Mapping Homophobia and Transphobia on Social Media

Abstract

Introduction. One of the consequences of the increase in the number of social network users has been the inappropriate use of social networks by some of these users. Hate speeches are frequently identified on social media, and these promote certain homophobic and transphobic attitudes, causing psychological consequences on users belonging to minority gender groups. With this work, it is intended to know the current state of the problem raised, to facilitate the activity of new researchers in an emerging field. Methodology. Bibliographic analysis of 203 papers from the Scopus databases for the period between 1997 and 2022 using the VOSViewer software. The search for publications was carried out in February 2023. Results. There is a positive trend in the number of relevant publications since 2017, mainly in 2021 and 2022. The research on homophobia and transphobia on social media in USA is prominent, with a high number of published articles, productive organizations, and influential authors. Twitter is shown to be the social network most widely used to spread homotransphobic hate speech. Environments conducive to the development of homotransphobic attitudes are identified as collective sports, mainly football and its supporters, as well as peer groups. Conclusions. It is a growing problem that requires intervention at the societal level, requiring the development of legislation that moves away from heteronormativity, the development of mechanisms for automatic detection of homotransphobic discourse on social networks, and a multidisciplinary analysis and approach to control the problem as well as provide adequate social support to affected groups.