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This paper reflects on the three main ethical challenges we faced when conducting digital ethnography in three autism Brazilian communities on Facebook: how to position oneself as a researcher, how to deal with the identity of participants, and how to manage data when anonymity is not enforced. After careful consideration of these issues and taking into consideration questions of authorship and vulnerability, we concluded that, firstly, as researchers, we wanted to be more than mere observers of our participants so we aimed for a mutual sharing and involvement between participants and researchers. Secondly, we believe that voice and authorship matter, so we gave our interviewees the choice of being anonymised or not. Finally, we had in mind that our participants may not be fully aware of the consequences of academic publishing, therefore sensitive topics as well as data gathered in the communities were always anonymised.

This article investigates how LGBTI topics are framed in the news and who is given a voice in this coverage by analysing the Dutch-speaking Belgian press. An inductive framing analysis and quantitative content analysis were applied on 1570 articles about LGBTI topics published in 2021 by 13 Dutch-language news outlets. Seven inclusive and two exclusionary frames were discerned. The study shows that primarily gay men serve as voices of the LGBTI community. The findings also indicate that articles are more likely to be framed inclusively when they cite LGBTI people or organisations. Building on the politics of voice and the concepts of valuable and inclusive journalism, this paper argues for journalists and academics to focus on voices that remain unheard in journalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Research shows that older people tend to not only be underrepresented on television (TV), but also to be represented within a number of fixed types. These correspond to cultural myths about ageing, which emphasise vulnerability and decline but also increasingly stress the individual's responsibility for successful ageing. This paper analyses the representation of older people on Flemish public TV, using qualitative content analysis to identify patterns of representation in a sample of 44 programmes broadcast in 2019 and 2020, including the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. To complement our own analysis, we also interviewed eight experts on ageing. Our research shows that representations of older people on Flemish public TV tend to gravitate towards two types related to different age groups: vulnerable and passive old-old people (over 80 years old), particularly those in nursing homes who feature prominently in reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic; and dynamic and active young-old people (65–80 years old), connected to the ideals of successful ageing. The two predominant types correspond to cultural myths about ageing and are also connected to recurrent themes: sexual intimacy, loneliness and death. Our research highlights the need for a more diverse representation, reflecting the variety of individual life conditions and the functional age of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most meat-related research focuses on binary differences between men and women, ignoring differences within both genders. Through an online survey (N = 870), we investigate meat consumption behavior and how this is related to gender identity and new masculinity norms. The results confirm differences in meat consumption behavior between men and women, but also disclose more complicated differences within both groups, related to gender identity and agreement with masculinity norms. The findings also highlight the link between masculinity and red meat in particular, compared to white meat. The implications of this study for improving personal and environmental health are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides insight on the perceived importance Flemish producers attach to including sexual and gender diversity in their productions targeting children. Drawing on the frameworks of the 'production ecology', 'cultures of production' and 'queer production studies', this article considers the different internal and external influences that might impact why and how producers depict these LGBT+ narratives. Through qualitative in-depth interviews with different involved parties of these production processes, this article first and foremost demonstrates a unanimous, strong advocacy for diversified representations by all the participants. The formative role of television in informing and evoking empathy among children, as well as parents as an implicit secondary audience, are primary objectives when creating these narratives. However, the approach to this didactic premise differs for the public broadcaster compared with the commercial channels and is further nuanced in relation to the perceived cognitive abilities of children as an audience. In particular, sexual diversity is approached differently compared with non-normative gender expressions (e.g. transgender characters), the latter being perceived as (too) complex within a child's frame of reference. The current production ecology has thus facilitated the recurrence of certain storylines and characters, while others remain underrepresented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides critical insights into the inclusion of sexual minorities in Flemish fictional TV shows aimed at children. Narratives including LGBT+ characters and non-normative gender performances have gained presence, and especially Nordic and Dutch productions have been acknowledged for their inclusive storytelling. Following up on this premise, our study analyzes five Flemish programs aimed at children aged six to twelve, which all include at least one character who identifies as LGBT+. Our analysis concludes that Flemish children's productions show a visible willingness to include diversified and inclusive storytelling. However, the assimilationist venture of minimizing the 'otherness' of non-heterosexual characters has led to a rather homogenous and normative portrayal of these characters. More stereotypical representations like frivolous singing hairdressers have now been replaced by rather heteronormative and gender-conforming characters. Not confining representations to either end of the spectrum are a necessity if Flemish children's television wants its audience to understand the diversified range of sexual and gender identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on theory from entertainment experiences and (narrative) persuasion research, this study investigates destigmatizing responses to a genre-hybrid (human-interest and stand-up comedy) nonfiction television program about minority groups. Using an online between-subjects experiment with 417 participants, we found that the combination of human-interest and stand-up comedy can simultaneously stimulate hedonic and eudaimonic experiences, and that this combination reduces trivialization, but not counterarguing responses compared to its separate genre components. Results also show that combining stand-up comedy with human-interest led to higher perceptions of self-efficacy regarding future intergroup contact with minorities, and that this relation was mediated via counterarguing and trivialization. This study is the first to show the potential and unique workings of hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment experiences to reduce resistance to persuasion to achieve destigmatizing outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses othering discourses in the news media coverage of an alleged homophobic murder in Belgium. The case study is based on a critical discourse analysis of news articles published in Dutch-speaking Belgian news media. Using the framework of homonationalism, this analysis finds that Belgium's LGBTI-friendly status is deeply anchored in the national identity. Discourses in mainstream news media following the murder appeal to a unified imagined community of Belgians based on the assumed shared value of tolerance. This LGBTI-friendly status spills over in the exclusionary discourse in right-wing alternative media towards groups that are represented as a homophobic threat outside the nation (Central and Eastern Europe) and within it (Muslims and migrants). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]