Exploring the Influence of Black Lives Matter on Mixed-Race Women's Discourses of Race and Racism

• In Event: 514 - Section on Inequality, Poverty and Mobility Paper Session. How and Why Black and Brown Lives Matter

Abstract

This paper explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic women online daters in Texas utilize to explain their own responses to social justice movements around race and racism in the United States. These women utilize stances on the issues that movements such as Black Lives Matter address as a means articulating their own political views, as well as to vet potential dating partners. The language around, and produced by, contemporary social movements in terms of mainstream media coverage and social media campaigns influence the ways in which these women discuss race, gender, and racism. The goal of this paper is to shed light on how mixed-race women are navigating racial politics on an interpersonal level during a time where U.S. media and popular culture is especially focused on issues of racism and state-sanctioned violence.

Author

• Shantel Gabrieal Buggs, The University of Texas at Austin