Slideshow activism: navigations of identity, community and queer Nigerian advocacy on Instagram

Slideshow activism is one of the ways in which the functionality of social media platforms such as Instagram are used for video- and image-based activism. Given the architecture of Instagram, which allows users to leverage images and texts for communication, queer Nigerian collectives and allies have adopted the platform for activism, advocacy, and navigations of sexuality. Homosexuality is criminalized with penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment or death in northern Nigeria, forcing queer collectives and allies to rely on digital spaces for survival and resistance amid state and non-state violence. Using descriptive analysis and Nancy Fraser’s counterpublics, this study examines 10 images from queer Nigerian advocacy-focused Instagram accounts and identifies three central functions of slideshow activism: (i) re-echoing love and equality by challenging heteronormative narratives; (ii) promoting audacious assertions of queer identity; and (iii) disseminating educational content on gender and sexual diversity. These findings underscore Instagram’s role not just as a space of visibility but as a tactical counterpublic where queer Nigerians collectives reclaim agency amid state-sanctioned violence. The study advances scholarship on digital activism by centring African queer resistance and the interplay of visual rhetoric and survival of the Nigerian queer community.