What does it mean to be Black-ish?: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Colorism on Twitter

Parker, Skyla

What does it mean to be Black-ish?: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Colorism on Twitter

dc.contributor.advisor	Moore, Jensen
dc.contributor.author	Parker, Skyla
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Frisby, Cynthia
dc.contributor.committeeMember	Jones, Julie
dc.date.accessioned	2021-08-09T21:08:31Z
dc.date.available	2021-08-09T21:08:31Z
dc.date.issued	2021-08-05
dc.date.manuscript	2021-08-05
dc.description.abstract	This research examines the discussion of colorism that Twitter audience members posted after viewing an episode of ABC’s Blackish which explicitly identified colorism as its central theme, and in response to the casting of light-skinned Black actors on Netflix’s BlackAF. Colorism is a form of skin color stratification in which light-skinned people are privileged over dark-skinned people in terms of access to education, work opportunities, and perceived attractiveness (Hunter, 1998; Gullickson, 2005; Mathews & Johnson, 2015; Morfitt, 2020; Blay 2021; Martin et al. 2017; Norwood 2015; Russell et al., 2013; Void 2019; Wilder, 2010). Derived from critical race theory (CRT), critical skin theory (CST) was applied to this research as a guide to determine power structures in the media that perpetuate colorism. Specifically, critical skin theory poses that colorism operates as an extension of race as the new basis for discrimination whereby skin color stratification is used to promote and reinforce privilege. Rooted in colonialism, colorism is a complex phenomenon that stems from slavery and racism wherein colonizers maintain power and control, by using observable human characteristics of skin color as a metric for worth in society (Hunter, 1998). Past scholarly research has examined colorism in the media as it relates to models used in advertising but seldom has colorism in television been studied (Keenan,1996; Mayo et al., 2006; Meyers, 2008 & Frisby, 2006). Therefore, this study explored how television as a media power structure portrays and establishes colorism and how viewers use social media (specifically Twitter) to discuss these portrayals. A qualitative content analysis was used to identify themes in the Twitter discourse, then a grounded theory approach revealed how these themes were similar to and different from what CST proposes in the discourse about colorism. Through the exploration of colorism themes in the data, the findings revealed audience members a) shared personal experiences of colorism, b) discussed representation in casting and c) shared how the Black experience isn’t monolithic in response to Black-oriented media.	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/11244/330247
dc.language	en_US	en_US
dc.subject	BlackAF	en_US
dc.subject	Black-ish	en_US
dc.subject	colorism	en_US
dc.subject	Kenya Barris	en_US
dc.subject	Twitter	en_US
dc.subject	Critical Skin Theory	en_US
dc.thesis.degree	Master of Arts	en_US
dc.title	What does it mean to be Black-ish?: A Grounded Theory Exploration of Colorism on Twitter	en_US
ou.group	Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication	en_US