Social media and feminism in the construction of social capital: The national female communicators network in Spain

Abstract

In the context of the fourth wave of the feminist movement, this study analyzes the results of the Las Periodistas Paramos cyber-activist collective action that arose in Spain in connection with the 8M strike of 2018. Based on a review of the literature, in-depth interviews and content analysis, the new forms of organization, group norms and information networks developed by the collective are described. The results show that, through the creation of a network structure, the collective action of Las Periodistas Paramos surpasses the initial objectives for which it was conceived. When it achieves consensus around a feminist identity that did not exist before, it reaches a higher level of organization and a representative institutionality of its own, with the dynamization and support of the formal and informal associative network. It is concluded that the strength of the links created by the social capital of Las Periodistas Paramos in online social networks allows the debate on issues that affect women to transcend the digital space and involve new actors committed to public discussion.