Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Double Bind of Digital Emotion: A Sociological Study of Gendered Emotional Expression among Women on Social Media

Qiaolin LuGuangdong Overseas Chinese High School International Curriculum*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

The present study proposes a qualitative study of how women navigate gendered emotional norms in social media. In an era where being online is intrinsically linked to one's identity, women often find themselves in a challenging position where they are encouraged to be authentic and emotionally open, but they are frequently penalized for expressing emotions like anger or uncontrollable distress that are deemed socially inappropriate for their gender. The research question explores social and psychological consequences of these performances, the ways female subjects handle their online presence of emotions, and the way they perceive social regulations of online emotional display. A digital ethnographic approach involving semi-structured interviews with young adult women will be used in this study to explore the lived experiences of expressing emotion in a digital mediated world. The projected results will carry significant implications in the spheres of gender studies, digital sociology, and emotion studies, as it will show how in traditional online condition, the traditional gender stereotypes are challenged and reproduced. This project is aimed to shed light on the unseen emotional labour of women in their day to day lives and its effect on their well-being and social identity.

Keywords: emotional labor; gender performativity; digital sociology; social media; emotional expression; double bind
Published: October 28, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.NE28619
Volume: CHR Vol.87
pp. 113-119
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