Good protester or bad protester? Controlling images among women in Black Lives Matter

• In Event: 2323 - Student Forum Refereed Roundtable
  In Refereed Roundtable 100min: 10. Race and the Study of Gender and Sexuality

Abstract

In 2013, three black women launched the Black Lives Matter movement. Since its inception, women have been key in organizing movement activities as well as participating in them, along with mobilizing individuals. Even though women play a key role within this movement, their work and contributions are often marginalized, distorted, and/or made invisible within mainstream literature and media. This is arguably due to the perspective in which media is created. As media continues to be a critical socialization agent within society, it is imperative that we examine how various groups are presented. Employing intersectionality and Patricia Hill Collins’ controlling images, I examine how women who engage in Black Lives Matter movement activities are portrayed in newspaper media. 645 newspaper articles were analyzed revealing that black women are often ignored when discussing events related to Black Lives Matter. Findings indicate that women are marginalized in a variety of ways which include a focus on the movement responding to violence against black men and by utilizing gender neutral language when discussing movement actors. Furthermore, findings show that when women are explicitly discussed, a variety of controlling images are used but not equally and in the same capacity. Limitations and directions for future research are also addressed.

Author

• Michelle L. Estes, Oklahoma State University