Queering families online: Investigating parenthood and transgression among same-sex parent influencers on Instagram

In Italy, issues of sexual politics have been at the forefront of contemporary political and societal debates, with the country torn between the growing visibility of LGBTQ+ civil rights and a conservative backlash to changes in family structures and roles. Traditional media either frame those outside of expected conformity as ‘other’ through stereotypical representations or impose silence through a lack thereof. In this scenario, digital media can offer an additional environment for expanding the definition of contemporary families and parenthood by affording transgressive subjectivities greater control over their own narratives. Through digital ethnography of ten accounts of LGBTQ+ Instagram parent influencers, the contribution investigates self-representations of both motherhood and fatherhood and differences and similarities in portraying same-sex parenting, LGBTQ+ family, and in dealing with networked antagonism. Such method emphasizes queer media practices and transgressive identities’ agency in defining themselves. Given the lack of symbolic LGBTQ+ figures and events in Italy, studying LGBTQ+ parent influencers can provide a glimpse into the cultural and social presence of these subjectivities. Preliminary results observe practices, embodiment, and display of transgression in the context of family and parenthood. On the one hand, the study highlights influencers’ emphasis on dismantling stereotypes that see queer parenthood as ‘other’ and selfish; on the other, it observes their effort to engage with questions of politics and advocacy work, due to a perceived duty to educate audiences. The contribution highlights potentials and limitations of transgression. It focuses on how parent-influencers negotiate and mitigate identity-based stigma and bias, embody activist roles for civil rights, and potentially grant Italians access to alternative models of gender and sexuality, offering representations of queer parenthood.