Representing gender-based violence in teen series: young people’s discourses on the Spanish series Física o Química

Abstract

Through the analysis of the fans’ forum of a popular Spanish teen series, Física o Química (2008-2011), this study explores what meanings audiences give to the series’ representation of gender violence, focussing on how they deal with the representation of male aggression towards women and how audiences reflect on gender stereotypes and unequal romantic and sexual adolescent relationships. This qualitative analysis has been carried out inductively, according to the principles of grounded theory. The analysis revealed that adolescents have internalized a series of stereotypes and myths of romantic love that can be very dangerous because they justify violence of men towards women. However, it is the actual representations in this series that lead viewers to question the myths, and thus, to talk about gender-based violence among adolescents, to reflect on it and the dangers of romantic idealization. This happens because the series takes the risk of presenting controversial and provocative representations that brings dilemmas out in the open, without trying to be moralizing with audiences, letting them discuss these representations among themselves in the fan forum.