Notes on WGS 220: Hashtag Feminisms

Activism on Social Media

• Social media: a tool for activism

• Rapid information sharing

• Mobilization and community building

• Concerns about:

  • Performative activism

  • Spread of misinformation

• Public perception of social media:

• 82% believe it distracts from important issues

• 76% feel it creates an illusion of impact

• Social media highlighted as a tool to:

  • Shed light on underrepresented stories

  • Give voice to marginalized communities

  • Hold powerful people accountable (47%)

Activism in the Age of Social Media

• Neoliberal digital culture:

• Appropriates cultural value of black women/girls

• Circulated images of violence against black bodies are common but problematic

• Calls for the revisiting of beauty and value in black womanhood amidst racial/sexual violence

• Reference: Hobson, Janell (2016) "Black Beauty and Digital Spaces"

Black Women Speaking Up

• Sojourner Truth:

• Abolitionist and women’s rights activist

• Delivered famous speech "Ain't I a Woman?"

• Continued advocacy for civil rights after the Civil War

• Rosa Parks:

• Civil rights activist known for Montgomery bus boycott

• Her action was a catalyst for the civil rights movement

• Harriet Tubman:

• Abolitionist and social activist

• Conducted missions through the Underground Railroad to rescue enslaved people

All Lives (Should) Matter

• The phrase "All Lives Matter" emerged in 2014 to counter the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

• Misinterpretation of BLM:

• BLM asserts that Black lives also matter, not that others do not

• This undermines the movement's intent and creates a false dichotomy

• The phrase perpetuates

• Color-blind rhetoric erasing racial inequality

• Focus on white victimhood rather than addressing discrimination

• Reference: Smith, David (2017) on injustice

Trayvon Martin and the Concept of the Stranger

• Reference to Sara Ahmed's "Recognising Strangers"

• The concept of the stranger relates to belonging in communities

• Strangers may be expelled based on societal projections

• Notion that neighborhoods are policed, reinforcing social privilege

BLM: Overview

• Described as the largest civil rights movement in the US

• Key Characteristics:

• Decentralized with no central command

• Utilizes social media for real-time communication

• Focus on issues of:

• Racial profiling

• Police brutality

• Activists' demands revolve around 14th Amendment principles:

• Who is included in "We the People"?

• Whose lives matter and whose rights are protected?

• Challenges faced:

• Online threats and federal monitoring

BLM & Citizenship

• Beyond documentation, the fight emphasizes:

• Dignity, humanity, and access

• The movement advocates for:

• Full citizenship rights and equality

• Challenging systemic racism

• Addressing the gap between ideal citizenship and the reality for Black Americans

• Reference: "How a Hashtag Defined a Movement" YouTube