Gender, intimacy and power: digital media usage in romantic interactions in Chilean youth

Abstract

This paper explores the practices and meanings Chilean university students (N = 60) deploy in their digitally-mediated romantic relationships and the gendered normativity that governs these interactions. We use a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews. Our results evidenced the persistence of gendered codes that restrict the expression of female sexuality, which demonstrates how inequalities of symbolic power are reinforced in the virtual realm.