“Do It Fuh d’Gram” The Influence of Gender Dynamics on the Content of Social Media Influencers and Consumers in Trinidad & Tobago
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2026
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This PhD thesis examines how gender dynamics shape the practices and experiences of Social Media Influencers (SMIs) and the responses of their consumer followers within the SMI domain in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T). It analyses discourse in SMI produced content and draws on narrative interviews with both SMIs and consumers.
Research shows that SMIs with marginalised identities, such as women, those outside the Global North, and those racialised or disabled, often face harmful gendered feedback online. This backlash shapes how they present themselves and influence within the SMI domain. Some self censor, while others resist through self expression. Scholars have called for deeper exploration of how consumers, brands, and social media platforms shape these dynamics, particularly at the intersections of multiple identities.
Guided by Crenshaw’s intersectionality framework and Caribbean feminist scholarship, this study uses two data stages: (1) a Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of content from 40 SMIs, and (2) narrative interviews with 21 SMIs and 20 consumers, all drawn from this original sample.
Findings, presented across three articles, show how SMIs negotiate identity, challenge gendered expectations, and shape influence within the SMI domain. The thesis offers theoretical, practical, and methodological contributions to SMI gender marketing, social marketing, and Global South scholarship.
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