Melanin: How Have Dark-skinned Black Women Engaged In Social Media Hashtags To Affirm

102 Pages·2017·0.89 MB·English

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Africana Studies Theses Department of Africana Studies
5-2-2018
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Ololade S. Hassan
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Hassan, Ololade S., "#Melanin: How Have Dark-skinned Black Women Engaged In Social Media Hashtags
To Affirm, Validate and Celebrate Their Beauty?." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2018.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/12046316
This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Africana Studies at ScholarWorks @
Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Africana Studies Theses by an authorized
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[email protected].
#MELANIN: HOW HAVE DARK-SKINNED BLACK WOMEN ENGAGED IN
SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS TO AFFIRM, VALIDATE AND CELEBRATE THEIR
BEAUTY?

by

OLOLADE S. HASSAN

Under the Direction of Lia T. Bascomb, PhD

ABSTRACT
There is a growing body of scholarship on the nature of social media and its ability to
contest racial identity. Research has greatly focused on hashtag activism and the role of Black
Twitter in raising consciousness and constructing counterhegemonic presentations of self.
However, there is relatively little academic literature surrounding the ways in which dark-
skinned African American women are engaging in hashtags to counter colorist ideologies about
darker skin tones. Two focus groups and a qualitative content analysis of Tweets containing the
hashtag #MelaninPoppin were conducted to explore the ability of social media hashtags to affirm
beauty, and encourage powerful self-defining expressions for dark-skinned African American
women. Utilizing bell hooks’ notion of "homeplace" as a theoretical framework, this study
examines how social media hashtags act as digital sites of resistance; where the wounds of
colorism can be healed and renewed.

INDEX WORDS: Social media, Hashtags, African American women, Dark-skinned, Colorism,
Homeplace
#MELANIN: HOW HAVE DARK-SKINNED BLACK WOMEN ENGAGED IN
SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS TO AFFIRM, VALIDATE AND CELEBRATE THEIR
BEAUTY?

by

OLOLADE S. HASSAN

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Arts
in the College of Arts and Sciences
Georgia State University
2018
Copyright by
Ololade S. Hassan
2018
#MELANIN: HOW HAVE DARK-SKINNED BLACK WOMEN ENGAGED IN
SOCIAL MEDIA HASHTAGS TO AFFIRM, VALIDATE AND CELEBRATE THEIR
BEAUTY?

by

OLOLADE S. HASSAN

Committee Chair: Lia T. Bascomb

Committee: Tiffany King
Jamae Morris

Electronic Version Approved:

Office of Graduate Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
Georgia State University
May 2018
iv

DEDICATION

I dedicate this thesis to my three beautiful sisters. Take me back to the days when we’d spend
our summers sitting at the top of the stairs with our hair braided, eating ice cream, and playing
Ludo, because nothing else mattered.
v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, Ogo ni fun Oluwa fun aseyori iṣẹ yi [Glory be to God for the
accomplishment of this thesis]
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Lia T. Bascomb for her unwavering
support and patience throughout this process. I could not have asked for a better chair.
My appreciation also extends to the rest of my committee; Dr. Tiffany King and Dr.
Jamae Morris. Thank you for your time and continued support. It’s been a pleasure learning from
three phenomenal women.
vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION................................................................................................................. IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ V
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ IX
1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background .......................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Significance of Study ........................................................................................... 5
1.3 Research Questions ............................................................................................. 5
1.4 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................... 6
2 LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................... 8
2.1 Colorism: An Epidemic in the African American Community ...................... 8
2.2 The Wounds of Colorism .................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 The Perpetuation of Hegemonic Dominant Ideologies ............................... 12
2.2.2 Colorism in the Media................................................................................... 14
2.3 Healing the Wounds .......................................................................................... 16
2.3.1 Social Media: A Digital Homeplace ............................................................. 16
2.3.2 Black Twitter ................................................................................................. 18
3 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................... 24
3.1 Qualitative Content Analysis............................................................................ 24
3.1.1 Data Collection .............................................................................................. 25
vii
3.1.2 Data Analysis................................................................................................. 27
3.2 Focus Groups ..................................................................................................... 29
3.2.1 Participants.................................................................................................... 33
3.2.2 Data Collection .............................................................................................. 33
3.2.3 Data Analysis................................................................................................. 34
3.2.4 Reliability and Validity.................................................................................. 36
3.2.5 Limitations ..................................................................................................... 36
4 FINDINGS ................................................................................................................. 38
4.1 Content Analysis ................................................................................................ 38
4.2 Categories ........................................................................................................... 39
4.2.1 Category 1: Self-affirmation ......................................................................... 39
4.2.2 Category 2: Advertisements .......................................................................... 41
4.2.3 Category 3: No textual information (other than hashtags) ......................... 42
4.2.4 Category 4: Celebrity Reference ................................................................... 42
4.2.5 Category 5: Natural Hair Reference ............................................................ 43
4.2.6 Category 6: Quotes ........................................................................................ 43
4.2.7 Category 7: Discussing the Hashtag ............................................................ 44
4.3 Theme 1: (Re)definition .................................................................................... 44
4.4 Focus Groups ..................................................................................................... 45
4.5 Hashtags as a Site of Injury .............................................................................. 46