Communicating Gender: On GEMINI as a European Cultural Counter-Narrative

Description

This paper reflects on GEMINI’s communicative practices through social media, addressing the challenges of disseminating research in an era of digital abundance. While the goal of research dissemination is to inform the public about publicly funded activities, breaking through on platforms governed by opaque algorithms and evolving digital media practices has become increasingly difficult.

GEMINI’s focus on gender issues and popular series drama offers a fertile ground for both constructive critique and provocative debate. However, the shift towards lower direct engagement and increased “viewer practices” on social media necessitates evaluating GEMINI’s social media success by reach rather than engagement.

The counter-cultural politics of GEMINI pose significant dissemination challenges, particularly for young adult audiences on platforms like TikTok. Additionally, recent changes in social media ownership, such as Twitter/X, complicate the presentation of liberal views on gender. GEMINI must balance maintaining research credibility with the need to engage in contemporary political and cultural debates.

This paper does not present best practices but instead offers an open reflection on the difficulties of research dissemination today. By examining GEMINI’s communication strategies, we highlight the effectiveness of gender issues and serial drama in online communication while acknowledging the political and industrial challenges that hinder the presentation of liberal views on gender identities. Recent changes in the political climate around gender identities underscore increasing difficulties of presenting research as an open-minded counter-narrative to traditionalist mind-frames around gender.

Period	10 Apr 2025
Event title	GEMINI-SCAPES: Detecting the Interplay Between Serial Dramas, Gender Issues, and European Young Audiences
Event type	Conference
Location	Rom, ItalyShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International