Collective identity formation and commercial platform logics in social activism: Representation of women and black feminist activism on Instagram under #BlackLivesMatter

Abstract: Due to the participatory nature of social media platforms, users contribute to the narratives built around online action for social change and shape the discourse on societal topics through their participation. At the same time as social media has become a space for societal activism and participation facilitating connective action of individuals, social media platforms are ultimately, for most, owned by private companies. This makes them products of the attention economy, where the attention of consumers has been quantified and commodified and where different players compete for such attention. The current research presents an analysis of content related to online advocacy to inform on the effects of a social media platform on social change and the use of a platform by citizens. More specifically, the research focuses on collective identity building through visual self-representation and how the commercial structures of the platform and the participation of users affect the representation of women in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement on Instagram. Methodologically the research was performed through a quali-quantitative exploration of publications associated to the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, using cultural analytics and content analysis. The research concludes that while the complexity of technological and human variables in online societal participation makes the research on representations of women challenging because of the various actors and forces at play affecting it directly or indirectly, the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter is largely used for collective identity building that can contribute to empowering marginalized groups on social media. This type of finding nevertheless emphasizes the memetic characteristic of the hashtag rather than a tool for direct social activism.