JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE STUDIES AND ARTS

This study examines and investigates the role of social media in fueling marital violence: a critical discourse analysis of Nigerian online communities through the combined lenses of Fairclough‘s Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Intersectionality Theory. Data were gathered from ten Nigerian social media influencers whose online posts and videos on marital relationships generated wide public engagement. A total of forty (40) excerpts were purposively selected from 10 social media influencers and were analyzed to uncover how linguistic and discursive practices contribute to the normalization, justification, and perpetuation of marital violence. The analysis reveals that social media users often employ humor, gendered stereotypes, and economic rationalizations to legitimize emotional, physical, and psychological abuse within marital relationships. CDA uncovers how patriarchal ideologies and power asymmetries are reproduced through discourse, portraying men as dominant providers and women as submissive dependents, while Intersectionality Theory highlights how gender, class, religion, and ethnicity intersect to shape unequal representations of victims and perpetrators. The findings indicate that online discourses surrounding wealth, masculinity, and submissiveness reinforce societal hierarchies that trivialize women‘s suffering and rationalize male aggression. The study concludes that social media platforms play a significant role in sustaining harmful social norms that underlie marital violence. It recommends that content creators, policymakers, and advocacy groups promote digital literacy, gender equity, and intersectional awareness in online engagements to foster respectful and non-violent relational practices.

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