Using social media for political image: A multimodal critical discourse analysis on the use of Facebook for political identity and gender performance

• Main Author: Samia, Kimberly C.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2018
• Subjects: Internet in political campaigns—Philippines; Gender identity—Political aspect—Philippines; Transgender legislators—Philippines; Geraldine Roman
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6547; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=13555&context=etd_masteral
• Institution: De La Salle University

ABSTRACT This research looks at the Facebook page of Congresswoman Geraldine Roman, the first transgender politician elected in the Philippines. The multi-modal critical discourse analysis aims to explore how social media enables Cong. Roman to manipulate her political image with the use of visual and textual modes. The research posits that creating media texts related to one’s political identity and gender performance will stimulate a desired political image. By using critical discourse analysis in reading the posts, the researcher was able to infer that posts that exhibit her advocacies and legislations, and personal life saliently reflects how Cong. Geraldine Roman would like to present her political image. Twenty organic posts with the highest engagement were analyzed according to Fairclough’s 1995 model of Critical Discourse Analysis. The research finds out that that Roman capitalizes on her gender identity to sell her advocacies to boost her political image. She uses her political agency, as not to wholly uplift the morale of Filipino transwomen, but to ride on current issues on LGBT discrimination for political opportunism. Moreover, her inconsistent stances on relevant human rights issues and her tendency to politically turncoat, reveal an inkling of insincerity on her political motives.