Chonis and pijas: Slut-shaming and double standards in online performances among Spanish teens
Abstract
In a context of demonization of the working class in Western societies, the choni has become an epitome of the female incarnation of the failed underclass in Spain. During our focus group discussions with 16- to 20-year-olds, girls evoked clear-cut images of the tasteless and sexualized choni as a stigma to avoid, in contrast with the more classy pija. This article deals with gender and class regarding sexual scrutiny on social media in Spain. Youngsters’ readings of the choni/pija eluded a socio-economic explanation, pointing to the ‘moral standards’ that chonis supposedly fail to attain. We argue that online spaces make it more difficult for chonis to avoid this omnipresent ‘double’ double standard.
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Biographies
Cilia Willem (PhD) is a visiting scholar at the Rovira and Virgili University, Spain, where she teaches Media and Communication. She was a board member of the ECREA Gender and Communication Section in 2015 and has researched the topic of young people, gender relationships and media for the last six years. She is the main editor of the Catalan Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies and guest editor for several journals, including Feminist Media Studies.
Núria Araüna (PhD) is a lecturer at the Rovira and Virgili University, Spain, teaching Journalism and Audiovisual Communication courses, and a member of the Asterisc Communication Research Group. Her PhD studied the representation of new femininities and sexual and affective relationships in music videos. She holds a Master’s degree in Creative Documentary and has participated in an action-research initiative consisting of a collaborative video project with women funded by the Catalan Women’s Institute. She has been involved in several journalism associations, and was a board member of the ECREA Young Scholars Network for a number of years.
Iolanda Tortajada (PhD) is senior lecturer of Communication Studies at the Rovira and Virgili University, Spain and member of the Asterisc Communication Research Group. Drawing mainly on Symbolic Interactionism, Cultural Studies and Feminist Media Studies, her research deals with the mediatization of gender and sexual identities, gender violence and media, and women’s appropriation of new technologies. She was Chair of the ECREA Gender and Communication Section from 2012 to 2016 and Associate Editor and Book Reviews Editor of the Catalan Journal of Communication and Cultural Studies.
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Article first published online: February 26, 2018
Issue published: June 2019
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