Cilt 13 Sayı 97 (2025)

Araştırma Makalesi

Toplumsal Cinsiyet ve Dijital Farkındalık: Instagram’da Pembe Vergi (Pink Tax) Üzerine Bir Analiz

Yayımlandı 31.12.2025

Cilt 13 Sayı 97 kapak

Öz

Toplumsal cinsiyet temeline dayanan tüketim eşitsizlikleri, fiyatlandırma pratiklerinin yanı sıra bu eşitsizliklerin gündelik yaşamda nasıl algılandığı ve kamusal alanda nasıl tartışıldığı üzerinden şekillenmektedir. Bu yönüyle pembe vergi (pink tax) kavramı, ekonomik olduğu kadar toplumsal ve kültürel boyutları bulunan bir olgu olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Bu çalışma, toplumsal cinsiyet temelli bir tüketim eşitsizliği olarak tanımlanan pembe vergi (pink tax) olgusunun Instagram’da nasıl ele alındığını ve kullanıcılar tarafından hangi temalar etrafında tartışıldığını incelemektedir. Pembe vergiye ilişkin mevcut literatür büyük ölçüde fiyat karşılaştırmaları, ekonomik veri setleri ve kavramsal analizlere odaklanmaktadır. Bu araştırma, konuyu dijital iletişim ve sosyal medya bağlamında ele alarak tamamlayıcı bir perspektif sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışmada, #pembevergi ve #pinktax hashtag’leri altında paylaşılan Türkçe gönderiler ile bu gönderilere yapılan kullanıcı yorumları içerik analizi yöntemiyle incelenmiştir. Araştırma kapsamında 39 Instagram gönderisi ve bu gönderilere ait 121 kullanıcı yorumu analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucunda pembe vergiye ilişkin paylaşımların ağırlıklı olarak farkındalık temelli bir çerçevede dolaşıma girdiği ve #pembevergi etiketinin yerel bağlamda baskın bir kullanım alanına sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Gönderilerde pembe verginin tanımı, toplumsal cinsiyet eşitsizliği vurgusu ve bireysel deneyimlere dayalı anlatıların öne çıktığı belirlenmiştir. Kullanıcı yorumlarının önemli bir bölümünün destekleyici nitelikte olduğu, bununla birlikte karşıt ve tartışmalı yaklaşımların da dijital ortamda varlığını sürdürdüğü ortaya konmuştur. Aktivizm içerikli yorumların, sosyal medyanın yalnızca görüş paylaşımına değil, aynı zamanda çevrimdışı eylem ve etkinlik çağrılarına da zemin hazırlayan bir alan olarak işlev gördüğü gözlemlenmiştir. Bu çalışma, pembe vergi olgusunu ekonomik fiyat farklılıklarının ötesine taşıyarak, Instagram’daki paylaşımlar ve kullanıcı etkileşimleri üzerinden dijital iletişim bağlamında incelemesi bakımından özgün bir nitelik taşımaktadır. Bu yönüyle araştırma, pembe vergi literatürüne sosyal medya temelli bir bakış açısı ekleyerek, toplumsal cinsiyet, tüketim ve dijital kamusal alan ilişkisini iletişim çalışmaları bağlamında ele alan nitel bir katkı sunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler Pembe vergi, toplumsal cinsiyet, dijital iletişim, sosyal medya

Abstract

Gender and Digital Awareness: An Analysis of the Pink Tax on Instagram

The study explores the influence of gender-based consumption inequalities, which are shaped not only by pricing practices but also by how these inequalities are perceived in daily life and discussed in the public sphere. In this sense, the concept of the pink tax is regarded as a phenomenon that exhibits economic, social, and cultural dimensions. This study examines how the pink tax phenomenon, defined as a gender-based consumption inequality, is addressed on Instagram and the themes discussed by users around it. The extant literature on the so-called 'pink tax' predominantly focuses on price comparisons, economic data sets, and conceptual analyses. The present research endeavour seeks to furnish a complementary perspective by addressing the topic in the context of digital communication and social media. The study analysed Turkish posts shared under the hashtags #pembevergi and #pinktax, along with user comments on these posts, using content analysis methods. A total of 39 Instagram posts and 121 user comments on these posts were analysed as part of the research. The research found that social media posts related to the pink tax predominantly circulated within an awareness-based framework and that the #pembevergi hashtag had a dominant usage area in the local context. It was determined that the posts in question highlighted the definition of the pink tax, emphasised gender inequality, and featured narratives based on individual experiences. A substantial proportion of user comments were found to be supportive, while opposing and controversial approaches also persisted in the digital environment. It was observed that comments related to activism functioned as a space that not only facilitated the sharing of opinions on social media but also paved the way for offline actions and event calls. The present study is distinctive insofar as it examines the phenomenon of the 'pink tax' in a manner that extends beyond the confines of economic price differences. It analyses the phenomenon within the context of digital communication via Instagram posts and user interactions. In this respect, the research provides a social media-based perspective on the literature on the pink tax, offering a qualitative contribution that addresses the relationship between gender, consumption, and the digital public sphere within the context of communication studies.

Keywords Pink tax, gender, digital communication, social media

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Kaynakça

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