Kim pointed out to me via twitter that #blackgirlsrock is a trending topic on Twitter right now (see Jana's posts for an explanation of what that means because I don't want to give it to you). I clearly dropped everything I was doing, ran home, and decided to post about it. Actually, I was already sitting on my couch so here we go.
I decided to take a gander at how African Americans use Twitter and social networking sites that aren't about one race, like the sites I have been looking at already. We had already learned in class that MySpace is designated as being more for African Americans than Facebook. Although I would have considered this to be a racist statement, apparently they've done research. As for Twitter, there is nothing else like it so there can't really be a racial divide. On to #blackgirlsrock...
I clicked on the #blackgirlsrock hashtag so that all of the posts would come up. It seems like this was being used as a little self-esteem builder through which people were listing reasons why...well...black girls rock. Here are some of my favorite tweets:
1. #BlackGirlsRock because we are all beautiful!!! RT this if ur twitcon is of ur face and not ur ASS!
2. #BlackGirlsRock cause we have no otha choice ! ! !
3. #blackgirlsrock and this black guy is bout to roll a blunt
Obviously, there are many reasons why black girls rock, and there are many reasons why people were using this hash tag today. Some people were using it for inspirational purposes, and some people were using it just to use it. I did pay specific attention to the profile pictures while I was skimming the list. I found that there were many not so nice ones from people of different races, so I'll post some of those as well:
1. Weaves, perms, skin lighteners? Don't kid yourself RT @LalaIsAFreak #blackgirlsrock because every other race is trying to be just like us
2. #blackgirlsrock hahahaha is that really trending?
3. A tweet to all blacks... DIE! Oh wait.. Obama, not you.. I don't want the FBI on me.. #blackgirlsrock
-->from the same moron: How do you expect people to stop discriminating "blacks" when even on twitter they isolate themselves from other races... #blackgirlsrock
There are some outrageous things that happen on Twitter, and I've never really looked into them before. Apparently, the #blackgirlsrock hashtag is promoting some award show on BET this weekend. Both black women and men, and non-black women and men, on Twitter are using it to share their honest feelings and opinions about what it means to be a black woman, and I find it disturbing that some people are using it to make racist remarks for no reason. Having a trending topic on Twitter is not that big of a deal, and it is not hurting anyone else, so it's sad that it has come to this. African Americans were not using this tag to insult other races, just to compliment their own. This helps me understand why African Americans would want separate spaces online. Until now, I was not completely sold on the necessity of Black Voices or other site's I had been investigating. However, if people are going to be offensive for no reason in these shared spaces, that changes everything. African Americans should be able to voice their opinions online without being told to "die" by some white obnoxious teenager. Maybe there does need to be more segregation on the internet.
What do you all think? Should there be separate spaces for African Americans until people can get over these racist or offensive attitudes, or does the "everyone is entitled to their own opinion" idea extend both ways? Do we have to let these people's comments slide because the internet is a public and shared space? Get at me...
When I first started reading you post, I really didn't know how I was going to feel after your analysis. I think, for the most part, I began thinking about how Liz talks about online social cues that signal otherwise invisible character traits .
ReplyDeleteWhen you began talking about it from a racial perspective, I felt uneasy that this stuff was taking place on a community I am a part of.
Your analysis was very original and gave some great insight. After reading your post, I too see the value in having online communities for people of different races. (And why they do it.)
It's a shame, but for now that is the way it is. Finally, no matter how disturbing the internet can get (in social environments like Twitter), the internet should be left open as a public and shared space. If anything, racist comments on a massive community like Facebook or Twitter exploits the inequities and horrible stereotyping that still exist in society.
Melissa - I'm glad that you took my recommendation and decided to post about it! I think it is interesting that Twitter, a website that has no racial affiliations, contains certain hashtags that promote a positive racial identity. However, I think it is completely unsettling that some people choose to use these hashtags to articulate racist remarks. Before reading this post, I did not think that there should be separate spaces for African-Americans - the Internet is a public space where everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Unfortunately, I now see the benefits of having a separate online space - a space where African-Americans can communicate and interact free of racism.
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