Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 Crisis: Women Scientists on Twitter

As a result of the current COVID-19 crisis, there has been a resurgence of alternatives to the standard knowledge production model, with many of these alternatives coming from critical postgraduates, physicians and researchers. Social media especially Twitter has been the main platform where this alternative knowledge is built on and shared. In the Turkish context, there are multiple accounts taking lead in informing the public regarding on the current COVID-19 situation in Turkey, vaccines and vaccinations aligned with the global health norms and policies, sometimes in contrast with the policy of the Turkish Ministry of Health. The responses and reactions to this knowledge production-namely the Twitter posts of these scientists- reveals, however, that this process is extremely gender biased. When the reactions and responses to the two most vocal and visible women physicians are analyzed, it is seen that as opposed to their men counterparts, these two women have been taken the flak not for their professional credentials but for their dressing style, life style an even for their hair colors. Drawing on the Twitter data, posts and interactions, of these two women physicians, this study aims at propounding the gendered nature of this alternative knowledge production during the Covid-19 pandemic.