After reading#GirlsLikeUs: Trans advocacy and community building online I was impressed by the way at which Janet Mock and Laverne Cox were able to remove themselves from the community but still organize it and run it. I was slightly confused in the article when they mentioned how they made the hashtag their pages location rather then including it in tweets. However, I then asked my friend what that meant and she was able to explain how it connects each tweet they make to that hashtag without running the entire hashtag. I appreciated that aspect to the advocacy because I think it gave the community people to look up to rather then a voice to to follow. It still made the community feel approachable and that each member could reach out to one another for advice and support but it wasn't delegated by only Cox and Mock.
Based on what was said about the hashtag and community it appears this group focused a lot of their energy on educating and calling to action. To do this many members would tweet about local trans awareness groups that were happening or post about articles regarding acts of trans violence or awareness. The platform was very much used to inform in order to cause change. I think this benefited the community as they were not attacking anyone with their power but rather trying to help and encourage those listening. I feel when any community attacks haters, it causes their purpose and goals to be lost. I think that #GirlsLikeUS did a great job at focusing on celebrating trans women and sharing with their community resources and information in order to call encourage change.
From reading and analyzing the article by Jackson Bailey and Welles I think I learned the power of connecting a hashtag to similar hashtags in the network. In the article it is mentioned how #GirlsLikeUs spread into other hashtag communities such as #FreeCeCe and #RedefiningRealness. By combining these different communities it not only creates more awareness of what #GirlsLikeUs is about but also allows individuals fighting for similar causes to come together and use each other's numbers and voices for great causes. From the article I realized the importance of being open to other communities and not selective and rude to individuals looking to learn about your cause.
Looking ahead to my personal project I think I want to work with the hashtag #Effyourbeautystandard. This hashtag was started by Tess Holiday who is a plus size model and is often criticized for her body image. The idea of this hashtag is to combat societal expectations of beauty by showcasing men and women of all different body types. The hashtag is active on twitter but also on instagram by having a page that is updated to showcase individuals of all skin tones and body types. I have yet to do more research as to how they operate as a community.
Moving forward I am planning to research how they interact with other communities, specifically the fashion and beauty communities. I realize that Tess Holiday is a model so I am curious to see how she voices her opinion while being inside the industry herself. The title of the hashtag is very straightforward and vulgar so I am curious to learn how the community behaves online mirrors this. I have heard of this community before but not as common as other feminist and body positive hashtags. The title drew my attention making me want to research it more.
Questions I need to answer:
How do they behave as a community (interact with one another and other communities)
What platform do they mainly operate from?
What can they be doing better?
What do they do really well?
How can I take their content and make it into a new media?
Does Tess Holiday lead the discussion or does she sit back like the leaders in #GirlsLikeUs do?
How does the leaders role in the conversation impact the vibe of the community?
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