Gender, identity and power: representations of women and men in social media narratives on migration

This article presents a comparative analysis of digital news on migration published by Spanish and Moroccan media on X and Facebook. Based on a quantitative content analysis of 1,537 posts, it explores how online narratives reproduce or challenge symbolic inequalities related to gender, power, and identity. The findings reveal that media discourse on migration is characterized by an overrepresentation of institutional actors, political leaders, and security frames, which reduces the visibility of individual women and reinforces persistent hierarchies. This dynamic contributes to the dehumanization of migrants and reproduces power asymmetries in public narratives. Nevertheless, emerging representations of women linked to human rights, integration, and participation suggest new spaces for female agency that reframe migration as an intersectional space beyond traditional portrayals of victimization. The study argues that social media function as a digital border of visibility, where media routines and gendered imaginaries shape identities and public recognition.