Privileged underdogs: the heterotopias and anti-political correctness of upper-class men in a Swedish digital space

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this article, we focus on a Swedish upper class digital space called The Good Society, where texts, videos and discussions are published. In this digital space the elite comes out publicly as underdogs in relation to the supposed hegemony of political correctness and the Swedish welfare ideology. The upper class take the position of protectors against the feminization of society and the crisis of masculinity. We argue that this space can be understood in terms of what Foucault described as a heterotopia, a form of peculiar counter-space. Using multi-sited digital ethnography we discern a playful mimicking of the state, the public, the media and public conversation. The article concludes that it is important to acknowledge and critically examine such playful and peculiar heterotopias as counter hegemonic strategies, in order to understand how digital spaces are political and serve right-wing, masculinist populist mobilization.