Tit-For-Tat Media: The Contentious Bodies and Sex Imagery of Political Activism

By Katrien Jacobs

This book examines the visual-sexual turn in social media discourses in the field of online activism with a particular focus on the extraordinary protest years of 2018-2020.

Presenting a socially engaged theory of "tit-for-tat media" and including case-studies on activist movements such as the Euro-American alt-right, the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, and revolutionary artists in China, this study reveals how visual cultures, including gendered or sexualized imagery, are utilized to influence public perception. By presenting in-depth explorations of online ethnography, interviews with activists and studies of the political histories and urban protests-environments, the volume uncovers how local artists, netizens and citizens are using media and digital imagery in contemporary activism.

Covering a broad spectrum of social media content, from hyper-cute manga and cartoons to satirical pornography and sexualized hate-speech, it will be of huge interest to students and scholars of media and communication studies, political communication, sexuality and gender studies.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0367740419
• ISBN13: 9780367740412
• Release Date: June 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 122 Pages
• Weight: 0.43 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.1" x 9.2"