Humor as Youth Activism: The Do-It-Yourself Media-Making Practices of Two Somali Canadian Muslim Female YouTubers

• In Event: 46.086 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 46.086-26 - Roundtable Session: Media and Meaning Making in Media Production, New and Digital Literacies, and Critical Media Literacy

Abstract

This paper draws from a qualitative inquiry into the do-it-yourself (DIY) media making of two Somali-Canadian, Muslim, female, youth You-Tubers, focusing on their use of humor as activism. They are the first female members of the Somali Diaspora to post comedic films of this nature on YouTube. Using comedy, they produce videos that challenge normative understandings within and beyond their ethnic and religious communities. To gain understanding of the power of video as part of participatory culture, the content of three humorous videos are analyzed, including a behind-the-scenes look at their DIY media making practices. A discussion of what it means to these youth to participate in YouTube culture follows, as well as implications for literacies and DIY citizenship.

Author

• Diane Patricia Watt, University of Ottawa