Back-to-Nature with technologies of the self: A critical mixed methods analysis of aestheticized ideologies on Instagram

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the intersection of natural health, masculinity, and far-right content creators in folkish Instagram to understand how far-right discourses not only euphemize and normalize through lifestyle content but create identities which seem desirable for participants. We do this by closely analyzing usernames and bios on Instagram, extending work which has focused on the visual element to more closely explore the creation of user personae with a both visual and textual elements. This paper draws on both a digital ethnography of 862 Instagram accounts and a critical mixed method analysis of 806 Instagram usernames and biographies. Our analysis of content and digital onomastics shows how terms from nature and health are used to create a positive image of whiteness in three steps: first to euphemize racist content as “white positive”, second it uses natural lifestyle and masculinity to build up “white positive content”. Finally, discourses of whiteness as natural and desirable are taken up in heroic personae by these users and demonstrated in their bios and usernames.