey · 2026 · DOI

• No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. The study is limited to the analysis of the Barbie movie. The paper does not provide a comprehensive review of all relevant literature.

  BARBIE AND THE FRAUDULENT REALITY: How can Critical Gender Discourse have an Impact on Mass Audience, and Dreams? · 2026 · DOI

• Further study is needed to fully understand the implications of the Barbie movie for gender discourse. Future research could analyze the impact of other cultural artifacts on gender discourse. The study's findings could be applied to the development of more inclusive and diverse representations of gender in media.

  BARBIE AND THE FRAUDULENT REALITY: How can Critical Gender Discourse have an Impact on Mass Audience, and Dreams? · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Gender, Feminism, and Media

• Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: teenagers' use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression · New Media & Society · 2008 · 1,075 citations
• The Decomposition of Effects in Path Analysis · American Sociological Review · 1975 · 1,025 citations
• Post‐feminism and popular culture · Feminist Media Studies · 2004 · 1,000 citations
• #Gamergate and The Fappening: How Reddit’s algorithm, governance, and culture support toxic technocultures · New Media & Society · 2015 · 861 citations
• We Are What We Post? Self-Presentation in Personal Web Space · Journal of Consumer Research · 2003 · 857 citations
• Cultural Feminism versus Post-Structuralism: The Identity Crisis in Feminist Theory · Signs · 1988 · 729 citations
• Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research · Sex Roles · 2014 · 693 citations
• Digital Ethnography · Sociology · 2008 · 617 citations
• ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn · Media Culture & Society · 2013 · 605 citations
• Post-postfeminism?: new feminist visibilities in postfeminist times · Feminist Media Studies · 2016 · 604 citations

Most recent work

• AI-generated image-based sexual abuse: Perpetration and consumption across three regions · Computers in Human Behavior · 2026
• Between guidelines and guilt: Parenting through the chaos of screen-time discourse · Media Culture & Society · 2026
• Taking off masks and vocalising menopause · The Sociological Review · 2026
• Postfeminism with Chinese characteristics: the rise of the postfeminist intellectual celebrity in digital China · Feminist Media Studies · 2026
• AI Loves Boobies: Unpacking Harmful Imaginaries in Community-Based Generative AI · 2026
• On Designing Visceral Encounters with Synthetic Intimate Imagery · 2026
• Gender equity policy and visibility politics in the film and television industries · Policy & Politics · 2026
• Digital pathways of culture: technoscape, mediascape, and the reconfiguration of Osing identity in Banyuwangi · International Review of Sociology · 2026
• Navigating Tokenism: Peer Dynamics, Gendered Hostility, and Career Longevity among Taiwanese Women Seafarers · Australian Feminist Studies · 2026
• Rage as a strategy of weak resistance and creative power in women’s protests and digital activism in postsocialist Poland · Feminist Media Studies · 2026

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