Post-Class Reflection 3/28

We began class with Loza’s “Hashtag Feminism…” article and discussed how social media has given women of color a platform but also how white women/white feminism online has accused WoC of sounding “angry” and subtracting from, rather than contributing to, these conversations. The impact of social media on grassroots movements and community building was also considered, especially with attention to how many movements, specifically those led by women and people of color, have found their footing in online spaces and eventually expanded into in-person chapters/organizations (for example, the Black Lives Matter movement). With the Katherine Cross article we went back to the discussion of anger in Loza’s article. Specifically, how anger and backlash coming from within one’s own community can result in silence out of fear of being attacked. Cross’s article also mentions the “Tumblr-isation” of activism, noting how call-out culture and the idea of a “perfect” activism has contributed to this hypervigilance, especially for marginalized people online. After this, we contrasted the Schulman and Piepzna-Samarasinha articles. One point that was brought up was the difference in language used in both pieces, and how Schulman’s approach in her article comes across as condescending whereas Piepzna-Samarasinha’s approach is more personal, and thus comes across as being more accessible and relatable. It was also mentioned how Shulman’s discussing of conflict and abuse, although it has some value, can be harmful in terms of how it adds a layer of complication to being able to recognize and address abuse.