Femitags in the networks and in the streets: 50 hashtags for feminist activism in Latin America

Abstract

The aim of this article is to characterize the main hashtags of Mexican feminist activism as part of the Latin American connected crowds, on the basis of a review of the most popular trends between 2016 and 2021 on Twitter. A total of 50 hashtags have been selected that, due to their repeated use, are characterized as femitags, that is, performative meta-discursive identifiers that mainly do three things: disseminate and tune in to frames of protest; extend women’s voices and slogans; and mobilize synchronic, diachronic, and transnational repertoires of collective action. These femitags appear in situated contexts, usually around events such as new cases of violence against women and calls to take to the streets, but with their extension, they become meta-communicative labels that articulate different activist practices. This study reveals not only their functions, but also their role as articulators of networked mobilizations, demonstrating the profound online and real-life intertwining of the fourth wave of Mexican, Latin American, and Spanish-speaking feminism.