“Tis the season to be vegan” : Discursive identity formations and the discursive construction of veganism in the communication event #veganuary

Offering contemporary insights into movement activities, this study explores the discursive identity formations and discursive constructions of veganism in the communication event #veganuary on Twitter. In a tentative attempt to understand #veganuary as a site of discursive and socio-cultural change, this study seeks to answer the research questions: (1) “What discursive identity formations take part in the semantic battle for the meaning of veganism in the communication event #veganuary on Twitter?”, (2) “How is veganism discursively constructed in the communication event #veganuary on Twitter?”, and (3) “How can we understand #veganuary on Twitter as a site of discursive and socio-cultural change?”. Relying on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) both as a theoretical and methodological framework, this study places itself in the field of media and communication studies in the intersection between studies on discourse, veganism, Twitter usage, and the everyday activism of Lifestyle Movements (LMs). Four main identity formations were identified and analyzed in the communication event, discursively constructing very different definitions and implications of veganism – as a diet, a challenge, a lifestyle, an identity, activism, a market opportunity, and a brand mission. Ultimately, #veganuary on Twitter can be understood as a site for discursive and socio-cultural change as a hemeratopian everyday alternative space, in which new interdiscursive mixes and discursive practices are interlaced in creative ways, inviting and involving new voices to the communication, imagination, and development of alternative ways of living.