Conspiracy thinking among women and queer individuals driven by a desire to care

Female and queer conspiracy theorists are often overlooked in the media and in research. This is unjustified, according to researcher Hanne Nijtmans, as they approach the subject from a completely different angle. For women and queer individuals, the motivation often stems from a desire to care: they want to protect those they are connected to from harm. Nijtmans will defend her PhD thesis on 22 October at the University of Groningen.

Conspiracy narratives dominant in fictional podcasts

Both in academic literature and in most media, the prevailing image is that conspiracy theorists are predominantly male—think of the ‘toxic masculinity’ in internet culture. By analyzing American fictional podcasts from 2012–2020, Nijtmans demonstrates that this image is incorrect. She examined various podcasts of this kind, such as Limetown and Homecoming. The protagonists are often women or queer individuals. These podcasts frequently involve illegal experiments and abuse of power by entities such as the government, intelligence agencies, and tech companies, with unsuspecting citizens falling victim.

Societal impact

The podcasts reflect and influence feelings in society, Nijtmans discovered. ‘They reveal societal distrust towards the War on Terror, technology, and the government. The role of women in them is representative of broader female forms of conspiracy thinking. On the other hand, they encourage listeners to think critically about power and technology. The podcast Welcome to Night Vale has had an exceptionally strong influence on its audience.’
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Conspiracy care work

Nijtmans investigated what changes when the conspiracy theorist is not a (heterosexual, cisgender, white) man but a woman and/or a queer person. The answer is ‘conspiracy care work’, Nijtmans states. ‘When women or queer individuals perceive a conspiracy, their driving force is not an individual quest for knowledge. For them, the motivation is often that someone they care about is, in their eyes, threatened by a conspiracy.’

Less likely to be seen as conspiracy theorists

Because women’s approach does not align with the male perspective, they are less likely to be perceived as conspiracy theorists. Nijtmans cites the theories surrounding vaccinations during the coronavirus pandemic as an example. ‘In a movement like the Dutch Moederhart, some concerned mothers emerged as anti-vaxxers. Women are then quickly labelled as “poorly informed” or dismissed as hysterical.’ However, this may also make this group more approachable, Nijtmans expects. Because, for these women, belief in conspiracies becomes a form of caring (for others), and they are attentive to their surroundings, they may be more open to dialogue and different approaches.

Justified suspicion

What makes the situation for women or queer individuals particularly complex is that these groups are often genuinely marginalized or excluded. Nijtmans explains: ‘Distrust is sometimes justified and useful for exposing certain issues. But at some point, justified suspicion and investigative journalism turn into conspiracy thinking. This happens when you see everything as a conspiracy, as a deliberate action by malicious people. If people focus solely on who is pulling the strings and who has bad intentions, they lose sight of the fact that the government can also simply fail. And sometimes you must accept that we will never know certain things. This is something conspiracy theorists often struggle with.’

More information

• Hanne Nijtmans

• Listen to our podcast with Nijtmans