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More on Intersectionality

This week I found the discussion on intersectionality -- the idea that social identities and systems of exclusion overlap -- fascinating. For one, anybody can relate to this topic. Each person has a story about how two topics have intersected to impact their lives. Whether that is race and religion, race and politics or gender and politics, each person has a number of stories they could tell.

For example, I have some family friends that I call uncles because of how close they are to me and my family that have dealt with the hurdles faced as a result of being gay and living in Arizona. While same-sex couples have been allowed to legally marry since 2014, my uncles still face discrimination and inequalities in other areas of life. Also, one of my uncles, Luis, who immigrated from Mexico, has had to deal with a horrible immigration system and a state that especially under the leadership of Joe Arpaio, did everything in their power to deny immigrants rights.

As a result of all these shortcomings, my uncles have tried to use social media, particularly Luis on Facebook, to help get their message across and connect with like-minded people to help bring about change. Social media has changed the game.

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In a funny, creative way this helps people get a piece of what Black Twitter is all about and in some ways, what it is not. It has become a powerful space for black people to make their feelings known and express themselves on the social media platform.

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This photo encapsulates the downfall of having such a public presence on Twitter as a public official. You can connect with people more easily, but you also become a target for hackers. President Trump’s account was hacked and this was one tweet the hacker sent out. Trump eventually said his account was hacked but when it happened, it was bad PR for the President. 

Photo Credit: Politico

[joejacquezaz-blog]

“I think that they’re still hiring white people to tell our stories and saying, ‘Go out there and live among the natives and come back and tell us what you’ve found,’ instead of hiring the natives,” she says. “There are those who would love to tell the story from a first-person narrative and who have the skills to do so, but our work is being appropriated all too often.”

April Reign, Manager of Broadway Black talking to The Daily Beast   

This quote, in particular, struck me and may explain why there is a gap between minorities and white people in media. Instead of hiring black people to go into communities and tell powerful stories, they hire white people which I imagine can make the sources uncomfortable and not want to tell their story. This causes black people to have to create their own spaces like Black Twitter and that is where social media becomes really important for this community.

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Social Media Is Important For Politicians, But How Well Does It Work?

Campaigns were estimated to have spent more than $1 billion on digital ads in 2016. But politics on social media can have drawbacks.

This post explores the benefits and drawbacks of politicians using social media during elections and when they are in office. 

One of the biggest benefits is being able to recruit new loyal followers and speak directly to the public without a filter.

But one of the biggest drawbacks is that social media often enhances partnership and it has been shown to annoy people when there is too much political content on their feeds.