Gendered identities of female tropical fruit growers: The case of Instagram entrepreneurs in Turkey

Many farmers and investors have opted for tropical fruit growing in recent years due to these crops' nutritional and economic value in the global markets. Although agriculture in Turkey is dominated by small-scale family farmers (Başaran, 2020), female tropical fruit growers represent themselves as entrepreneurs, hence decision-makers on Instagram. Scholars working on the nexus of gender and media note that social media channels usually exacerbate traditional gender norms and roles, instead of empowering women (Duffy & Pruchniewska, 2017). By merging visual methodologies (Rose, 2016) and discourse analysis methods (Fairclough, 2001) with Goffman's dramaturgical analysis (1959), as well as based on a fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this research has attempted to find an answer to (i) why do female tropical fruit growers prefer using social media over other trade networks?, and (ii) how do they represent themselves around the product they are advertising? Accordingly, it has been found that female tropical fruit growers comply with their pre-given gender roles through posting on (i) healthy eating, (ii) elevated social class, (iii) strong family bonds, (iv) labor-intensive work, and (v) desire for more profits. It has also been identified that producing, selling, and marketing tropical fruits via Instagram is preferred since it ensures flexibility, thus helping maintain women's role overload in rural households (Brumfield & Ozkan, 2016). With these findings, this research has contributed to the intersection of the following two literatures: gender and media, and the neoliberalization of agriculture.