From dealing to influencing: Online marketing of cannabis on Instagram
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From dealing to influencing : Online marketing of cannabis on Instagram. / Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Harder, Sidsel Kirstine.
In: Crime, Media, Culture, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2023, p. 135-157.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - From dealing to influencing
T2 - Online marketing of cannabis on Instagram
AU - Bakken, Silje Anderdal
AU - Harder, Sidsel Kirstine
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - In this paper we argue that legal and technological shifts in cannabis marketing has a gendered impact, which research so far has ignored. Despite high variations in national criminal laws, US-based social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter play a huge role in enforcing certain social and political standpoints on a global scale. One example being the recent legalization and commercialization of cannabis in various states in the US. Young men with dark, anonymous profiles illegally dealing cannabis on social media are no longer the only visible traders, as today's marketing of trademarked legal cannabis products also features women influencers, who post images exhibiting light colors, desirable environments, and beautiful landscapes. To understand this diversity, we compared 60 Instagram profiles of illegal Swedish cannabis sellers to 70 US-based cannabis influencers' Instagram profiles. By applying theories and research from media scholars on influencing, we highlight various changes in the way cannabis is being presented and professionalized by a new group of actors. Our findings show that cannabis influencers on Instagram are changing the stereotypical characteristics of illegal cannabis culture as being almost entirely dominated by men, to one where cannabis is represented as a desirable accessory in certain feminine lifestyles. Influencers' role in transforming cannabis culture to become more mainstream and acceptable for women could potentially effect cannabis cultures globally, as well as ongoing legalization debates.
AB - In this paper we argue that legal and technological shifts in cannabis marketing has a gendered impact, which research so far has ignored. Despite high variations in national criminal laws, US-based social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter play a huge role in enforcing certain social and political standpoints on a global scale. One example being the recent legalization and commercialization of cannabis in various states in the US. Young men with dark, anonymous profiles illegally dealing cannabis on social media are no longer the only visible traders, as today's marketing of trademarked legal cannabis products also features women influencers, who post images exhibiting light colors, desirable environments, and beautiful landscapes. To understand this diversity, we compared 60 Instagram profiles of illegal Swedish cannabis sellers to 70 US-based cannabis influencers' Instagram profiles. By applying theories and research from media scholars on influencing, we highlight various changes in the way cannabis is being presented and professionalized by a new group of actors. Our findings show that cannabis influencers on Instagram are changing the stereotypical characteristics of illegal cannabis culture as being almost entirely dominated by men, to one where cannabis is represented as a desirable accessory in certain feminine lifestyles. Influencers' role in transforming cannabis culture to become more mainstream and acceptable for women could potentially effect cannabis cultures globally, as well as ongoing legalization debates.
KW - Cannabis
KW - drugs
KW - marketing
KW - legalization
KW - social media
KW - GENDER
KW - MEDIA
KW - POSTS
U2 - 10.1177/17416590221081166
DO - 10.1177/17416590221081166
M3 - Journal article
VL - 19
SP - 135
EP - 157
JO - Crime, Media, Culture
JF - Crime, Media, Culture
SN - 1741-6590
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 304365986