AVOWED IDENTITY SKIN
Therefore, racial identity is not about skin color, yet that is how most individuals perceive and understand race. Asante, Sekimoto, and Brown (2016) explain that race, in particular, blackness, is more than outside appearance in fact, racial identity is constructed through symbols, language, culture, and group experiences. Race is often treated as if it is a visual aspect of identity that is “set” at birth, when in reality racial identities are socially constructed and subject to change by members of society (Asante, Sekimoto & Brown, 2016 Condry 2015 diAngelo 2012 Graves Jr. On the other hand, assumptions individuals make when race is perceived visually may lead to unhealthy discourse on social media, stemmed in problematic definitions of race. On the one hand, the assumed visual nature of race has led to social networking sites being used as a platform for exploration of racial identity for people of color. Due to individuals’ reliance on visual perception in defining race in face-to-face interactions, people of color have started to rely on social media as a space to explore racial identity. Brock explains that social media helps society understand race differently because the medium lacks all the physical signifiers of face-to-face communication. For example, Florini explained the phenomena of “black Twitter,” in which Twitter users rely on linguistic performances with vocabulary, grammar, and textual cues to perform racial identity.įinally, Brock (2009) claims social media to be a meeting place for people of color to discuss black identity. In another study that assessed the utility of social media for exploration of racial identity, Florini (2013) explained how Twitter provides a space for people of color to connect with one another and share experiences. Through the lens of the Theory of Symbolic Interactionism, Chan’s findings indicate that racial identities are influenced by communication on social media. Chan reported that racial information from social networks influences identities of those who use the networks by connecting them to other group members, encouraging pride in their racial identity, and by partaking or not partaking in direct or indirect discussion about race. For example, Chan (2017) interviewed college students to better understand how interactions on social networks about race shaped their racial identities. This public space provides a forum for individuals to explore racial identity. Boyd explains that since social networks provide a place for individuals to meet and communicate in the same way they might in physical locations, they too are a public space. In other words, online social networks provide space for the kinds of interactions that used to take place in physical public spaces such as coffee shops.
AVOWED IDENTITY OFFLINE
For example, according to Boyd (2007), social networking sites are used as a form of mainstream socialization that can equate to offline public spaces.
AVOWED IDENTITY PROFESSIONAL
Social media has shown remarkable growth as a major form of communication around the world-in both professional and personal contexts. Understanding how racial identity is projected on social media is important due to mass consumption of social networking sites and the assumed visual nature of race, which affects both offline and online relationships. The purpose of this study is to better understand how race is perceived, negotiated, and conveyed on social media. Since race has tied into many of the sociopolitical debates on social networks in recent years, it is important to research and understand race on social networks.
In the current political climate, issues surrounding race and racial identity have come to the forefront. Social media has become a battleground for conflicts over political and social concerns. Journal of Intercultural Communication 20(1): 52-64 The Projection of Racial Identity on Social Network Nolan Brinkman & Laura Jacobi Minnesota State University, Mankato 230 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001, USA. The Projection of Racial Identity on Social Network
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