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Hate Speech and Polarization Around the "Trans Law" in Spain
[journal article]
Abstract The approval of the law for the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people (the Trans Law) has been one of the most controversial legislative actions in recent years; however, there is very little knowledge about the public’s perception of the iss... view more
The approval of the law for the real and effective equality of trans people and for the guarantee of the rights of LGTBI people (the Trans Law) has been one of the most controversial legislative actions in recent years; however, there is very little knowledge about the public’s perception of the issue and how they express their opinions in the public sphere. Supporters of the law consider that the free determination of gender is essential to end discrimination against trans people, while critics express hate speech that can be a precursor to violent actions. This work aims to fill a gap, studying the relationship between the perceptions of a controversial and polarizing issue and their public expression through social media. The main objective is to analyze the public’s perception, with special attention to age, gender, and political ideology, and compare it with the hate speech posted on Twitter. The methodology presents a survey of citizens and the use of computational methods to analyze Twitter messages with a machine-learning algorithm that classifies them as hate or not hate. The results indicate that the majority (80.1%) support the approval of the law, while those close to left and center political ideologies favor the law more than those who define themselves as right-wing. There are no significant differences according to age. Of the messages analyzed, 9.7% were classified as hate.... view less
Keywords
Spain; transsexualism; act; twitter; polarization; social media; hate; language usage; affirmative action; public opinion
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
Media Contents, Content Analysis
Interactive, electronic Media
Free Keywords
LGTBI; Trans Law; hate speech; public perception; transphobia
Document language
English
Publication Year
2023
Page/Pages
p. 187-197
Journal
Politics and Governance, 11 (2023) 2
Issue topic
Hate Speech, Demonization, Polarization, and Political Social Responsibility
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed