jerrymiemila

[jerrymiemila]

Billboard Philippines Returns; Hot 100, PH Top 20, PH Catalog, and PH Top Social 20 to Make a Comeback

Billboard, a music and entertainment magazine and brand, is back once again in the Philippines this year.

After it ceased operations in 2018, Billboard Philippines has officially been relaunched last October 15, under the new management, Modern Media Group in partnership with Penske Media Corporation.

Billboard PH promised to bring Filipino music to the global scene with their various offerings, such as media channels, including Soundwave, Volumes, and Studios; and music events, such as OPM Fest, Pride Summit, and Live Music Summit, among others.

However, the most anticipated in their return to the Philippine music industry is what they are known about: music charts. As announced on their website, Billboard PH will be publishing Philippines Hot 100, Philippines Top 20, Philippines Catalog, and Philippines Top Social 20, which will surely bring fierce competition amongst local musicians.

These local charts will not only showcase the preferences and tastes of Filipinos in music but also serve as an avenue for discovering new and old gems. Now, let’s take a look at how these music charts will introduce new and old Filipino music to the world.

Philippines Hot 100

This chart is the local counterpart of the renowned Hot 100. It highlights hottest locally consumed music across digital music platforms in the country, such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and YouTube Music, and iTunes.

Top local and international songs are ranked based on localized streaming data, digital downloads, and video plays.

Philippines Top 20

Unlike the Hot 100, this chart focuses on local music that are to go to by Filipinos. It recognizes songs that are popular and successful across digital music platforms in the country.

Similar to Hot 100, it aggregates rank based on localized data from Spotify, YouTube and YouTube Music, Apple Music, and iTunes.

Philippines Catalog

Paying homage to classics, this chart will bring local songs that are timeless in the music scene.

It will serve as a platform for music that has been released more than three years ago but are still presently making noises across digital music platforms.

Philippines Top Social 20

When music is effective, it translates to following across social media platforms. This chart is the counterpart of the renowned Social 50 chart. It looks at the most followed and most talked about music artists across different social media platforms (Facebook, X, Wikipedia, etc.).

If this chart follows the same method as the Social 50 chart, it will rank music artists based on the following: Followers, mentions, and retweets on X; People Talking About This (PTAT) and likes on Facebook; and Wikipedia views.

However, in this ranking, Social 50 considers the following criteria: addition of fans (60%), views or plays (30%), and reaction (10%).

The relaunch of Billboard PH is a significant step in promoting and supporting local artists, offering them an avenue to showcase Filipino music. With these charts, local artists will be able to gain more exposure and recognition, while fans can stay updated on what’s latest in the local music scene.

[jerrymiemila]

Happiest Memory: Unwinding in the Middle of Wilderness

Unwind—many people are not alienated from this word. Perhaps most, if not all, had experienced it for once in their lives. Some do it to ease their stress, while others do it to simply relax. And you are right, my happiest memory in life is connected to this very word.

University life has not been easy for me. As someone who is introverted, socializing with a lot of people always drains me the reason why I only maintain a small number of friends. Plus, the academic burden that I have to carry every single day, which resulted for me to look like I was going to die at any moment. However, unwinding always helps me free my mind from the endless burden in socializing and in academics. And our ways of unwinding is to always go swim and relax in a cold spring far from the bustling city. It sounds plain and simple, but what makes it really the happiest memory?

First and foremost, the place is uncrowded. Unlike the places I had been to before, such in the university and in the city, the feeling an uncrowded place gives me is just incomparable. It is as if you can move freely—you can move as if no one is watching and judging you. Hence, enjoying my time alone is a granted privilege that I am most grateful to have as an introvert.

Second, the surrounding is lushed with green colors. They say that environment affects our well-being, and it is true. Thus, I always wonder why the enjoyment you get from being in the wilderness is always different from being out in the woods. It hits me that being out of touch from reality for a moment could give you a relaxing feeling and a thought that you are free from the endless chaos of the world.

Lastly, every moment you make is shared with your friends. Being with friends gives me freedom—freedom to do things that I love, and to be out in the open. It also gives me a sense of security and comfort that whenever I am with them, I would be the safest. And of course, apart from that, it is always assured that the time spent together will always be the most memorable and the happiest.

The happiest memory of my life, for some, may be superficial, but the experience unwinding with your most trusted friends in an uncrowded place surrounded by an environment lushed with green colors had given me was enough for me to call it my happiest memory in life. Other people may think of other things as their happiest memory in life; however, I always believe that the happiest memory lies always in the most memorable experience.

[jerrymiemila]

Discourse Approaches: In the Lens of Big ‘D’ discourse and small ‘d’ discourse

How should discourse approaches be categorized? Many authors would respond to it differently. It can be noted that many authors categorized the approaches to discourse not in the same way. For instance, Cook (1989) structured the approaches to discourse as a product and as a process. Other authors have also their consideration on what they think should be the approaches to discourse, such as categorizing them between descriptive and critical. However, it remained the fact that the approach to discourse is not fixed as it depends on how authors view discourse as a whole. Discourses, in its nature, can either be spoken or written; general or specific. Hence, it is ideal to categorize the approaches to discourse in this premise to understand its forms, scope, and interrelationships.

Approaches to discourse might involve language above or beyond the sentence; however, the whole concept of discourse itself is not just limited to the concept provided in the field of linguistics. As stipulated by the National Open University of Nigeria (n.d.), different disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology, among others, engages in the study of discourse; thus, scholars from these fields may see or analyze discourse differently. Although it is important to consider that these disciplines contribute to the conceptualization of discourse as a whole, having a particular focus is seeing how a particular field contributes and helps in understanding the ways of saying, doing, and being.

In categorizing approaches to discourse in a specific discipline, specifically in the field of linguistic itself, a comprehensive analysis of discourse starts with separating the small ‘d’ discourse from big ‘D’ discourse. It is to gain an understanding of how language is being used in different contexts for different purposes. Focusing on the specific linguistic features and strategies used in small ‘d’ discourse, insights will be gained into how language is used to create meaning and establish coherence at a local level. Patterns and trends in language use will be identified, as well as provide insights into the ways that language reflects and shapes social and cultural norms. Henceforth, separating small ‘d’ discourse from big ‘D’ discourse allows us to better understand the complex interplay between language and society.

In the illustration of approaches to discourse stipulated in the model, the categorization is following the top-down approach. It starts with big ‘D’ discourse as it encompasses a larger discourse; thus, captures the ways individuals act out and conceive socially and historically significant identities affected by various, well-integrated, and overlapping contexts (Gee, 2015). What follows under the big ‘D’ discourse is the Corpus-Assisted Discourse Analysis. In nature, CADA is a method that is meant to collect a large number of corpus which contains Discourses and discourses. Under both the big ‘D’ discourse and CADA, small ‘d’ discourse is seen where context becomes the central point of the approaches that follow. It is worth noting that discourse can help elaborate the context while context can help interpret the utterances in the discourse; hence, the knowledge of context is the premise of the analysis of discourse (Song, 2010).

Discourses as explained can either be spoken or written, and there are several reasons why it is useful to categorize discourse as either spoken or written. The medium of communication differs from spoken to written which affects the way language is produced and received, and can impact the structure, style, and content of the discourse. Spoken and written also differ in their linguistic features. Spoken discourse often includes more informal language, such as slang, contractions, and colloquial expressions. Written discourse, on the other hand, often includes more formal language, such as complex sentence structures and technical terminologies. The categorization from written to spoken would specify the approaches that are useful for thorough analysis of discourses. Under the spoken discourse, the approaches to be used are the analysis of pragmatics to discourse and conversational analysis. Pragmatics to discourse is essential in conversational analysis. These two approaches represent two different windows on the phenomenon of conversation, with each illuminating a different aspect of it. However, taking these various perspectives together will lead to a comprehensive understanding of what people are doing when they engage in conversation and how they cope with the unique challenges of spoken discourse. On the other hand, under written discourse, approaches that can be used are the analysis of texts and analysis of genre. These approaches are commonly focused on investigating corpus that are texts in nature. Although it may be the case, there is an interrelationship between written and spoken discourses.

While spoken discourse is innately spoken, when transcribed, can make a set of texts; hence, corpus, which can then be analyzed under the approach of textual or genre analysis, such as identifying features and determining patterns. These texts from conversation can also be analyzed using the approach of pragmatics and conversation analysis, such as identifying speech acts, politeness strategies, and framing strategies. While these approaches are interrelated, there are also approaches that are both under spoken and written discourse, such as mediated discourse analysis and multi-modal discourse analysis. Although MDA is centered on actions, discourses in this approach are stimulated by actions; thus, mostly spoken. However, just like the other approaches under spoken discourse, it can be transcribed to a text for analysis. Meanwhile, multi-modal discourse analysis is another quite-complex approach to discourse analysis. The approach is placed under the various approaches of spoken and written discourse because the goal of multi-modal is to investigate how multiple modes of communication contribute in meaning making; hence, involves not just the language use (i.e., written or spoken) but other factors (e.g., external factors, such as actions, signs, symbols) that helped shaped meaning in discourse. And from these categorization, ideologies can be drawn out.

As stipulated by Halliday (1994), as cited by Jones (2012), it is almost always the case that texts construct reality rather than participants representing reality as how reality is constructed is dependent on the language used (e.g. words used) by the participants. Accordingly, individuals represent the world through language by the words used that represent people, things, and concepts, and words about what people are doing to, with or for one another. It is worth remembering that in what people do, there is an embedded realities in it whether it may be in words, actions, symbols, signs, and images, among others.

However, unlike the notion of other scholars on the approaches to discourse analysis, in which it is categorized by different disciplines (e.g., McCarthy’s categorization, Wenxing Yang & Ying Sun’s categorization, among others) as it considers that discourse is not occurring only in the field of linguistics; thus, cannot be viewed only in one lens, in the presented model, the concept of the model is undertaken in the lens of linguistics, and was categorized from general to specific discourse. Although it may seem that the model was unable to specify to which field of discipline each approach belongs; however, the notion of big ‘D’ discourse and small ‘d’ discourse were highly used to understand the extent to where the approach can be used. The big “D” is meant to thoroughly study the ways in which people behave and recognize socially and historically significant identities or “kinds of people”. It covers a large scope of discourse, setting a context for each particular discourse that occurs. Hence, this suggests that it takes a large discourse with well-integrated contexts to analyze specific discourses depending on objectives.

Despite that this categorization is not like the other scholars where they categorized it in relation to other disciplines and how those disciplines help in shaping the overall concept of discourse and its approaches, and despite that the model is only seeing approaches to discourse in a certain lens, the categorization of discourse from general to specific through the concept of big ‘D’ and small ‘d’ discourses and through categorizing them in spoken and written discourses, provides a deeper understanding of discourse as a whole and as a specific approach, especially with its forms, scope, and interrelationship of the various approaches to discourse to one another.

[jerrymiemila]

HORI7ON: Their Remarkable Journey to Achieving Success

Getting a sneak peek into the world of the idol industry, achieving success often appears as a far-fetched dream. With the increasing number of pop musical groups in South Korea, leaving a distinctive image can be an uphill battle. Yet, HORI7ON managed to do just that. This group, composed of Jeromy, Marcus, Kyler, Vinci, Reyster, Kim, and Winston, stands out as the only all-Filipino group based in South Korea. Their remarkable journey is a testament to their unwavering passion, talent, and a unique blend of cultural influences. Now, let us delve into the epic saga of HORI7ON’s rise in the heart of the K-Pop scene, where dreams become reality.

A Look Back on Their Pre-Debut

Since the formation of the group on February 12, 2023, their journey as idols has been set. Prior to their official debut, they unveiled three pre-debut singles: ‘Dash’, ‘Salamat’, and ‘Lovey Dovey’. These tracks garnered widespread acclaim from both fans and the public, setting the stage for their upcoming success.

In addition to their music releases, the group made memorable appearances on popular variety shows like “It’s Showtime” and “ASAP Natin ‘To”, solidifying their presence in the entertainment scene. Their star shone even brighter as they embarked on a series of mall shows, spanning various provinces across the country, where they introduced themselves to an eager and growing fanbase.

Furthermore, before their departure to South Korea, the group hosted their first-ever fan meeting at the New Frontier Theater, which was a resounding success, with tickets selling out swiftly. This event marked a significant milestone in their journey, and it was during this time that they officially unveiled their fandom name, “ANCHOR.” At that time, it was also announced that the group would have their first reality show program titled “100 Days Miracle”, which was later announced to be shown on Mnet’s M2 YouTube channel, showcasing the group’s 100-day journey before debut and giving fans a glimpse into how they prepared for their debut.

Debut Highlights

Arriving in South Korea, the feeling of being an idol became even more profound with their tight schedules. Training for twelve hours a day showed just how hard they had to work to be prepared for their debut day, which was initially set for June but was later pushed to July. Apart from the rigorous training, homesickness also took a toll on their mental health, leaving them in tears at times. However, as they gradually adapted to their lives as idols, they learned that nothing worth having comes easy.

On July 4, 2023, MLD Entertainment announced that the group would be debuting with a full-length album titled “Friend-SHIP”. Debuting with a full-length album is a rare opportunity for any group. Perhaps no other group had ever debuted with a fully packed album consisting of 12 songs, making fans even more excited for the septet’s debut.

Following the announcement, they posted their schedule, detailing what fans could expect in the days leading up to the group’s debut, including concept photos, a track list, a debut trailer, album highlight medleys, and music video teasers. Additionally, the group released information about their expected debut album, detailing the album’s versions, designs, inclusions, and pre-order information, which added to the excitement. Moreover, they revealed ‘SIX7EEN’ as the group’s debut track when they released the album’s track list. In addition to the songs released in Dream Maker, the album also included sub-unit songs and solo songs featuring members of TFN, Lapillus, and New:ID.

On July 24, 2023, the group released the music video for their title track, ‘SIX7EEN’, alongside the album. Before the release of the music video and the album, the group held a press release in front of various media outlets from South Korea. Afterward, the group held their debut showcase at the Olympic Hall at the Seoul Olympic Park, where they performed what they had prepared for their fans, who had eagerly awaited this exciting moment in their journey as an idol group.

The group’s full album, “Friend-SHIP”, debuted in various countries on iTunes, including the Philippines, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Finland, Spain, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, Singapore, Belgium, Thailand, Canada, Italy, United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, it debuted on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart and the European iTunes Album Chart at #82 and #185 and peaked at #57 and #58, respectively. Their album also amassed nearly 60,000 sold copies, demonstrating their marketability. Furthermore, their title track, ‘SIX7EEN’, achieved over two million views within its first 24 hours of release, showing their growing popularity.

The group also performed on various popular music shows, such as Mnet’s “M Countdown”, KBS2’s “Music Bank”, SBS’ “Inkigayo”, SBS MTV’s “The Show”, MBC TV’s “Show! Music Core”, and Arirang TV’s “Simply K-pop” to commemorate their debut. To date, they are the very first Filipino group to have performed on these music shows, showing that nothing is impossible when it comes to reaching your dreams.

Post-Debut Adventures

Bringing themselves the title of Global Pop Group, expectations for the group were high. In addition to promoting in both the Philippines and South Korea, as seen in their pre-debut and debut activities, the group also aimed to go global.

On August 19, 2023, the group performed at Kamp Fest held in Mexico City, a music festival organized by Kamp Global. Their appearance at this festival had already been planned before their debut, hinting at their likely future global promotions. Prior to flying to Mexico for their first international performance, they also took part in music festivals in South Korea, including the Ulsan Music Festival and Cheonan K-Culture Expo 2023.

Following their successful debut, MLD Entertainment announced on August 2, 2023, that the group would hold their first concert titled “Voyage to Manila” on September 9, 2023, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. This sudden announcement took fans by surprise, giving them little time to save up and prepare. Nevertheless, they managed to sell over 70% of the big dome’s capacity, a remarkable feat for a newcomer group that had only debuted two months earlier. In addition to the group’s concert, the septet also planned to stay in the Philippines for the whole month of September to do various promotions on both radio and television.

Moreover, on September 18, 2023, Star News, one of the organizers of the most anticipated annual Asia Artist Awards, announced the group as one of the performing artists, alongside big K-Pop groups such as BSS, ZEROBASEONE, ITZY, THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, and NewJeans, among others, signifying their gradual rise in the music industry.

Like many other groups, the septet’s journey was no walk in the park. However, their talent and unwavering dedication turned their achievements into a clear demonstration of the group’s enormous potential for success. With their increasing visibility and appeal to the public, with effective management and promotion, it is only a matter of time before they ascend to the pinnacle and establish a prominent reputation for themselves.

[jerrymiemila]

How P-pop Have Reinvented Itself through K-pop

Sing, dance, rap—these are the core elements of pop groups. Although the concept is not new, it has been popularized by South Korea over the years. As a result, other countries followed suit and created a group of their own, infusing their language and culture, such as the Philippines with their own P-pop or Pinoy pop. Although P-pop has a long history, the current generation of P-pop uses the K-pop system as its foundation, which raises a question on the identity of P-pop. The introduction of P-pop in the masses received mixed reactions from the Filipinos, especially Filipino K-pop fans, for its attempt to replicate the look and sound of K-pop. Public figures, such as Imelda Schweighar and Janus Del Prado, criticized the attempt highlighting that they are losing their identity trying to be Koreans. As a pioneering P-pop group, SB19 is a testament on how some Filipinos prove their perspectives by setting them as an example of a K-pop group copy. This, in turn, shows an opposite image of P-pop to the Filipino people.

P-pop drew origins from K-pop as can be observed on their training, fashion, and music styles; however, tracing back its history, it has long existed even before K-pop began. Moreover, K-pop itself is influenced by Japanese pop and western music, making it a hybrid musical tradition. This emphasizes that music evolves overtime with the influence of music itself and other various factors, such as social and cultural factors.

Although P-pop is closely similar to K-pop, it is not truly replicating K-pop and the success of it. For instance, Alamat. They use the K-pop system, but they also consistently display the rich culture of the Philippines through their fashion that sometimes include indigenous outfits, and music that sometimes uses multiple languages to make a difference. There is also SB19 that started with K-pop influences but uses it as a foundation to reinvent Filipino pop music as they grow and infuse more their Filipino roots. This exemplifies that K-pop serves only as a reference for P-pop to thrive in the scene where K-pop dominates, which catalyzes for it to evolve. Furthermore, the indulgence of Filipino music labels and Filipino companies to P-pop might come as a strategy and way to introduce a niche of music to possibly entice Filipinos of the same music interests to gradually lean back to listening more Filipino music.

P-pop is still in its infancy stage to date. For Filipinos who are unaccustomed to this kind of music and for Filipino K-pop fans who are more into K-pop music, P-pop will sound more as novelty, and it will take a long time for Filipinos to accept P-pop as a now becoming part of the Filipino music culture. Longevity of music relies not just on the support it is receiving but also on its uniqueness as a music; hence, reinvention must be made for P-pop to look and sound more authentically Filipino.

Indeed P-pop drew inspiration from K-pop; however, this does not necessarily make P-pop a copy of K-pop. Music is influenced by the world and through time, they evolve to a music that is unique on its own, and P-pop is just one of that music that transcends to become a music that embodies a pop distinct to Filipinos.

[jerrymiemila]

3 Things to Know About Hate Speech against LGBTQ+ Members on Facebook Comments

How well do you recognize hate speech you see on social media, particularly on Facebook? Many people, including you, have many and perhaps varying considerations on what constitutes a hate speech. In fact, even scholars don’t agree on one certain definition.

In a given definition by Facebook, hate speech is a direct attack on individuals based on their protected characteristics, such as race and ethnicity, among others. And these attacks can either be targeted or generalized.

Speaking of protected characteristics, gender identity and sexual orientation are some of the protected characteristics of some individuals that are mocked and attacked not just offline but also online, most especially on Facebook.

In this article, we will delve into the nature of hate speech toward LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments and learn three things about it: hate speech categories, discursive strategies, and hate speech classification and intensity levels.

Hate Speech Categories Associated in Comments against LGBTQ+ Members on Facebook

Facebook as a platform for expression, discussions and even debates on topics are inevitable. And sometimes, if not controlled, may turn offensive and abusive. In a topic that concerns LGBTQ+ members, how do Facebook users contextualize their arguments? Let us look at the most to least used hate speech categories against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments:

Religion

This category is often manifested in the comments as a means to support an argument. Facebook users integrate religious contexts in their hate comments against LGBTQ+ members as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“Homosexuality is an Abomination to God. The 1611 King James Bible is very clear about this. It is a Sin there is no way around it. Jesus came to call people to Repent for their sins.”

Sexual Orientation

Another way that some Facebook users use to attack LGBTQ+ members is through targeting their sexual orientation. Unlike the category of religion, this category refers to the subject of hate as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“God never said to love Gay people. God said homosexuality is an abomination. You can’t change God’s words. Homosexuality disgusting and yes satanic.”

Class

In this category, LGBTQ+ members are separated and differentiated. Facebook users focus on creating an in-group and out-group framework as illustrated in the sample comment below wherein LGBTQ+ members and their lifestyles are classified as not normal:

“They are not normal. The bible calls their lifestyles abominations. Until the 20th century their lifestyle was considered by psychologists abnormal. The Bible considers it sin yet today.”

Gender

Just like sexual orientation, this is another category that Facebook users tend to usually target when they’re expressing their hate comments against LGBTQ+ members. They focus on gender identity or gender-related characteristics of LGBTQ+ members as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“Guess why all governments are promoting being gay.. cuz when you’re gay, you’re soft and stupid which means controlling you very easily just like a sheep. Real men are tough and hard to control..”

Disability

A category that Facebook users use as a support for their hateful agenda. In this context, they tend to label LGBTQ+ members as individuals with disabilities as shown in the sample comment below:

“You go girl!!! Those posters offend me. Tear them down Patriot!!! Only sick minds do This stuff!!! Animals have better sense than You people that don’t know what you are. Man and woman go together, sickies.”

Archaic

In this category, Facebook users tend to integrate terms with historical relevance to their hateful comments in order to prove an argument as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“Same sex relationship contradicted faithful belief and against nature in a logic way. It is a kind of barbaric and inferiority choice to be equally or under animal’s way of life.”

Ethnicity

It is the least used category, but Facebook users still use this to create a premise of ethnic discrimination. Contextually, when using it, commenters regard LGBTQ+ practices as a part of other culture where LGBTQ+ is practiced as represented in the sample comment below:

“LGBTQ+ abuses fundamental human rights. This inhumane behavior can’t be found in the animal kingdom how much more we humans created in the image of God. LGBTQ+ has no place in Africa for that matter Ghana. It’s a crime to be LGBTQ+ advocate or practician in Ghana. Ghana will never be safe for you guys so move to Europe where you can enjoy your so called rights.”

Discursive Strategies Employed in Hate Speech against LGBTQ+ Members on Facebook Comments

Ever wonder why some comments get much as attention as the other despite having the same argument? It’s discursive strategies’ doing! Coming off strong and powerful in an argument is not purely coincidental. In fact, it’s a language strategy that individuals intentionally or unintentionally employ in their language use. To better understand the concept, let’s look at the most to least employed discursive strategies that Facebook users use in their comments against LGBTQ+ members:

Argumentation

Argumentation is not a foreign word. Most people know the definition behind this word, and for that reason, this becomes the most used strategy that Facebook users employ in their comments against LGBTQ+ members by arguing and proving a point as shown in the sample comment below:

“I don’t support pride, because it’s a tool of Satan to confuse and destroy! A total lie and God will judge it thankfully in his good timing! So hold your seats pride boys and girls because your day is drawing closer than you think!”

Perspectivation

Another strategy that Facebook users often employ in order to assert credibility and influence. They use their own opinion or the perspective of others to support their claim or even expression of hate towards LGBTQ+ members as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“It is still wrong in the eyes of God, you are not to merry another man and 2 women shall not merry, what part of the Bible do you creatons not understand? all you do is confuse the children and push your sick beliefs of society because you want your warped lifestyle to be accepted and thinking nothing of the bible or the children you are afflicting in the process.”

Predication

This strategy is often used by Facebook users to assert or claim a negative idea or belief against LGBTQ+ members. They try to structure their language with conviction and authority as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“False teaching This is Not Written in God’s Holy book. Homosexuality is an Abomination of GOD. GOD CREATED MALE AND FEMALE, For procreation. THIS POPE IS A HERETIC. an Anti-Christ spirit, beware Do not be deceived, the word of God warns us about False messiah, men of the cloth.”

Referential or Nomination

This another strategy is concerned on the “us” vs. “them” framework. Facebook users who use this strategy often structure their language wherein they refer or label LGBTQ+ members as bad qualities or negative characteristics themselves as shown in the sample comment below:

“The alien creatures are surfacing again. The society would be a far better place without the gays. God may you protect this generation from this evil.”

Intensification

In this strategy, the force lies on the typography or language structure and punctuation. Facebook users often come in their hateful comments against LGBTQ+ members in full capitalization or in their structure with exclamation point to evoke an intense emotion as described in the sample comment below:

“A man can never be a woman! Give that child a woman figure to call a mom. Nonsense! Get these sadomites out of town!”

Classifications and Intensity Levels of Hate Speech against LGBTQ+ Members on Facebook Comments

Many people do not recognize that at some point of their lives, they have been already targeted with hate speech, especially on Facebook. The reason is that they sometimes confuse hate speech with free speech, though they are not at fault. As mentioned in the introduction, hate speech has varying definitions, and even degree, depending on who sees it. To better grasp the nature of hate speech, let’s delve into the classifications and intensity of hate speech against LGBTQ+ members below:

Early Warning

Language use in this classification centers on the use of registers that disagree or registers that represent negative actions and negative characteristics. Let’s take a look at the nature of hate speech against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments as represented by each level below:

Disagreement

From the word itself, this second most observed level of hate against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments mostly include terms that disagree on a certain idea or belief related to LGBTQ+ as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“Ridiculous! I’m so tired of all this “there’s more than 2 genders”, “I go by these pronouns” and everything on those posters being shoved down these children’s throats! And FYI, THERE ARE ONLY 2 GENDER.”

Negative Actions

This least observed level of hate represents negative actions in language use, such as advocating for extreme discrimination or social exclusion towards LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments as shown in the sample comment below:

“Wrong they are destroying the AMERICAN family. GOD loves the sinner but hates the sin. You live a life of sin you will be held accountable. The BIBLE is clear about homosexuality and men wearing womens cloths. It is a abomination in GODs eyes. LGBTQ should be declared a terrorist group.”

Negative Character

The most common and most observed level of hate. Facebook users often contextualize their language use in the way that it negatively describes or characterizes LGBTQ+ members just like in the sample comment below:

“So fucken stupid non binary! Who comes up with these labels!”

Dehumanization and Demonization

When heated discussion arises, sometimes, language use may not only include negative characterization. Sometimes, it may go beyond that line when terms that are unassociated anymore to humans are used as descriptions or labels as shown in the level below:

Demonizing and Dehumanizing

Unlike the first three levels, this third most observed level of hate against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments does not anymore belong to the early warning classification. In fact, this level is a precursor to a more violent type of hate speech as the language use is extremely negative as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“People think GOD need them..shit..GOD don’t need Humans Nor your worship, He gave you instructions to live by or face his Judgement life after death..Now LBGTQ is Not Human Rightsq, Is Not something GOD created, its Disease, its man Made, its Sating, dispecable, inhuman, Ridiculous And No I have empathy or Respect for such people And a Nation will Fall down if they allow Same sex..The Law Need to punish such people like Alot of Countries do.”

Incitement to Violence and Death

In this classification, language use already incites violence and even death. Facebook users in this classification are observed to use “death” or “extermination” in their comments against LGBTQ+ members as shown in each level below:

Violence

When hate speech reaches this threshold, language use no longer holds just an idea. Facebook users who are observed to display this fourth most observed level of hate towards LGBTQ+ members might really have a tendency of actually doing violence just like in the illustration below:

“now the quran on the other hand says the only proper death for homosexuals is to be pushed off a cliff.”

Death

In this fifth most observed level of hate, Facebook users in their comments are already inciting death against LGBTQ+ members. Their language use may only revolve around the aim of killing as illustrated in the sample comment below:

“Extermination extermination to LGBT is the solution.”

Now that we’ve learned the three things about hate speech against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments, we’ll realize that often Facebook users shape and frame their comments in the way that reflects their own’s or other’s idea to assert influence and power.

Reference:

Mila, J. (2023). Hate speech against LGBTQ+ members on Facebook comments [Unpublished undergraduate thesis]. Central Mindanao University–Philippines.