Rapport management and community building in audience reactions to rapport-challenging posts by manosphere influencers
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2026 |
| Druh | Vyžádané přednášky |
| Citace | |
| Popis | Previous research on the self-presentation of influencers (e.g., García-Rapp, 2016, Jerslev, 2016, Kováčová, 2022) shows that influencers employ specific discursive practices that emphasize relatability and intimacy to build and maintain harmonious relationships with their followers (or at least the illusion thereof). This talk, on the other hand, explores those situations when such relationships are potentially challenged by influencers themselves. Specifically, the attention is paid to audience reactions to rapport-challenging posts (e.g., posts containing threats directed at the audience) by high-profile manosphere influencers. Drawing on the rapport management framework (Spencer-Oatey, 2008), this talk examines two sets of comments – each reacting to a different rapport-challenging post by the same influencer – and identifies relevant multimodal resources and discursive practices commenters utilise. The analysis shows that as the two sets of comments predominantly hold opposing rapport orientations, different communities of shared values are found to have formed in each case. In this way, the study seeks to highlight the dynamicity of influencer-audience relationships and the role of contextual variables in rapport management as well as contribute to the growing body of research on online commentary. |