POTENTIAL GENDER BIAS IN PUBLIC RESPONSES TO CRITICISM OF FAMILY COMMUNICATION PRACTICES: A COLLECTIVE REFLECTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

This study aims to analyze gender bias themes that surfaced in replies to @Denald on the social media platform X and the cognitive process using gender schema theory. A qualitative netnographic approach was used to analyze the research thoroughly. The results show that there are four gender bias themes: Gendered Addressing and Insults, Gendered Expectations and Stereotypes, Motherhood Policing, and Religious-Based Silencing. These four themes are interconnected in constructing a collective social standard and control in which gender schema is internalized. Unexpected findings also show that a combination of gender schema and religious norms was used to silence opinions, surveillance and control were given to the actor who did motherhood policing itself as a practice, and there was resistance to the standard of the ideal mother. This research shows that social media is a public digital platform that strengthens and accelerates the reproduction of digital gender bias, and also shows the phenomenon of resistance to the standard that is not fair to mothers.

Keywords: Gender Schema, Gender Bias, Motherhood Policing, Family Communication, Social Media X