Sticking around: hobbyhorsing, digital transgression, and gender-based violence in TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube commentary

Hobbyhorsing has become a particularly visible and contested phenomenon online. By looking at TikTok, Instagram and YouTube commentary and utilizing thematic analysis, this study explores 1) To what extent is online gender-based violence directed at hobbyhorsing enthusiasts in social media comment sections?, and 2) How do social media comments reflect or enable transgressive uses of digital platforms by or about hobbyhorsers? The findings demonstrate that hobbyhorsers are subjected to significant online gender-based violence across all three platforms examined. While the findings highlight how social media function as a form of regulation for hobbyhorsers, they also show how social media platforms serve as spaces for digital transgression. The study contributes to discussions on online gender-based violence, the agency of young women in the face of ridicule and marginalization as well as tech accountability. It highlights the urgent need to reevaluate content moderation on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Structural changes are needed, with greater focus on perpetrator agency and how platform anonymity enables ongoing abuse without accountability. Future research could explore the lived experiences of female hobbyhorses in online and offline spaces in more detail particularly as practitioners of the sport grow older and social media keep changing.