Diatribes in the Gender Communication of Muslim Youth TikTok Influencers in Parts of Northern Nigeria
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Abstract
This study explored the use of TikTok by Muslim youth influencers in Northern Nigeria and the diatribes it is generating. The study categorized the discursive strategies used in the diatribes and identified the types, targets, and motives of the diatribes. It also explained the gender roles in the diatribes from an Islamic perspective. Discursive psychology was applied to analyse 12 purposively selected TikTok videos. The key findings showed that loud, confrontational, and highly emotive diatribes, including personal attacks on anonymous social media users, institutions, and women, were used to express binary oppositions. The discursive strategies used included denying prejudice, honest phrases, scapegoating, authority, emotional appeal, and polarization. A variety of emotional and social motives were traced through the clips, viz: personal defence, revenge, identity construction, and moral performance. Gender recurred as a conflicting theme across the diatribes and reinforced patriarchal gender norms, except in a few cases. The study concluded that TikTok diatribes among Northern Nigerian Muslim youth influencers are a complex mix of gendered, moral, and social anxieties. These are projected through performance outrage, satire, and reflection, which portray social media as a public morality theatre where individuals navigate identity, shame, and power using highly emotional and symbolic language.
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