Hashtag feminism across time: a semantic network analysis of discursive evolution on X

The boom in social media has rendered hashtags an effective means through which digital users discuss gender issues and articulate support for women’s rights. While existing studies have converged on static analyses of specific hashtags or movements, relatively few have explored how hashtag feminism discourse evolves over time in digital spaces. To address this gap, the present study applies semantic network analysis to reveal the evolution of network features and discursive themes of hashtagged posts on X from 2013 to 2024. The analysis also explores how the collective identities of participants engaging with hashtag feminism discourse are constructed and transformed. Results show a thematic transition from an initial emphasis on gender equality and racial intersectional topics to issues concerning body politics, global solidarity and intersectionality. The collective identities constructed through discourse have also transformed across three stages: (a) advocates for gender equality and racial intersectionality from 2013 to 2016; (b) proactive advocates for women’s bodily autonomy from 2017 to 2020; and (c) global solidarity practitioners emerging from transnational support and debates on intersectionality from 2021 to 2024. This study provides a dynamic and diachronic perspective for analysing hashtag feminism discourse and the ongoing negotiation of collective identities in digital spaces.