2019 CJS Vol. 5

Chicago Journal of Sociology 1 Executive Editor Marissa Combs Executive Board Henry Connolly Rebecca Julie Calvin Woodard Associate Editors Cora Alperin Deblina Mukherjee Christina Cano Lucas Penido Arnav Chatterjee Khoa D Phan Solomon Dworkin Yunhan Wen Bettina Hammer Zoe’ Williams David Klinger Faculty Advisor Adam Aurioles Special Thanks Jenny Trinitapoli Pat Princell Cover Images Austin Kozlowski The Chicago Journal of Sociology (CJS) publishes excellent undergraduate work in the social sciences, while giving student editors experience turning coursework into publish- able academic articles. CJS is looking for papers that offer well formulated arguments about topics of sociological interest. We value clear, straightforward prose, careful cita- tion, and a wide range of methodological approaches. For more information on submit- ting your paper, or on joining our staff, visit sociology.uchicago.edu/cjs or contact cjs. [email protected]. Editor’s Note Dear reader, What is the value of undergraduate publishing? At CJS, we don’t purport to advance the feld with novel research or offer groundbreaking theories on our discipline’s most cherished questions. Instead, we believe that the value of our undergraduate journal is to provide a space for young scholars to “learn the ropes” of academic sociology. We take seriously the intellectual inquiries of our contributing writers, train the curious minds of our student editors, and nurture mentoring relationships among students and staff. Still, our practice is not merely an exercise. We have produced a journal that show- cases the best undergraduate research and editing in sociology. For the frst time, we feature student work from schools across Chicago. We established campus liaisons and developed lasting partnerships with departments across the city. I’m proud of the work that CJS has accomplished this past year. I would be remiss if I did not thank our intrepid team of editors and our dedicated management team – Henry Connolly, Rebecca Julie, and Calvin Woodard. Special thanks to our faculty adviser Jenny Trinitapoli, whose thoughtful leadership was critical to the success of the journal. To Austin Kozlowski and Pat Princell for all your assistance with printing and distribution. And fnally, to you reader, we hope you enjoy the work of our Chicago scholars. All the best, Marissa Combs 2 Table of Contents

Building Power in the Movement for Black Lives: Reconiz- ing the Impacts of Embedded Utopian Organizations Today

AbigAil brockmAn

Rethinking the Digital Hood: Disadvantaged Youth, Social Media, and Networked Privacy Management

Diego eloy cárDenAs

My Hijab, My Choice: The Perceptions of the Hijab Within An American Context yAsmeen khAyr Research Chemical Subreddit: An Exploration of a Virtual Scene cAmille Plunkett

Just Like Grandma Used to Make and More: Markets of Authenticity in Ethnic Restaurants emily rAo

3 Building Power in the Movement for Black Lives: Recognizing the Impacts of Embedded Utopian Organizations Today Abigail Brockman BA Sociology, The University of Chicago

Political process theory initially arose in response to the U.S. Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and sixties, but its narrow conception of social movements excludes import- ant aspects of activism surrounding racial justice today. This paper will expand politi- cal process theory to encompass organizations whose goals are unlikely to be achieved through direct contentious politics alone. Using the police abolitionist and anti-capitalist organization the Freedom Collective as a case study, I will bridge the concept of political opportunity as a continuously mobilizing force with theories of utopian movements, as well as with Tufekci’s (2017) theory of “movement culture.” I will use this composite framework to introduce a new category of social movement organization that I will term “embedded utopian organizations.” Embedded utopian organizations are interconnected with traditional, confrontational social movements, but focus their efforts on manifest- ing these movements’ more revolutionary elements outside the arena of direct contentious politics. Drawing on 20 in-depth qualitative interviews and feldwork conducted between August 2017 and March 2018, I will demonstrate how embedded utopian organizations simultaneously offer reprieve within their own spaces from the structures they oppose, and promote the long-term resistance of these structures beyond their utopian spaces. INTRODUCTION ded utopian organizations, this paper This project aims to create a place in the offers a framework for understanding literature on social movements for or- how organizations with revolutionary ganizations whose primary work – and ideals can have impacts independent present impact – occurs largely outside of the responses of the political powers of direct confrontation with those in they oppose. As such, it makes an ar- power. Through analysis of the work gument for understanding the internally and impacts of a police-abolitionist and focused work of radical organizations anti-capitalist organization within of as a pragmatic response to a sociopo- the Movement for Black Lives, I will litical landscape that is considered to be introduce the term “embedded utopian oppressive in fundamental and cultural- organization” to describe a previously ly embedded ways. under-studied category of social move- The Freedom Collective ment organization. Embedded utopian In the summer of 2014, a group organizations are interconnected with of Chicago-based artists and activists social movements seeking present soci- mobilized to deliver supplies to those etal change, but focus their own efforts protesting police violence in Ferguson, on goals less likely to be achieved at the Missouri in response to the high-profle societal level in the short term, striving police killing of unarmed Black teenag- to manifest them internally in the pres- er Michael Brown. Following this ini- ent. In proposing the concept of embed- tial mobilization, this group returned to 4 Chicago and crystallized into the orga- conduct at this particular facility, but nization that I will refer to as the “Free- also against the existence of police in dom Collective.” At the time of this general. The aims of this action were writing, the Freedom Collective iden- to raise consciousness about perceived tifes itself as an arts-oriented, anti-vi- violence in the justice system, to offer olent, anti-hierarchical, and anti-capi- a space to heal from trauma, and to en- talist police-abolitionist organization, gage participants and community mem- whose ultimate goal is the liberation of bers in working cooperatively to imag- all marginalized identities. The Free- ine and model ‘a world without police.’ dom Collective continues to identify as The action was housed in a ‘tent city,’ part of the broader Movement for Black with each tent representing services the Lives, working in close collaboration organizers believed should be funded in with several organizations also identi- place of the police. Following the Oc- fed with this movement, but operates as cupation, the Collective moved away an independent collective with its own from protesting to focus on ‘healing’ modes of organization and action.1 The and building collective consciousness. group has no formal membership crite- Despite their step back from direct con- ria; the only criterion for being a mem- tentious action, they continue to pursue ber is to self-identify as one. Because their ultimate goal of dismantling the membership is self-determined, those sociopolitical structures they consider who appear outwardly committed to the to be violent. Collective do not necessary identify as The Freedom House members. As such, when asked about In the year following the Tent City the size of the Collective’s consistently Occupation, the Freedom Collective ac- active and committed membership, my quired the space out of which they are respondents’ estimates varied, ranging now based. I will refer to this space as from 8-10 people on the low end, to 15- the “Freedom House.” Since settling 21 people on the high end. into the Freedom House, the Collec- The Tent City Occupation tive has intensifed its focus on build- In the summer of 2016, the Free- ing community and cultivating a space dom Collective led a spontaneous, where those of marginalized identities 41-night, 45-day occupation (which I can go to “breathe.” Since the fall of will refer to as the “Tent City Occupa- 2017, the Collective has offered regu- tion”) in a vacant lot across the street lar events open to the public, including from a Chicago Police Department fa- weekly gatherings aimed at providing a cility (which I will refer to as the “West collaborative workspace for “manifest- Side CPD Facility”) in response to alle- ing” projects, weekly planning meet- gations of large-scale and long-standing ings with those who identify as Collec- abuse at this site. This occupation stood tive members, and publicly advertised as a protest not only against police mis- themed events that generally occur a 1 I will use the term “Movement for Black Lives” to refer to the loose coalition of Black-led organizations across the African diaspora mobilized in response to a series of high-profle police killings of unarmed Black people in the U.S. in the 2010s. Although this movement is often referred to as “Black Lives Matter,” this title risks becoming confated with a particular organization of the same name. 5 few times per month. their internally oriented work – what Recognizing Impact founding member Alicia describes as Due to the Collective’s internal “building power, rather than confront- focus, those not directly involved with ing power as a tactic” – the Freedom the organization may not see the im- Collective continues to work toward pacts that it has on the lives and work of eventual large-scale change, while si- its participants. Dwayne, a community multaneously manifesting the Collec- organizer who has been involved in re- tive’s ideology in the present. formist activism surrounding the West Project Overview Side CPD Facility, believes that the Tent I will use a qualitative analysis of City Occupation was “undermined” by my interviews and feldwork to outline the fact that it failed to gain “pull” in how the Freedom Collective achieves the media and the general public. While these dual impacts in the present. In he was supportive of the Occupation – Section I, I will elaborate how the Free- and visited it to drop off donations – he dom Collective transitioned away from expressed disappointment in its appar- direct contentious action while main- ent lack of external traction. Similar to taining their place in the Movement for Dwayne’s assessment of the Tent City Black Lives. I will discuss their current Occupation, the sociological literature emphasis on visioning and modeling on social movements hinges movement the world they wish to see in Section impact on the external results of direct II, and in Section III I will demonstrate contentious action. how this work has translated into a Those who were deeply involved form of utopianism, in which the Free- in the Occupation, however, frame it dom Collective’s spaces provide refuge differently. Collective members speak from the societal structures they op- of it not as a failed protest, but as a pose. In Section IV, I will describe how springboard for launching the com- the Freedom Collective works to make munity they have built in the Freedom their spaces inclusive, and why this is House, which they describe as ‘a living important to the Collective’s mission continuation’ of the Occupation and ‘a of liberating those who are structural- new space for greater collective con- ly marginalized. I will show how this sciousness in the resistance movement.’ inclusivity aligns with the Collective’s They describe the internal focus of the consciousness-building work in Sec- Occupation – and their subsequent turn tion V, both in terms of spreading the away from direct action – as intentional Collective’s philosophy, and of con- and strategic according to their ultimate tinuing to develop this philosophy in a aim of achieving liberation for structur- collective manner. Finally, Section VI ally marginalized people. They describe will show how the Collective’s model this strategy as ‘acting where their peo- translates into impacts beyond its uto- ple are, not where the people in pow- pian spaces, and ultimately infuences er are.’ Rather than confront external the movement in which it is embedded. structures directly, they strive to stand I will conclude by demonstrating how as the ‘antithesis’ to them. Through the concept of embedded utopianism is 6 not limited to the case of the Freedom leading approaches to the study of col- Collective, but can be applied to other lective action and social movements in organizations and social movements recent decades. This theory examines to understand their work and impacts social movements within the dynamic more holistically. sociopolitical landscape of their respec- tive societies (1982:39-40). It holds THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK that social movements consolidate and I critique the limitations of polit- mobilize when some change or event ical process theory because it remains signals a weakened ability of those in uniquely situated within the social power to maintain the status quo, and movements literature as a heuristic for thereby opens a “political opportunity” understanding the inception and on- for popular mobilization around a par- going development of the Movement ticular issue. Political process theorists for Black Lives in the context of its emphasize confrontation with oppo- ever-changing sociopolitical environ- nents as the hallmark of collective ac- ment. I aim to address these limitations tion, and hinge social movements’ suc- by bridging the concept of political op- cess on the responses of those in power portunity with theories on “movement (McAdam 1982:36-37). Even as the pi- culture” (Tufekci 2017) and utopian oneers of political process theory have movements. Existing literature on uto- updated and revised their approach to pian movements offers a partial frame- social movements, they’ve maintained work for considering the impacts of the centrality of direct contentious poli- internally focused, non-confrontational tics (McAdam, Tarrow, Tilly 2001). responses to the sociopolitical land- In their critique of political pro- scape. Additionally, Tufekci’s (2017) cess theory, Goodwin and Jasper con- theory of movement culture offers a tend that the framework excludes “any mechanism for how participants can movements that do not target the state feel social movement impact indepen- as their main opponent” (1999:34). I dent of changes at the structural level. I add to this critique that political process will introduce the term “embedded uto- theory provides a very limited analysis pian organizations” to encapsulate the of movements that give rise to organi- under-studied social movement organi- zations whose modes of organizing fall zations that ought to be analyzed under outside of its narrow criteria for social this hybrid framework. movement activity. According to Tilly, Political Process Theory and its Limita- collective action is generally targeted at tions a specifc opponent with a discrete goal Political process theory, which in mind, as “[p]eople do not ordinari- centers upon the notion of “political ly act to infuence abstract structures opportunity” frst proposed by political such as polities and markets; they try scientist Peter Eisinger (1973), and de- to get particular other people to do par- veloped largely by sociologists McAd- ticular things” ([1994]1998:5.1). How- am (1982), Tarrow ([1994]1998), and ever, collective action concerned with Tilly (1978), has provided one of the structurally embedded inequities does, in fact, seek change at an abstract lev- 7 el. Although the Movement for Black consciousness-building that can have Lives is often associated with protests major long-term implications for the and demands for police reform, it is im- advancement of a movement’s cause(s) portant to note that the underlying aim (Tufekci 2017: 103, 105, 107-108). of this movement is the liberation of According to Tufekci, movement Black people from oppressive systems. culture also entails the risks of pro- This aim is not one that can be achieved test, including emotional and physical in full by making fnite demands to dis- trauma, legal ramifcations, and even crete entities. For this reason, it is nec- death (Tufekci 2017:104-105). My essary to consider the work and impacts data, however, suggests that this uni- of organizations like the Freedom Col- fying “movement culture” may not be lective, which focus their work on these limited to protest settings, but may also more abstract goals, in order to analyze develop in non-protest spaces with the social movements holistically. radical features Tufekci outlines. Given Divorcing Impact from Political Power the risks of contentious action, and the Structures unlikelihood of achieving abstract goals In her analysis of protest camps, in the short term through protest, it is Tufekci (2017) posits potential impacts signifcant that those who have engaged of collective action that are not depen- in events at the Freedom House have dent on the responses of those in power. reported each of the benefts described She holds that movements with an “em- above outside of protest settings. phasis on participation, horizontalism, ‘Utopian’ Movements as Social Move- institutional distrust, ad hoc organiza- ments tions eschewing formal ones, and strong A body of literature by anthropo- expressive bent” give rise to “movement logical and organizational theorists ar- cultures” that are conducive to a range gues for an increased and more nuanced of positive outcomes within protest set- consideration of utopian movements in tings (2017:83). According Tufekci, the the study of social movements (Fourni- tendency of protests to foster a sense of er 2002; Price, Nonini, and Fox Tree community belonging and Durkheimi- 2008). This work posits that leading so- an “collective effervescence” ([1912] cial movement theories, including po- 1965) “can be ends as well as means,” litical process theory, “take for granted regardless of whether they achieve their the modern nation-state and capitalist “instrumental aims” (2017:89-90,103). markets as either the objects of strate- Additionally, she argues that protests gic contention by social movements or have the potential to offer a temporary as the felds of contention within which reprieve from capitalistic systems and social movements arise and develop” other systems perceived to be harmful, (Price, Nonini, and Fox Tree 2008:130). by allowing for interactions that are not Price, Nonini, and Fox Tree’s (2008) mediated by them (2017: 87-88,90-91). conception of grounded utopian move- Moreover, by bringing together poten- ments, or GUMs, provides a useful tially diverse people who share a com- framework for understanding aspects mon cause, protests offer a platform for of social movements that would be ex- 8 cluded by established sociological cri- utopian space is continuously informed teria. by, and has impacts on, the contentious Similar to the Freedom Collective, politics of this movement. Thus, I pro- “grounded utopian movements,” or pose the term “embedded utopian or- GUMs, are identity-based movements ganization” as a new category of social that organize in the face of “condi- movement organization. tions of racist imperial oppression (e.g., Goodwin and Jasper argue that slaughter, ethnocide, displacement)” there cannot be any “invariant and tran- (2008:128). The way GUMs respond shistorical theory” of all social move- to these grievances is ‘utopian’ in that ments (1999:28). I agree with this claim they strive to build their own spaces and and contend that frameworks for un- communities in order to “counteract” derstanding social movement organi- these conditions, focusing “on group zations’ work and impacts must be de- integrity and identity instead of on in- veloped according to the nature of their strumental action with respect to states goals, and the contexts in which they and capitalism” (Price, Nonini, and Fox work. I developed the term embedded Tree 2008:128). The classifcation of utopian organization empirically to de- a movement or organization as utopi- scribe a particular type of social move- an does not connote that they actually ment organization. These organizations model an ideal society. According to arise as part of directly contentious so- Fournier, “utopianism is not a blueprint cial movements in response to political for a ‘perfect society,’” but an ongoing opportunities – and remain intercon- process which “undermines dominant nected with these movements and their understanding of what is possible and sociopolitical context – while focusing opens up new conceptual spaces for im- their activities on providing spaces for aging and practicing possible futures” manifesting these movements’ ultimate (Fournier 2002:192-193). goals in the present.2 In doing so, em- Introducing Embedded Utopian Orga- bedded utopian organizations offer im- nizations pacts on two levels. Internally, they pro- My data show that the Freedom vide participating individuals a sense of Collective pursues a form of grounded reprieve from the structures they op- utopia within the spaces they cultivate pose through the benefts of “movement through their emphasis on healing, re- culture” as Tufekci (2017) describes it, lationship-building, and minimizing but without the risks and stresses of di- contact with capitalistic and carceral rect contentious action. Externally, they systems. However, this utopian space impact the work of activists and other is intrinsically embedded in the broad- community actors who visit their uto- er Movement for Black Lives, and the pian spaces, by offering a platform for work that occurs within the Collective’s consciousness building and visioning, 2 Every individual or organization in the movement need not hold these “ultimate” goals. However, in order for a utopian organization to be considered “embedded” in a broader movement, their utopian ideals must be conceptualized by this organization and its movement collaborators as aligned with the movement’s goals. For example, not all orga- nizations associated with the Movement for Black Lives are police abolitionist or anti-cap- italist, but the Collective has a number of collaborators in the movement that ascribe to these ideals, and conceptualize them in terms of the movement’s goal of Black liberation. 9 as well as a space for recovery from the on-one, at locations chosen by my re- traumas of direct contentious action. spondents. Interviews were conducted It is especially important to ac- over the phone when respondents were knowledge the impacts of embedded unable to meet in-person. All formal in- utopian organizations given that they terviews were recorded and transcribed offer relatively accessible and low-risk in full. Those interviewed for this proj- platforms through which people who ect fall into four categories: seven re- refuse or are unable to engage in di- spondents are members of the Collec- rect contentious action can contribute tive, six are close collaborators with the to social movements. In his analysis of Collective, three are frst-time visitors Occupy Wall Street, Bray (2013) of- to the Freedom House, and four are fers a strategy that radical movements members of organizations that collabo- may use to recruit individuals who do rated on the Occupation (two of whom not have a previous understanding of were present at the Occupation, and or commitment to its work. Bray de- two of whom were able to speak to the scribes how Occupy Wall Street activ- way this event is discussed within their ists “translated” the movement’s revo- organizations.) Because the Collective lutionary ideas into concepts that were does not have formal membership re- familiar and salient to those not previ- quirements, I defned members as any- ously involved in radical activism. As I one who both self-identifes as such will show, the Freedom Collective em- and has had some organizing role in at ploys this strategy in two ways: to break least one of the Collective’s actions or down academic concepts like capitalism events. I interviewed the fnal category into terms that are more clearly relevant of respondents to help me reconstruct to the lives of participants, as well as to the events of the Tent City Occupation, reframe culturally normative concepts which I did not attend. like the notion of police as protectors, in My data collection process fol- order to pitch radical goals like police lowed Small’s (2009) method of case abolitionism. selection for qualitative feld-based research. Small’s approach to analysis DATA AND METHODS offers an appropriate methodology for Data Collection this project because my aim is not to My data are drawn from 20 in- describe a representative sample of all depth qualitative interviews, along with activist groups – or even all embedded feldwork, conducted between August utopian groups – but rather to develop a 2017 and March 2018. All names of in- valid analysis of the Collective’s mod- dividuals and organizations have been el and impacts, based on “the internal changed.3 Formal interviews ranged conditions” of this organization. I be- from around 20 minutes to around 100 gan by cold-calling and cold-emailing minutes in length, with the average in- individuals who I hoped could provide terview lasting slightly over one hour. me more background and context on I conducted all formal interviews one- the Occupation, and then employed 3 I do refer to the group Black Lives Matter by its real name, in order to clarify the distinction between this organization and the Movement for Black Lives. However, I did not collect data on this organization. 10 snowball sampling to identify and se- carefully reading all written records of cure interviews with individuals whose data collection, and beginning my cod- relevance to my evolving question was ing on a line-by-line basis, was crucial revealed to me over the course of my to grounding my analysis empirically in interviews. As Small recommends for the data, as all codes were derived di- the case selection method, I altered rectly from the contents of the text. each new interview to include “increas- RESULTS ingly refned” questions about differ- From Political Opportunity to ent respondents’ experiences with the Non-Confrontational Activism Freedom Collective (Small 2009: 26- While the Freedom Collective’s 27). Additionally, I recruited frst-time early work in Chicago began as a con- visitors to the Freedom House through tinuation of its work in Ferguson, it be- in-person conversations at events. I had gan to shift tactics as it became more not met any of my respondents prior to attuned to the needs of the communities beginning my research. in which it works, as well as to the long- I conducted feldwork at events term nature of its goals. The Collective and meetings led by the Freedom Col- remains interconnected with the Move- lective, as well as those involving or- ment for Black Lives, and continues to ganizations that the Collective has shape its work around current events, acknowledged as collaborators. I re- but does not presently engage in con- corded spending 32 hours at these or- frontational direct action. ganized gatherings. I also spent time at The political opening the Freedom House and visiting part- A series of high-profle police kill- ner organizations outside of organized ings of Black people across the United gatherings. I engaged in numerous in- States, and the subsequent momen- formal interviews in the feld, as well as tum of the Movement for Black Lives, informal follow-up conversations with served as a political opening for the those I had previously interviewed. I Freedom Collective to consolidate and hand-wrote most jottings in the feld, organize. These developments called but occasionally wrote them shortly into question public trust of the police after leaving, when taking notes in real and the state, and brought racial ten- time was either not possible or not ap- sions in the United States to the fore propriate. I will use single quotation (Tarrow [1994]1998:32). According to marks when using quotes from jottings. Alicia, the Collective’s birth as an or- Analysis ganization working in Chicago arose I analyzed my interview tran- directly from their involvement in Fer- scripts and feld notes using the analytic guson. Moreover, Michael notes that coding method outlined in Chapter 6 the action that led to the Tent City Oc- of Emerson and Fretz’s Writing Ethno- cupation was a part of a national day of graphic Field Notes (1995), to system- action in response to the police killings atically extract patterns from the written of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Phi- records of my data collection. Employ- lando Castile in Minnesota. ing Emerson and Fretz’s method of 11 Shifting Further Inward impacted by the systems the Collective While it was a national movement opposes. that gave rise to the Freedom Collec- The service-orientation of the tive, the forms its actions in Chicago Occupation developed as a response to took were ultimately shaped by hy- concerns regarding appropriate action per-local factors. Initially, the Freedom in a community facing trauma and im- Collective focused on what Alicia de- mediate need. In their fght to disman- scribes as “confrontational civil disobe- tle systems they considered inequitable dience direct actions,” where the targets and violent, organizers of the Occupa- of these actions were political and eco- tion emphasized strategies that would nomic elite. However, while planning a address the community’s needs and Memorial Day 2016 action in the West avoid retraumatization. Organizers did Side Neighborhood, the Collective be- make political demands, including that gan to refect on “what it would mean the City reject a proposed ordinance to to take that style of protest into [the extend hate crime protections to police West Side Neighborhood]” given its offcers, and that the police department longstanding tensions with the police shut down the West Side CPD Facility. and “other traumas of social disinvest- However, Michael emphasizes that they ment.” The Collective shifted its target did not hinge their sense of success on to those it ultimately aims to liberate, having their demands met. Instead, he organizing a “service parade” through holds that the core intention of the Tent the blocks surrounding the site where City was “just to be stationed there and an unarmed Black woman named Rekia be the antithesis” to the carceral system. Boyd had been killed by off-duty police Building Power in the Freedom House offcer Dante Servin, picking up trash Following the events of the sum- and giving away free books. Alicia de- mer of 2016, the Freedom Collective scribes this action as a turning point in deepened its commitment to modeling the Collective’s work, their “frst ges- the world it wishes to see. Erika de- ture” toward “building power rather scribed her impression of the “trajecto- than confronting power as a tactic.” ry” of the Collective since acquiring the This community-oriented focus Freedom House: “like in the past there became an organizing principle of the was more emphasis on like action and Tent City Occupation later that summer. protests. And now it’s, um, there seems Michael notes that the decision to hold to be more emphasis on kind of like an action in a lot in the West Side Neigh- bringing people into this space.” Ali- borhood was motivated by the goal of cia connects the Freedom Collective’s working “more directly in concert with commitment to this model to the long- our communities that are most directly term and radical nature of their objec- impacted by the carceral system and, tives, suggesting that their movement you know, over-policing, or policing in is presently better-served by raising general.” This decision was informed consciousness than by making direct by organizers’ observations that plat- appeals to political power structures: forms for confronting power directly “we’re very aware that the abolition of are often divorced from the people most police and prisons is a generations-long 12 project. It’s a horizon-based project. they have cultivated in the Freedom Um, and so you know, I think the work House as platforms for collaborative that we do is, uh, culture work around experimentation. According to Mia: transforming consciousness around “everything at the Collective at this abolition.” Toward this end of “trans- point is all experimental, and we’re all forming consciousness,” they continue developing in trying to – in trying to working to stand as the “antithesis” to build it together.” This experimentation the external structures they oppose in serves the dual purpose of improving their permanent space. their utopian experience in the short- Keeping up with Current Events term, and of working toward their long- While the Freedom Collective term goals of societal change. has recently steered away from direct “A laboratory of nation-building” contentious action, they remain deep- The Tent City Occupation had ly interconnected with protest-orient- many elements of direct and conten- ed organizations associated with the tious action. However, when Collective Movement for Black Lives. This in- members speak of this action, they rare- cludes attending and promoting each ly mention their demands to the City other’s events, and contributing to each and to the Chicago Police Department, other’s dialogue. Further, the Freedom emphasizing instead the Occupation’s Collective continues to respond to the value as an exercise and experiment. ever-changing sociopolitical landscape When asked about the Tent City Oc- in which it is situated. For example, the cupation during our interview, Alicia’s Collective was a founding member of a frst response was, “I often like to re- coalition of Chicago organizations that fer to it as a laboratory of nation build- formed in November 2016 in response ing, because as we are on this like one to that year’s presidential elections. block, you know, square footage trying The Freedom Collective’s work within to imagine a world without police.” this coalition has focused on offering Michael offered a similar response, de- ‘teach-ins’ to raise consciousness about scribing it as a “social laboratory” for their philosophy. Additionally, follow- confronting questions that are raised ing the president’s comments disparag- when called the police is not considered ing immigrants from Haiti and various an option, like, “What type of systems African Nations in January 2018 (Da- do we need to hold ourselves account- vis, Stolberg, and Kaplan 2018), the able and create a less violent society but Collective added programming to their also to take care of each other?” February Freedom House Series event Amani, who was present for the intended to “uplift” these countries. entirety of the Occupation and is now Visioning and Modeling primarily involved in an organization Members of the Collective are that focuses on direct contentious ac- open about their uncertainty as to how, tion, describes the Collective’s organiz- exactly, their ideal world would be or- ing style as: “‘Yo, we have this idea and ganized. They view both the Tent City we’re gonna build the plane on the way Occupation and the permanent space up’ [laughs].” Rather than view prac- 13 tical challenges they faced during the aims to “counteract” oppressive con- Occupation as frustrations, the Free- ditions in society by envisioning and dom Collective frames them as learning striving to manifest an “ideal place” experiences; members recognize the (2008:128). This does not mean that revolutionary nature of their goals and the Collective always succeeds at cre- do not expect to see them accomplished ating anti-oppressive spaces. However, in the short term. Michael holds that by rejecting dominant paradigms and part of his work is ‘Being okay with the supplanting them with their own, they idea that the police might outlive me,’ are creating spaces that “are not sutured and expresses his belief that ‘abolition- to the logics” they consider oppressive ists gotta lay track’ for the long-term (Price, Nonini, and Fox Tree 2008:135). achievement of their goals. In the case of the Freedom Collective, The Collective used an exposé by these include a punitive justice system, a major international news outlet on capitalism, and white supremacy. alleged abuses at the West Side CPD Non-punitive confict resolution facility as a political opening for lay- Within the Freedom House, the ing this track. They erected seven tents Collective aims to manifest a world symbolizing the resources that they and without police by addressing conficts members of the surrounding commu- in alternative ways. I witnessed this nity believed would “actually keep the ideal being tested during a winter Free- community safe”: arts, food, housing, dom House Series event, when a wom- “mental health as a subset of general an (who I will refer to as Rena) caused health,” restorative justice, education, a number of disruptions throughout the and childcare. Within this environment, night. Despite her erratic and often ag- organizers found teachable moments to gressive behavior, I never witnessed communicate their abolitionist vision. Rena being treated as though she were For example, when a visitor called the unwelcome in the space. Instead, Col- police after a car break-in, Erika en- lective members worked to include her gaged that person in a conversation in the programming and de-escalated questioning why calling the police tensions each time she began to act dis- was their frst response to the situation. ruptively. For example, very early in the Meanwhile, the restorative justice tent event, Rena got into a loud argument stood as an example of a concrete alter- over the phone. Michael diffused this native. situation by asking if he could speak Carving Out a Utopian Space with the person, and relayed messages The Freedom Collective’s work is from that person to Rena. Later, Rena not purely experimental; in modeling interrupted the facilitator in a peace the world they wish to see, the Freedom circle. When the facilitator asked her Collective builds spaces that offer some to stop, Rena lashed out at him, hold- immediate reprieve from the structures ing that she had not interrupted him. As it hopes to dismantle in the long term. the situation was escalating, Michael This work is utopian according to Price, stepped in, speaking with Rena in a Nonini, and Fox Tree’s defnition, as it calm and quiet voice, and explained in 14 a non-condescending manner that peace found that interesting, um, just because circles have particular rules that Rena that’s like a thing where if she was at may not know about, where people are my work – my work’s protocol was like only supposed to speak when they are you need to leave, or like something holding the talking object. Then, Alicia like that, which is, um, I would say like came up with a plate of food, and asked shitty.” He also refected on how the if Rena wanted to join her on the couch. Collective’s treatment of Rena ties into Alicia sat with Rena on the couch for his own understanding of police aboli- the remainder of the peace circle. Final- tionism: ly, during the ‘open mic’ portion of the I think the like main thing is like evening, the Collective allowed Rena having it be this place where we’re to perform. When she ran far past her practicing a non-disposability, so allotted time, Collective members did it’s like a big part of like abolition not outright ask her to give up the mi- work is, um – yeah, like nobody crophone. Instead, they gently remind- is disposable, and everybody has ed her of their time constraints until she a place. Um, and if like conficts willingly stepped down. arise we can deal with them. Despite obvious disruptions in programming, each of my respondents A “spirit of abundance” who spoke about this Rena’s behavior Tufekci (2017:92) notes that an- expressed understanding rather than an- ti-capitalist protest camps often embody noyance. For example, Gabe, who had their ideals by conducting non-mone- not previously been in a police aboli- tary exchanges of goods and services. tionist space, spoke positively about the She holds that this practice counteracts Collective’s treatment of Rena: “people perceived harms of capitalistic systems were being patient and respectful which by centering mutual caring, rather than I really liked instead of someone getting accumulation, in these transactions in their face and telling them to, you (Tufekci 2017:92). My data show that know, get away from them or some- the Freedom Collective promoted such thing like that, you know?” He went on symbolic transactions at the Tent City to indicate that this occurrence left him Occupation and at the Freedom House. with this impression of the Freedom Alicia grounds the Collective’s House as a loving space: “Um, yeah, I anti-capitalist ideals in “a fundamen- really like the love that was there and tal belief in universal abundance...and I can’t really say I didn’t like anything that the scarcity that we experience is because even that person that was caus- engineered scarcity for the beneft of ing that distraction or disturbance, um, a few people.” Accordingly, she holds I understood.” Moreover, Elliot, who is that the Tent City Occupation was “or- involved in a different police abolition- ganized through that lens in a way to ist organization, but who had not previ- embody the spirit of abundance.” One ously been to the Freedom House, noted way they accomplished this “spirit of how the Collective’s response to the sit- abundance” was through offering free uation differed from what he would ex- meals to anyone who entered the space. pect to see in the outside world: “But I They continue this practice in the Free- 15 dom House by offering free food at all source out what we need.” She holds their events. Additionally, they have that this seems to have followed easily devoted a whole room next to the main from the work they are doing: “all types entrance of the Freedom House to their of people that come out, and, and then Free Store, and they encourage people once they fgure out what we’re doing to use the building’s facilities to pursue they kind of come to us like, ‘Oh, well creative projects free of charge. let me know. Like I know – I know this Similar to Tufekci’s assessment of person that can.’” free amenities and non-monetary trans- Experience of Abundance Within a actions in protest camps (2017:87,91), Capitalist System Alicia describes the primary intention Of course, the Freedom House re- of these practices as cognitive, rather mains embedded in a capitalist system. than need-based: “even if you can af- Mia acknowledges that, so long as this ford the clothes or whatever, like it is so is the case, “at the end of the day we disconcerting to people when they enter know it really takes money…” and de- a space and everything is free. Um, it scribes the Collective’s short-term goal immediately changes how they interact as: “So we’re really just trying how to with the space and how they feel in the fgure out how to do that without the – space,” adding that “that kind of like without the evilness of it jumping in.” cognitive intervention is part of why we In cultivating a movement culture of organize the way we do.” Alicia hopes abundance within the Freedom House, that the Free Store will counteract “all the Freedom Collective provides a of the internalized scarcity and all of the space where the perceived burdens of ways that like humans behave violently capitalism are felt less strongly. with each other because we’ve internal- Jeremiah indicates how transac- ized this false narrative of scarcity.” tions within the Collective differ from It seems the Collective does not those outside of it. He describes his life just purport a “spirit” of abundance; in the outside world: “Like I live in a it also offers tangible experiences of capitalist society… it’s like I actual- abundance. Similar to Tufekci’s as- ly do wake up in the morning and like sessment that the “movement culture” might go to a store and buy a coffee and of “non-monetized” interaction height- actually do pay my bills with money,” ens generosity (2017:91-92), my data whereas he notes that the Collective indicates that the Collective’s spirit of works to “exchange resources instead abundance has a self-perpetuating qual- of like exchanging money.” He notes ity. Robin notes that the Tent City Oc- that another organization with which cupation received more donations than he is involved exchanges labor with the could be stored onsite. Further, Erika Freedom Collective in setting up for holds that the Collective has developed events. the Freedom House largely outside of Erika describes how the experi- the traditional market, with people do- ence of non-monetary exchange has af- nating labor and resources: “Um, I, I fected her on a personal level: “coming personally haven’t like had to do any- from that space where – where I always thing like go through yellow pages to 16 have to feel like I was fghting for – to notes the impact she believes the Free- get to the top to just being – now being dom House can have on the lives of in the Collective it was like everybody Black people: is involved, everybody – there’s – you There’s not a lot of places where see the value in everybody.” She be- [Black people] go where we can lieves that this sense of existing in an openly be ourselves, and be our au- environment where everyone is valued thentic selves. We don’t even know and considered a part of the communi- what our authentic selves are. ty “no matter what it is that they do, or So frst we have to create a space what they can contribute,” cuts to the where we can teach you what being core of anti-capitalism. your authentic self is, and then give A Black space you the space to practice it some- While the Collective prioritizes where. intersectionality, and welcomes people Derrick expresses his belief that a of all identities, it places a particular lot of people who come to the Freedom emphasis on providing a ‘Black space’ House come to “heal” because “it’s just that can offer a sense of liberation from really hard being a Black person like in the white supremacist structures of the the world.” He holds that the Freedom outside world. For example, Brandon House provides “a place where Black notes that throughout the Tent City people have power and agency and are Occupation, participants held nightly not, um, and are humanized and not de- meetings around a fre that were “pure- humanized or, um, exploited for their ly Black spaces,” while white allies per- labor.” He describes how he feels this formed supportive functions like doing fts into a movement for Black libera- dishes. In the Freedom House, the Col- tion: “I think this healing can be a form lective demonstrates intentional efforts of dismantling that and working to, um, to supplant white supremacist perspec- produce something new that is liberato- tives with the lens of Black liberation. ry, that is free, and that is safe for people For example, at one Freedom House to be themselves.” He also adds that the Series event, Michael invited attendees very existence of the Freedom House to contribute to a timeline of the histo- as a Black-led space that emphasizes ry of the ‘Black resistance project.’ He healing and community subverts “this introduced this activity with the cave- message in media and this message in at that if participants were to research like the world that Black people aren’t events online, they should be careful organized and we don’t have power and not to replicate ‘the language of our Eu- that like we have to be in a state of like ropean oppressors’ on the timeline. constant fghting or constant pain.” One person who I often saw in the Freedom House described his motiva- Utopian space as a refuge tions for being there: ‘I like to come to While the Collective is embedded this space because there is music, and in the Movement for Black Lives, mem- it’s open, and they don’t hate black bers have expressed a feeling of insular- people in this space.’ Additionally, Mia ity within the Collective’s spaces, which offers a sense of safety independent of 17 what happens in the broader movement. nology and concepts, the stress of other For example, Erika describes her expe- urgent needs, or their inability to com- rience of the Tent City Occupation as a mit to the demands of membership to an break from the external structures the organization. encampment was protesting: The Collective promotes inclusiv- Because like technically the police ity by making their programming acces- were still there, but they – it was sible and attractive to non-activist au- like our little utopia on that block diences through translation techniques for a good 40 days. And it did not (Bray 2013), as well as by incorporat- feel like we were – some, some ing entertainment and free amenities days it did not feel like we were into their programming. Moreover, being like harassed by any type of they maintain a low-commitment mem- person or system. bership model, only asking that peo- ple ‘show up.’ In doing so, they allow Additionally, while Mia expresses individuals to access the benefts of doubts about societal-level change in their utopian work and movement cul- the short term because “the evil is too ture without putting themselves on the deep,” she emphasizes her hope about front lines in direct contentious action the idea of “making bubbles and buf- (Tufekci 2017). fers” encircling “places for people to go that are about that life,” and “building Expanding their reach your world inside the world that it – In order to work ‘more directly that exists, and trying to keep whatev- in concert’ with communities most im- er else out.” Similarly, Erika describes pacted by the systems the Freedom Col- the Freedom House as a “fort”: “like lective opposes, the Collective needed we have an actual safe space. It’s like a to reach beyond its activist and artist fort...We have a fort in here. Like who networks. Alicia describes taking in- getting in here? Nobody.” tentional steps to do so after realizing that their frst few events were mainly Radical Inclusivity attended by those who were already Inclusion of marginalized individ- connected with the activist world: “so uals is central to the Collective’s inter- we really pulled back then on our so- sectional mission on two levels. First, cial media marketing and, you know, those who are most negatively impact- did more of our, you know, traditional ed by structures like capitalism, the Chicago-style hitting the streets,” us- carceral system, and white supremacy ing strategies like bringing a “wagon are those who are most in need of the of Free Store things outside and using reprieve that the Collective strives to that as an access point, um, to talk to offer. Second, the Collective holds that people.” They also began to set up their those most impacted by these systems Free Store outside a transit stop near should have the loudest voices in shap- their space and handed out chocolate ing the resistance against them. These and donuts on trains. are individuals who may not have had Darrell “stumbled” upon the Free- access to activist spaces previously, due dom House in the early fall of 2017 on to lack of familiarity with activist termi- 18 his way to a pawnshop. He described struggling just to eat, then like being being drawn in by the artwork and the in somebody’s meeting is not neces- Free Store they had set up on the side- sarily like how you wanna be spending walk. When Alicia noticed him, she took your time, right?” Derrick echoes this him on a tour of the space and involved sentiment. When asked what he thinks him in a conversation with members: is needed to mobilize people into a “And, um, they was talking about the long-term movement, he emphasized [upcoming event], but it was like, like the need “to just meet people where free shops, free like this. I come and they are and like be realistic about, you mingle.” Darrell returned for the event know, the intersections that they come and has been a committed member ever in with.” He believes that building an since. He says that although this is his organization that manifests its own ide- frst experience ever being involved in als requires “being real about providing an activist space, he felt included im- for folks and like strengthening them mediately: “they include everybody. and making sure that they’re mentally You feel me? They make everybody and emotionally and physically and all feel as if, you know, you’ve been there that taken care of.” for like 10,000 years,” adding, “there’s Translating revolutionary concepts none of that alienation shit. No. Come, Additionally, Alicia notes that al- enjoy. Come breath. You feel me? And though the founders of the Collective it feels good.” are people of color, they have privileges The Collective is also intention- as activists that many other marginal- al about developing programming that ized people do not share: is widely engaging, even for those not ...being artists and therefore having yet aware of the Collective’s specifc this cultural capital, having elite causes. At each Freedom House event, educations, and therefore being the Collective interweaves explicitly able to have institutional access, political programming with free ame- um, that that is a position of privi- nities, social services, and creative and lege that like the folks that, um, are healing activities such as writing work- most directly impacted by police shops, guided meditations, and mas- violence and mass incarceration sages. As Alicia describes: “you could may not, um, fnd movement work see a teach-in on tax increment fnanc- as accessible. ing next to a hip-hop performance or someone singing with their ukulele or Deja emphasizes that when de- whatever.” She also notes that all public veloping programming, certain Collec- events offer free childcare, a free meal, tive members need to be cognizant of and access to the Free Store. the privileged opportunities they have Alicia holds that attempts at con- had to learn about sociopolitical con- sciousness-raising that do not also ad- cepts in academic terms: “if you ask dress people’s immediate needs tend to people like, ‘How are you affected by be inaccessible to the people the Col- capitalism?’ and they haven’t spent a lective aims to reach: “Like if you are whole lot of time in that conversation struggling with housing or if you’re or in that school of thought, they might 19 look at you and be like, ‘I don’t think I losophy and building unity, and open am affected by capitalism.’” Similar to dialogue as a way of further develop- Bray’s (2013) account of “translating” ing their priorities in collaboration with revolutionary concepts to the public their diverse participant base. during the Occupy Wall Street Move- Call-and-response ment, Deja notes the need for transla- Tufekci notes that protest move- tion of these academic concepts into ments use call-and-response techniques something recognizable, explaining, called “human microphones” and “mic “these are people who might be huge- checks” to create a sense of unity – and ly affected by capitalism,” but that they thereby promote movement culture may not make this connection “until – among participants who represent you translate that into a language and diverse experiences and affliations into a modality or a medium in which (2017:99-100). She posits that call- they receive information and consume and-response “creates a counterbalance regularly.” to this heightened individual partici- Alicia also calls for the translation pation by providing a moment where of culturally normalized concepts into everyone collectively repeats someone more radical terms. For example, she else’s point of view in unison,” and that compares police to “slave-catchers” as this moment has a cognitive impact recognizable fgures of racist oppres- on participants: “Psychically, it makes sion, and the media that propagates pos- the assembly, a place where strangers itive images of police to “propaganda” gather, into a unifed voice – at least as a recognizable hallmark of state cor- for a moment” (2017:99-100). Rather ruption. She describes her own process than using this unifed voice as a tool of adopting an abolitionist philosophy for confrontational action, the Freedom as “purging” conceptions of police as Collective employs this tactic as a tool protectors, until she reached the point for consciousness-raising. where she refected on whether she Each of the Freedom Collective had ever personally had a positive in- events that I attended included sever- teraction with police, and realized she al instances of call-and-response. At hadn’t. some point during these events, orga- Building Collective Consciousness nizers encouraged attendees to gather The Collective’s emphasis on in- in the main room, and Michael sung the clusivity allows them to build radical following lines, which are commonly political consciousness beyond existing included in protest chant sheets, in a activist networks. My data show that calm, slow voice, encouraging the room messaging presented and dialogue fos- to repeat each line after him: tered in the Freedom House has left an Let my people go (let my people impression on newcomers to the space, go) including those who did not identify as Set my people free (set my people activists at the time of our interview. free) The Collective uses call-and-response tactics as a way of conveying their phi- I’m letting my people know (I’m letting my people know) 20 I love you like you were me (I love the space. He described his impression you like you were me) (repeated 3 of the Collective’s mission: “they wan- times) na let people know that that’s a place to Similar to the translation work not fear, and it’s a place that allows you described in Section IV, this chant con- to express yourself.” nects the mission of the Freedom Col- Karina, another frst-time visitor lective to an existing framework for to the space who did not identify as understanding liberation, as the phrase an activist at the time of our interview, “let my people go” references Biblical described her initial impression of this slavery. Moreover, by calling on all at- aspect of the Brave Space Agreement: tendees to recite this chant together, the “like hearing it at frst it does sound Collective attempts to unify all those kind of like, um, shocking ‘cause it’s who enter the space around the Collec- kind of like you’re imagining a world tive’s overarching goal of liberation. without police and without prisons and Additionally, the Collective posts it’s like not to say that that’s a bad – it’s and reads through their “Brave Space not a good or a bad thing, it’s just like Agreement” at all public events, ask- what does that mean?” Karina notes that ing attendees to repeat each line. When she had heard of police abolitionism they reach a line that reads “I agree to previously, but had not thought about it handle confict with LOVE and respect, much until visiting the Freedom House. without calling police,” the leader of She said she “processed” this concept the call-and-response prompts attend- following the event she attended, and ees to repeat multiple times: “I will has grown more interested in it since. not call the police, I will not call the Karina also described her impression of police, I will not call the police.” As a the unifying quality of other participa- frst-time visitor to the space who did tory activities in the Freedom House: not identify as an activist at the time “they have the drums like kind of start of our interview and who was not pre- everyone, enter everyone, um, having viously familiar with the concept of the breathing exercises just like to get police abolitionism, Gabe found this everyone on the same page. Those are statement to be “empowering”: “It was all things that really do affect people.” just empowering, you know, because it Open dialogue just, it tells me that I can – that whoever In addition to raising conscious- walks in there like you can trust them.” ness about their current philosophy, Although he expressed personal reser- the Freedom Collective uses the Free- vations about the concept of police abo- dom House as a platform to further de- litionism, he added, “I understand their velop this philosophy in collaboration agenda and why they choose to do this, with those who visit. Erika notes that and I respect it and I guess I don’t bash the Collective aims to make their work it in any way.” Gabe did not believe that “participatory” in a way that encourages his reluctance to commit to this aspect people to express their ideas about how of the Brave Space Agreement would they hope to “re-envision their world.” pose problems for his acceptance into One example of this occurred during 21 their Martin Luther King Jr. Day event about the term. For example, a wom- in January 2018. In recognition of the an who appeared to be in her ffties holiday, the Collective placed an em- and identifed herself as a youth pastor phasis on ‘community partnership,’ and commented that the youth she works many people I did not recognize from with use complex terminology around other events were in attendance. At gender and sexuality, and that she didn’t this time, the Collective was working understand why it was important. She with several Chicago organizations to wanted to emphasize ‘common human- develop a “Liberation Academy” with ity’ instead. programming aimed at communicat- Having spent time in other ac- ing the local impacts of incarceration, tivist spaces where I have witnessed as well as collectively reimagining no- people being dismissed or met with tions of justice. The Collective distrib- anger when they do not easily accept uted worksheets prompting attendees this terminology, I was surprised when to offer their own defnitions of terms several individuals patiently elaborat- that would be included in the Liberation ed on what these terms meant to them. Academy curriculum, as well as ideas At times participants disagreed and for ways to teach these terms, such as debated amongst each other, but they muraling, storytelling, and hip-hop po- continued to respond to numerous fol- etics.4 The worksheets also prompted low-up questions from the youth pastor. attendees to suggest any other terms Collective members used translation or art forms they would like to see in- techniques to communicate their defni- cluded, as well as to nominate people to tions of the phrase “Black queer fem- be “teaching artists” for the Liberation inism.” Derrick describes his reaction Academy. to this dialogue: “I think it’s great that Following a period of time in like people of all identities are in this which people worked independently space where they’re having to interro- and in small groups on the worksheet, gate where people are and what things Collective members opened a dialogue, mean and hearing the things they don’t asking people to share their defnitions. know about.” He adds that this process They recorded responses on posters, does not necessarily happen in other ac- which were displayed in the space tivist spaces: “So it’s a great space to during subsequent events. When the challenge people, where in the organiz- group reached the term “Black queer ing space they may already not be chal- feminism,” a participant who identifed lenged.” herself as a transgender woman took is- Power in consciousness-building sue with the term, expressing her own Members, collaborators, and vis- reluctance to identify with queerness as itors to the space expressed a range of a trans person. This comment sparked reasons that they found engaging in an extended discussion on the term inclusive consciousness-building to “queer,” in which many other people be important in liberation work. Deja expressed questions and uncertainties holds that “acknowledgement that these 4 The terms included: abolition, Afro-futurism, surrealism, self-governance, Black queer feminism, anti-capitalism, and afro-indigeneity. 22 issues really exist” is a necessary frst “A cross-pollination tool” step toward “healing” the harms of sys- Tufekci holds that the community temic forces that “we turn a blind eye building that occurs in protest settings to.” She also adds that dialogue within fosters “the creation of a network of radical activist spaces is important for people who can become the anchors understanding the nuances of, and sub- of longer-term movement activities” tle differences between, individuals’ be- (2017:103). My data show that this sort liefs. Jeremiah holds that the Freedom of activist networking also occurs in the Collective flls a gap by providing a Freedom House, resulting in an ongo- space for these sorts of conversations: ing interconnectedness with the Move- “there’s not that many spaces that you ment for Black Lives. can go to and talk about the abolition Alicia notes that the Collective of police, um, and [the Freedom Col- strives to use the Freedom House “as a lective] provides those spaces.” Darrell cross-pollination tool.” The Collective adds that for him, the Freedom House is has provided space for the operations one of the few spaces he feels welcome of a number of other organizations as- to discuss and develop his views on the sociated with the Movement for Black Movement for Black Lives. Lives, such as a grassroots collective Impacts Beyond the Freedom House of volunteer ‘urban emergency’ frst-re- Finally, the utopian work of the sponders. They also host lunches with Freedom Collective contributes to re- volunteers and formerly incarcerated sistance efforts against oppressive benefciaries of a local organization systems beyond its own spaces. Al- that provides bond money to struc- though the Collective does not engage turally marginalized individuals who in direct contentious action itself, it have been charged with crimes. The supports those who do by offering a Collective hopes to supplement the platform for consciousness-raising, di- work of this organization by building a alogue, and recruitment, as well as by community for those who are released collaborating on projects, and offering from jails and prisons. Additionally, the a space for recovery from the traumas Collective explicitly aligned the pro- of confrontational action. Additionally, gramming it developed for the Liber- by infuencing the personal philoso- ation Academy with an ongoing local phies of individuals who participate in campaign to stop the construction of a their utopian space, the Collective im- multi-million-dollar police facility in a pacts the work these individuals do in predominantly Black neighborhood of other settings. The infuence the Free- Chicago. dom Collective demonstrates points to The Freedom House also provides a more inclusive perspective on social a platform for people to share the libera- movement participation, in which those tion work they do outside of the Collec- who are unable or unwilling to face the tive, allowing them to build conscious- stress and risks of protest work can still ness, receive feedback, and recruit be recognized as activists. others to join in their work. For exam- ple, a person who worked on a success- ful campaign for reparations from the 23 City for those tortured by a notoriously lunch and learns. We need to do abusive police offcer gave a presenta- dinner dialogues. We need to do tion at an event. The presentation led like the intimate concert thing’... into a discussion on how this campaign Just like bringing back all the ideas provides a model for ‘how reparations of the [Freedom House] and imple- can be won’ in the ‘mainstream political menting them on the West Side. sphere’ for issues of policing. Attendees She also notes that she plans to “follow also offered feedback on what could up” with the Freedom Collective, and have been done better in the campaign. other organizations that were represent- Another attendee presented his ongoing ed at the event she attended, to explore work on a campaign demanding repa- the possibility of direct collaboration rations from a local university with al- between the organization she works for leged fnancial ties to slavery, and put and these activist groups. out a call to Black attendees to join the Additionally, according to Ange- campaign. He described the project of la, the Freedom Collective has had an demanding reparations that are not cen- impact on the Catholic Worker Move- tered upon ‘a state, and a check’ as ‘a ment at a regional level. She and several bigger conceptual way to reimagine other Chicago-based Catholic Workers what our justice movements can look collaborated with the Freedom Collec- like.’ Robin noted that the dialogue tive to design and lead a three-day re- around reparations ‘helped [her] think treat for Midwestern Catholic Workers about how reparations could be possi- to educate them on police abolitionism. ble,’ whereas she is ‘usually cynical.’ She notes that this retreat was the frst Impact on external community work event held in the Freedom House, and The experience of being in the that the Collective included in the pro- Freedom Collective’s utopian spac- gramming their frustrations about “how es impacts the work that visitors do in problematic that was that the frst event communities outside the Collective. For in a Black-led space was our retreat for example, Erika told the story of a wom- white people about whiteness.” Accord- an who was impacted by the experience ing to Angela, this experience sparked of the Free Store: “When she came in refection among attendees about their and she saw our Free Store she was just role as allies as they began to engage like so inspired by it, and she immedi- in more contentious action within the ately went back to her church and start- Movement for Black Lives. ed a free store.” Additionally, Karina Moreover, Jeremiah cites his dual notes that after attending her frst event involvements with the Black Futures at the Freedom House, she resolved to Network and the Freedom Collective incorporate their practices into her day as transformative infuences on his per- job at an arts-based nonproft organiza- sonal beliefs and priorities: “transform- tion that does community engagement ing my politics on like who we should work in the West Side Neighborhood: be thinking about when we’re organiz- I went back to my boss the next ing a space. Like how do we help folks day and I was like, ‘We need to do who are most marginalized?” He adds 24 that he tries to bring this intersectional I do the when you come back and philosophy into his community orga- you’re done getting beat up, and nizing work within his neighborhood. you need your brow wiped, and He also expressed intentions of incor- you need some lemon water, and porating this philosophy into the cul- you need your shoulders rubbed tural enrichment program he teaches in from holding the sign…When public high schools. Additionally, Erika you’re done and you need some- holds her involvement with the Col- body to talk to about what you just lective to be the main infuence on her went through. personal philosophy regarding activism By performing this role within the and liberation, stating, “Um, everything Freedom Collective, Mia addresses the was new to me when I got here.” Er- needs of the frontline activists Jeremiah ika went on to become the Freedom describes. House’s frst full-time resident. When Additionally, Erika holds that asked about her long-term goals for her there are a lot people who engage in activist work, she responded that she direct action who “plug in to the Col- intends to bring the Collective’s model lective,” and that the Freedom House back to her hometown in Texas, which serves as a resource for them. For ex- she notes has very few Black-led spac- ample, she notes that a group of ac- es, and limited opportunities for engag- tivists that had come to their Monday ing in activism. night events asked if the Collective Promoting sustainable activism could provide food for a demonstration Finally, the Freedom Collective they were doing, since they weren’t plays an important role in the justice able to focus their resources on provid- work of its participants by providing a ing this for themselves. Erika holds that space for people to heal from the stress the Collective was easily able to fll this and trauma of this work. Jeremiah, request: “here we are getting like food who engages in protests through his donations for our [surplus food distri- work with the Black Futures Network, bution program] and we have refrigera- describes the diffculty of direct con- tors full of stuff that we can give out.” tentious action: “being like, you know, Further, Karina describes how vis- dragged by police offcers and seeing iting the Freedom House impacted her people you know get hurt…you don’t on a personal level, at a time when she feel too good about it.” He holds that was feeling frustrated with her low-pay- it is necessary to take time to address ing nonproft job: the harms of these actions, and to re- I think the biggest thing I can take cover, so as to avoid burnout within away is that there is power, um, activist organizations. Mia, who has there is power in the work that always avoided the “frontline” because we’re doing...seeing that interac- she holds that it “disrupts her spirit,” tion, that collaborative interaction, describes her role in the movement as really inspires me to like stay in my “the healing aspect of things” and “the role and keep going and just not, mental work”: um, see everything to be negative. 25 Mia shared a similar experience, in-depth interviews and feldwork, I noting that after a long career of “com- identify the present impacts of the Free- munity service” work, she was feeling dom Collective’s revolutionary work. “dismayed” and “over it,” and had been I fnd that in cultivating utopian spac- considering leaving Chicago altogether. es within a broader social movement, She holds that connecting with the Free- the Freedom Collective offers refuges dom Collective encouraged her to keep where marginalized identities are pro- going in her justice work: “I was just tected and uplifted regardless of the like, ‘Oh, there’s people out here that work potential participants do. In doing do exist that think like I do,’ so actually so, the Collective simultaneously con- running into the [Freedom House], um, tributes to the larger resistance against got my passion for activism reignited.” systems they hold to be the source of At the time of our interview, Mia was this marginalization. I introduce the considering moving into the neighbor- term “embedded utopian organization” hood where the Freedom House is lo- to describe this model, and to offer a cated so that she could be more com- framework for understanding how rad- mitted to the Collective. ical organizations can have present im- Building the movement behind the pacts outside of direct contentious ac- scenes tion. Recognizing the impacts that em- Limitations bedded utopian organizations have on My study of the Freedom Col- their respective movements and com- lective has a variety of limitations. My munities allows us to acknowledge the data collection occurred over a rela- existence of social movement partic- tively short period of time, especially ipants who do not put their bodies on given that the Freedom Collective is a the front lines in direct confrontational young organization whose model and action. This perspective allows for a membership continues to evolve. Ad- conceptualization of social movements ditionally, I only conducted one formal in more inclusive terms, in which those interview with each respondent, and who face physical, mental, emotional, only interviewed a small sample of col- or other barriers to protest participation laborators and frst-time visitors. There can be recognized as valuable contribu- is also likely a selection bias in those tors to social movements. This concep- I interviewed, for example, favoring tion of social movement participation those who are more outgoing, or more is particularly salient in the case of the accustomed to speaking with the press Movement for Black Lives, given that or other interviewers. Moreover, it is those the movement aims to liberate are important to note my positioning as a often especially vulnerable to police white, straight, cis-gendered individu- brutality and retraumatization in direct al researching under an elite institution confrontational action. with a historically (and presently) tense relationship to Black communities in DISCUSSION Chicago. My privileged identity and Through qualitative analysis of background likely affected the interac- 26 tions I had with respondents, as well as ly in police abolitionist terms within its who was willing to be interviewed and own spaces. This organization, which what information they were willing to I will call “Intergeneration,” has ties share with me. with nationally prominent activists in Generalizability the Movement for Black Lives, and is Despite these limitations, the con- known for its direct confrontations with cept of embedded utopianism offers a those in power, such as its campaign heuristic for understanding the work against the re-election of a local offcial and impacts of other organizations and involved in a policing scandal. Howev- social movements in a more holistic er, it also runs a gardening program for and inclusive manner. While I focused youth in Chicago, which a movement my analysis on a single organization spokesperson framed in terms of pro- embedded in the Movement for Black moting ‘self-sustainability’ as ‘a tool of Lives, I observed embedded utopian el- resistance.’ ements in other organizations associat- Moreover, embedded utopianism ed with this movement in the course of is not limited to the Movement for Black my research. These include more promi- Lives. The concept of embedded utopi- nent organizations that are better known an work provides an important lens for for their direct contentious action. For understanding other social movements, example, the Black Futures Network, a their constituent components, and their national organization that has facilitat- impacts more inclusively and holisti- ed both local and national direct action cally. For example, this concept offers campaigns against proposed policies, a framework for studying the work and describes its ultimate aim on its website impacts of groups within the disability as “Black liberation,” and the disman- rights movement that focus on the rights tlement of current systems of policing, of neurodivergent individuals.5 Under incarceration, and punitive confict res- Scotch’s (1989) analysis of politics olution. Respondents affliated with the and policy in the U.S. disability rights Chicago chapter of the Black Futures movement, its emergence aligns with Network described manifesting these the political process model. According ideals in their space by using restorative to Scotch, people with disabilities used justice practices as an exercise in alter- the traction of other social movements native confict resolution, and through including the U.S. Civil Rights Move- the cultivation of Black spaces that aim ment, the women’s rights movement, to bring “the margins to the front” in and the movement against the Vietnam their work. War to mobilize. He holds that these Additionally, in my feldwork I contentious political movements pro- observed that the organization leading vided disability rights activists “exam- the campaign (noted in Section VI) to ples of political action and ideological stop the construction of a new police frameworks” and a “culture of protest,” facility frames this campaign explicit- which shaped the way they organized 5 The term “neurodivergent” describes “having a brain that functions in ways that diverge signifcantly from the dominant standards of ‘normal’” (Walker 2014). The term was originally introduced by the multiply neurodivergent neurodiversity activist Kassiane Asasumasu. 27 themselves (Scotch 1989:386). neurodivergent individuals platforms This view of the disability rights for movement building, while also of- movement as a contentious political fering social spaces where they feel movement leaves out the work of many comfortable and accepted in the pres- embedded activists who focus on the ent. For example, Sinclair (2018) de- rights of neurodivergent individuals. scribes the rationale behind the Autreat, For example, although direct conten- a “retreat-style conference run by and tious actions may be made accessible for autistic people,” as being about cre- for wheelchair users and other indi- ating a comfortable, autistic-led space viduals with physical disabilities, the as much as it was about advocacy and often loud, unpredictable, and highly consciousness-raising. He describes a stimulating environments of protests previous gathering that inspired the re- are inaccessible to many neurodiver- treat: “The time autistic people got to gent individuals, such as those with spend together was precious to many of autism. Moreover, the diversity of neu- us. We began to realize how much au- rodivergent individuals’ accessibili- tistic people have to offer to ourselves ty needs makes it diffcult to meet the and our peers” (Sinclair 2018). Addi- full range of these needs through fnite, tionally, Hughes holds that social me- concrete demands to policymakers; in- dia sites offer community-building and stead, achieving a broadly accessible consciousness-raising spaces for neuro- neurodiverse society will require that diverse activists that “ultimately make individuals and institutions be willing space for different ways of seeing and to acknowledge and address accessibil- being in the world” (2013:4). She also ity needs as they arise. While the 1990 notes that self-advocacy on these plat- Americans with Disabilities Act has set forms has led to public advocacy cam- accessibility and non-discrimination paigns that have impacted public policy standards for spaces open to the gener- (Hughes 2013:4). al public (ADA National Network), it Similar to the case of marginalized does not account for the fact that certain activists in the Movement for Black spaces may be uniquely inaccessible to Lives, neurodivergent individuals im- particular neurodivergent individuals. pacted by ableist systems in society For example, individuals with autism may face barriers to participation in the or other sensory disabilities may fnd a sorts of confrontational actions political space inaccessible due to loud talking, process theorists emphasize. The con- brightly colored walls, or strong norms tributions of neurodivergent individuals for neurotypical social behavior such as who form online self-advocacy com- eye contact. munities, but who may not have access It appears that neurodivergent to the campaigns that spring from them, activists whose work is interconnect- would be missed by existing theory on ed with that of the broader disability social movements. In introducing the rights movement carve out utopian concept of embedded utopian organiza- spaces that are more accessible to them tions, I hope to nudge social movement than the outside world. These spaces theory toward a more inclusive direc- serve the dual function of providing tion. 28 REFERENCES Hughes, Jessica M.F. 2013. Nothing About Us Without Us: Increasing ADA National Network. “What is the Neurodiversity in Disability and Americans with Disabilities Act? Social Justice Advocacy Groups. (ADA).” Retrieved April 25, 2018 Autistic Self Advocacy Network: (https://adata.org/learn-about- Washington DC: Autistic Self Ad- ada). vocacy Network. Retrieved April Bray, Mark. 2013. Translating Anarchy: 25, 2018 (https://autisticadvocacy. The Anarchism of Occupy Wall org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/ Street. Alresford, Hants, UK: Zero whitepaper-Increasing-Neuro- Books. diversity-in-Disability-and-So- Davis, Julie Hirschfeld, Sheryl Gay cial-Justice-Advocacy-Groups. Stolberg, and Thomas Kaplan. pdf). 2018. “Trump Alarms Lawmak- McAdam, Doug. 1982. Political Pro- ers with Disparaging Words for cess and the Development of Haiti and Africa.” The New York Black Insurgency 1930-1970. Chi- Times, January 11. Retrieved cago: University of Chicago Press. April 21, 2018 (https://www.ny- McAdam, Doug, Tarrow, Sidney, and times.com/2018/01/11/us/politics/ Charles Tilly. 2001. Dynamics trump-shithole-countries.html). of Contention. Cambridge: Cam- Durkheim, Émile. ([1912] 1965) The bridge University Press. Elementary Forms of Religious Price, Charles, Donald Nonini, and Er- Life. New York: Free Press. ich Fox Tree. 2008. “Grounded Eisinger, Peter. 1973. “The Conditions Utopian Movements: Subjects of of Protest Behavior in American Neglect.” Anthropological Quar- Cities.” The American Politi- terly 81(1):127-159 (http://www. cal Science Review 67(1):11-28. jstor.org/stable/30052742). doi:10.2307/1958525. Scotch, Richard K. 1989. “Politics and Emerson, Robert M. and Rachel I. Policy in the History of the Dis- Fretz, Linda L. Shaw. 1995. Writ- ability Rights Movement.” The ing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chi- Milbank Quarterly 67(2, Part cago: University of Chicago Press. 2):380-400 (http://www.jstor.org/ Fournier, Valérie. 2002. “Utopianism stable/3350150). and the Cultivation of Possibil- Sinclair, Jim. 2018. “Cultural Com- ities: Grassroots Movements of mentary: Being Autistic Togeth- Hope.” The Sociological Review er.” Disability Studies Quarter- 50(1):189-216. doi:10.1111/ ly 30(1). Retrieved April 25, j.1467-954X.2002.tb03585.x. 2018 (http://dsq-sds.org/article/ Goodwin, Jeff and James M. Jasper. view/1075/1248). 1999. “Caught in a Winding, Small, Mario. 2009. “‘How Many Snarling Vine: The Structural Bias Cases Do I Need?’: On Science of Political Process Theory.” So- and the Logic of Case Selec- ciological Forum 14(1):27-54. tion in Field-Based Research.” doi:10.1023/A:1021684610881. Ethnography 10(1). https://doi. 29 org/10.1177/1466138108099586. Tarrow. [1994]1998. Power in Move- ment: Social Movements, Col- lective Action and Mass Publics in the Modern State. New York: Cambridge University Press. Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. Reading, MA: Ad- dison-Wesley. Tufekci, Zeynep. 2017. Twitter and Teargas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. New Hav- en, CT: Yale University Press. Walker, Nick. 2014. “Neurodiversi- ty: Some Basic Terms & Defni- tions.” Retrieved April 25, 2018 (http://neurocosmopolitanism. com/neurodiversity-some-ba- sic-terms-defnitions/)

30 Rethinking the Digital Hood: Disadvantaged Youth, Social Media, and Networked Privacy Management Diego Eloy Cárdenas BA Sociology, The University of Chicago

Recent scholarship on social media use among disadvantaged youth claims that social media amplifes or mirrors the social problems and conficts of youth’s offine worlds. Scholars have also paid notable attention to how social media have served as vectors for local gang violence, allowing gang-affliated individuals to engage in “cyber-banging.” However, little scholarship has focused on how the proliferation of social media has im- pacted nongang marginalized youth looking to avoid neighborhood violence. In addition, the few empirical studies on disadvantaged youth and social media have failed to provide a conceptual tool that clearly demonstrates how and for whom social media actually intensi- fy social problems or conditions of structural disadvantage. To address these two problems, I conducted interviews with 23 black and Latino youth from various disadvantaged neigh- borhoods in Chicago, coding for problems among their general social media use as well as one specifc use of social media: how they grieved online following the death of a loved one to gun violence. I found that some participants encountered problems to achieving two underlying goals of their social media use: staying safe and successfully grieving. These specifc participants had to manage their privacy both on- and offine in order to achieve these goals. The results indicate that social media may amplify or mirror offine social problems, but only for certain disadvantaged youth. I put forth the concept of networked privacy management—managing privacy both on- and offine—as a means of identifying who is adversely affected by social media and how they are affected. I conclude by offer- ing networked privacy management as a starting point for further research on the effects of social media in the everyday lives and individual life outcomes of disadvantaged youth. INTRODUCTION have devoted scant empirical attention Social network sites (henceforth re- to the ways in which SNSs have actu- ferred to as SNSs) have achieved re- ally impacted the daily lives of youth, markable popularity among contempo- particularly among low-income black rary youth and have profoundly changed and Latino youth who frequently and how youth communicate and socialize extensively use social media (see Lane in their everyday lives.1 Social media’s 2016 for an exception to this). Instead, rise to ubiquity has prompted sociolo- scholars in related felds who study dis- gists to devote considerable attention advantaged populations have begun to to the methodological affordances and take on this task, employing a qualita- challenges of studying the social world tive approach to studying social media with Big Data and other digital data use among gang-affliated youth and (Golder and Macy 2014, Lazer and youth living in disadvantaged neighbor- Radford 2017). However, sociologists hoods (see Patton et al. 2015, Patton et 1 Social network sites and social media will be used interchangeably throughout this paper. Social network sites refer to any sites allowing users to create a public or quasi-public profle along with some type of list of other users with whom the user normally already has some familiarity (boyd and Ellison 2007; see article for further disambiguation). 31 al. 2017, Stevens et al. 2016). Because tools are crucial to quality research on sociologists continue to neglect social social media not only because they il- media in empirical work on social in- luminate who is affected by SNSs and equality and marginalized groups, ex- how they are affected by SNSs, but they isting qualitative studies rarely attempt also provide a tool for other researchers to interpret fndings within a sociologi- to incorporate social media into exist- cal framework. ing frameworks. Jeffrey Lane exem- There are two main negative con- plifes this point by merging the con- sequences to the prevailing non-so- cept of networked publics (boyd 2014, ciological approaches to studying so- Varnelis 2008) with theoretical frame- cial media and disadvantaged youth.2 works from urban ethnography, the First, these empirical studies produce code of the street (Anderson 1999), to low-quality analyses of social media’s develop the concept of a “digital street” effects on the social fabric of youth’s (2016). This concept describes how the daily lives. Stevens et al. (2016), for online and offine social world interact instance, describe disadvantaged youth and “coevolve” with one other (50), as having their offine problems ampli- providing a conceptual framework for fed by the online world, thus creating thinking about the contemporary social a “digital hood” wherein youth are fre- processes and interactions that facilitate quently exposed to interpersonal drama, and prevent urban violence. sexual-bullying, and videos of physical This concept is incredibly useful violence. However, participants of the to establish the heavy involvement of study were merely witnesses to these social media in the daily processes of problems, as none of them were impli- urban violence, but for those studying cated or reported creating these prob- neighborhood disadvantage or social lems. (958). Though the authors con- inequality, the proper conceptual tool clude that “Facebook primarily operates is still needed to delineate exactly how as a digital community where social social media impact specifc disadvan- problems are magnifed” (964), the re- taged youth. The proper conceptual tool sults do not suggest that youth actually would have the ability to help identify experience equal challenges and strug- why certain marginalized youth seem gles with the ‘digital hood.’ As a result, to be impacted by social media more scholars still know very little about how so than others. Without this conceptual and which disadvantaged youth are im- tool, sociologists may continue to over- plicated in the adverse effects of SNSs. look how social media affect the lives Second, the existing empirical lit- and life outcomes of all disadvantaged erature provides little to no conceptual youth, leaving sociologists at risk of be- tools that other researchers can use to ing “passed up by the developments of highlight the specifc consequences and their empirical feld” (Lane 2016, 55). behaviors that the proliferation of so- To address these two major issues, cial media have infuenced. Conceptual I revise an existing conceptual tool in 2 In this study, the terms “disadvantaged youth” and “marginalized youth” are inter- changeable and refer either to a) existing studies on disadvantaged youth or b) participants of this study who have lived for at least ten years in neighborhoods that they self-report as having high rates of violent crime, gun violence, and/or gang activity. 32 media scholarship and use it to identify youth (Anderson 1999). I also inter- how social media has adversely affected rogate the fndings of two qualitative disadvantaged youth, particularly those studies that motivate the empirical aims who do not identify as “gang-affliat- of the study. I then review literature on ed.” I further use this conceptual tool to how disadvantaged youth deal with the elucidate the ways in which disadvan- problems of gangs and gun violence in taged youth are affected heterogeneous- their everyday lives. I show how strate- ly by the advent of social media, mean- gies youth deploy to avoid or cope with ing SNSs do not automatically amplify offine problems frequently involve disadvantaged social conditions. In 23 managing privacy, such as limiting oth- interviews with disadvantaged black ers’ access to themselves. Since Mar- and Latino youth, I asked youth about wick and boyd’s concept of networked challenges and problems they faced in privacy (2014) delineates the increased their general, everyday social media use diffculties and stakes associated with as well as one specifc use of social me- managing one’s privacy in the era of dia: grieving the death of a loved one to social media, I put forth networked pri- gun violence on social media. I identify vacy management to conceptualize how two underlying goals of their general youth deal with the novel or intensifed and specifc social media use: staying challenges that their online environ- safe and grieving, respectively. ments may produce or facilitate. I fnd that only certain youth en- countered problems to achieving these THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK underlying goals and that these par- Social Media and Disadvantaged ticular youth try to manage both their Youth: The Problems of Gangs and Gun on- and offine privacy, or networked Violence privacy, to mitigate or prevent these To address the aforementioned problems. By contrasting why youth problems of how scholars have studied were or were not concerned with man- the effects of social media among mar- aging their networked privacy, I empha- ginalized populations, I propose a qual- size how individual differences among itative study that investigates problems participants led to differences in how youth encounter to their everyday uses they were affected by and responded of social media as well as a specifc use to the proliferation of SNSs. I conclude of social media: grieving the death of a by offering networked privacy manage- loved one to gun violence online. The ment as a starting point for further re- rationale behind this approach is my at- search on how the advent of SNSs may tempt to interrogate the fndings of two affect the everyday lives and individual existing qualitative studies on margin- life outcomes of disadvantaged youth. alized youth and social media. Primari- Prior to my analyses, I frst elab- ly, the claim of a ‘digital hood’ (Stevens orate on the current empirical studies et al. 2016) that amplifes offine social on social media and disadvantaged problems necessitates a more nuanced populations, underscoring the lack of exploration. Second, that claim SNSs consideration for youth not “gang-af- provide a space in which marginalized fliated” or primarily “street-oriented” youth can successfully grieve the death 33 of a loved one and make meaning of problems, such as ‘expose pages’ or a loved one’s homicide (Patton et al. other forms of online drama (2016), this 2015) requires a “bottom-up” interroga- study will interrogate potential prob- tion in order to confrm the validity of lems that local gang members cause on- its claims. These next two subsections and offine. While the study attempts to provide justifcation of the empirical elucidate any and all problems youth approaches that this study will employ. encounter in their everyday lives as a Problems in marginalized youth’s gen- result of social media, it also asks ques- eral social media use tions regarding if gang members’ online Regarding the effects of social or offine presence ever presents non- media on marginalized populations, gang members with additional prob- much of the available scholarly work lems. focuses on social media’s emerging Obstacles to grieving the death of a role in urban violence (see Lane 2016, loved one to gun violence Patton et al. 2013, Patton et al. 2015, Patton et al. (2015) utilize a con- Pyrooz et al. 2013). Though studies on tent-analysis approach to revealing the social media and gangs have been suc- potential benefts that SNSs provide to cessful in motivating further scholarly gang members coping with the death inquiry, little attention has been paid of a loved one to gun violence. The au- to the potential consequences of gang thors claim Twitter provides “a space members’ use of social media on local to cope” (235) in which marginalized “nongang” users of social media. It is individuals can successfully grieve the reasonable to assume that gang mem- death of a loved one. They further con- bers may be affecting nongang youth’s clude that Twitter can facilitate “collec- behavior in their online environments, tive mourning…[and prevent] maladap- as countless urban ethnographies and tive coping strategies” (236). qualitative studies have shed light on Though there are certainly ben- how street gangs leverage social control efts to grieving online, the study has over nongang residents in their offine a weak methodological approach and environments (Anderson 1999, Garot particularly confusing results. For ex- 2010, Patillo 1999, Vargas 2016). ample, Patton et. al. (2017) later ex- Despite this reasonable assump- amine how men of color determine tion, virtually no empirical studies have the authenticity of threats of violence explored how specifc social actors like made by gang members on SNSs. In the gang members affect the offine and paper’s fndings, gang-involved men online environments of nongang, mar- report that opposition gang members ginalized youth. Stevens et al. (2016) (known as ‘opps’) disrespect recently suggest offine problems of disadvan- deceased individuals in rival territories. taged neighborhoods may be amplifed When ‘opps’ taunt and disrespect the by SNSs, yet the authors do not outline deceased, both directly and indirectly, it how existing social actors and social appears to interfere with a healthy cop- problems interact with SNSs. To iden- ing process, causing anger and increas- tify a possible source of these online ing the likelihood of violent retaliation 34 (7-8). Together, these two papers seem expect that grieving homicidal death to at least partially contradict each oth- online will have a distinct character and er; is it safe and healthy to cope online, include the offine social issues associ- or are gang-involved individuals likely ated with the homicide. Thus, this study to be hurt and angered by disrespectful carries out one of the frst qualitative comments? In addition, are these disre- explorations of how marginalized youth spectful actions only directed towards use SNSs to grieve the loss of a loved rival gang members, or do youth not one to gun violence, interpreting both affliated with gangs also deal with this the reported benefts and challenges to problem? Since Patton et al. (2015) do grieving online. not supplement their conclusions with Now that I have explained and ethnographic or interview-based data, justifed the motivations underlying this the social ramifcations of grieving on- study, I move toward the essential task line are largely left unexplored. of elucidating the proper conceptual Patton et al. (2015) are certainly tool that I will use to frame my analy- successful in addressing an understud- ses. ied yet signifcant topic. Indeed, black Strategies of Resistance, Marginalized and Latino youth are disproportionately Youth, and Networked Privacy Man- affected by gun violence on a national agement scale (Fowler et al. 2015). In Chica- The social actors who perpetrate go, gun violence and frearm homicide offine problems such as gun violence have been shown to disproportionately or bullying often require access to the impact black and Latino youth in the population or individuals they wish to West Side and South Side regions of the infuence or control. Because privacy city that often struggle with concentrat- on a basic level is defned by “the ac- ed poverty (Walker et al. 2016). Schol- cess of one actor (individual, group or ars know very little about how youth organization) to another” (Anthony et may be using social media as a means al. 2017: 251), the concept of managing to cope with, grieve, and make sense of privacy is a useful tool for considering the loss of a loved one to gun violence. how youth avoid the actors responsible Like Patton et al. (2015), a number of for creating social conficts, including studies have used content analyses to those who instigate fghts or encourage understand both the benefts (Carroll online confict. and Landry 2012) and downsides (Ros- Garot’s (2010) study on marginal- setto et al. 2014) of using social media ized youth who must regularly interact to cope with the loss of a loved one. with gang members on the street shows These studies make the same the role that limiting access, thereby mistake of lacking verifcation of their managing one’s privacy, can play in conclusions with real-world, qualita- avoiding victimization. He explicates tive data. Further, these studies primar- how gang members often “hit up” un- ily center around non-homicidal grief. recognized youth who walk down their Considering that the manner of death blocks to establish a precursor for pro- infuences the social meaning of the tecting their territory through physical death (Michalowski 1976), one should 35 force—in other words, to prepare for a management illuminates the way that fght. This is a process by which a gang certain demographic features and in- member “marginalizes young men who dividuals interact, such as those who do not claim a gang in such an envi- have the fnancial resources for daily ronment” (73). In response to the pos- car rides to school; signifying privacy sibility of an unwanted case of violent management’s ability to provide expla- victimization, youth develop strategies nation of how youth experience their to either deal with or avoid being “hit neighborhoods in different ways. Using up” altogether. For instance, in order to privacy management as a conceptual walk to school and back safely, youth lens elucidates how specifc variables develop a mental map of their neigh- such as SNSs affect youth living in borhood that accounts for where they disadvantaged communities heteroge- are likely to be “hit up” and identifes a neously. safe route to take (74). These strategies, Because privacy management is which Dill and Ozer (2016) classify as an appropriate conceptual lens for iden- “violence management” strategies, are tifying who is affected by structural fundamentally means of managing pri- and social conditions of disadvantage vacy; youth do not remove the problem as well as how they are affected—the of violence, but rather they attempt to underlying aims of this study—I draw remove the ability of potentially violent from recent media scholarship that pro- social actors to physically access and vides a framework for considering the affect them. novel challenges of managing privacy The ways in which disadvantaged in the age of social media: networked youth manage their privacy can high- privacy. light which social problems are most Networked privacy salient in youths’ daily lives, as well as The proliferation of social media how or to what extent they are affected. and information and communication Duck (2015) shows how some high- technologies (ICTs) has brought about er-income families in poor neighbor- a wealth of theoretical scholarship in hoods make use of fnancial resources the study of media and communications to provide their children with various that informs our understanding of social forms of privacy from the social prob- media. boyd (2010) provides one of the lems of disadvantaged neighborhoods. most comprehensive theoretical frame- Duck fnds that the only four families works for SNSs by describing them as who successfully kept their children networked publics. She contends that from interacting with the local drug the advent of SNSs and its changes to scene on the street had the fnancial re- social life and communication has ush- sources to do so; the children received ered in the networked era (2010); that is, rides everywhere, never played in the the architectural nature of SNSs allows neighborhood, and went to school in for online content to be easily shared a different municipality (34). These outside of its original context, produc- parents provided their children priva- ing what she calls “collapsed contexts” cy from negative social infuences that (34). The ease in which networked existed in the neighborhood. Privacy 36 publics can blur the initial context of ments. an offine or online action has made Networked privacy management managing one’s privacy more diffcult. refers to a range of online and offine Youth must have substantial knowledge behaviors that youth adopt to mediate of how to utilize privacy settings on the access others have to them, their SNSs in addition to having substantial actions, and their personal information. infuence over what others do with their Youth attempt to manage networked personal information online (Marwick privacy as a means of infuencing their and boyd 2014: 1062). social visibility and how other actors Since individuals cannot always perceive them. Youth cultivate these infuence what others do with their strategies as a way of navigating the personal information offine or online, novel challenges of privacy manage- individualistic paradigms of privacy ment in the networked era. Nonethe- must be reconciled with the prolifera- less, these strategies only increase the tion of networked publics to account for likelihood of managing privacy rather the new obstacles to achieving privacy. than fully ensuring it. Marwick and boyd (2014) employ the As a conceptual tool, managing term networked privacy to describe how networked privacy allows me to identi- privacy can no longer be accomplished fy which marginalized youth encounter by “simply providing or denying infor- challenges to using social media. When mation” (1063) or by confguring one’s individuals develop strategies or rules privacy settings on sites like Facebook. of self-conduct as a consequence of real Instead, networked privacy mandates or potential problems in their online that individuals rely on “shared social environments, it indicates that SNSs norms or social ties” (1064), fnd cre- have affected those individuals in some ative strategies of disclosing informa- manner. Moreover, whether youth can tion on SNSs, and concede that privacy successfully manage their networked will sometimes be impossible to control privacy to mitigate or prevent an un- individually. desirable online outcome determines Networked privacy management the extent to which these challenges I offer a slight reworking of Mar- might actually intensify the disadvan- wick and boyd’s (2014) networked pri- taged conditions of these youth. I aim vacy that focuses on privacy manage- to demonstrate this conceptual tool’s ment. Privacy management “involves a versatility and value in guiding further range of strategies for regulating access research on how social media interact to the self and others that intersect with with neighborhood effects to infuence social norms and actors’ preferences individuals’ everyday lives and future and structural positions” (Anthony et life outcomes. al. 2017: 252). As such, I put forth net- worked privacy management as a con- DATA AND METHODS ceptual tool to identify the strategies To thoroughly understand how dis- that youth employ to navigate privacy advantaged youth use social media and in both their on- and offine environ- grieve online following the death of a loved one to gun violence, I interviewed 37 23 men and women of color from ages use, how often they use social media, 18-26. 21 of the 23 interviewed iden- and reasons for using these sites. I also tifed as black, and the remaining two asked them questions about their per- were males who identifed as Latino. ceptions of their online environments as Fourteen male youths and nine female well as what problems they encountered youths were interviewed, and the medi- online, if any. I asked questions about an age of all participants was 19 years their knowledge of local gang members’ old. social media use and any experiences or Participants were recruited over- interacting with them. Finally, I asked whelmingly from South Side, West questions about their online activity fol- Side, and South West neighborhoods lowing the passing of their loved one. in Chicago, Illinois; only one partici- I asked about what kinds of posts they pant resided on a neighborhood on the made, how they felt about these posts, North Side. The only requirements for the responses they received to them, participation were that individuals reg- and fnally challenges they encountered ularly use social media and that they to having positive experiences grieving had lost a loved one to gun violence online. within the past fve years. Interviews I then coded these interviews for lasted approximately one hour. The frst challenges that youth faced as well as participant was recruited from a local specifc privacy practices, such as de- non-proft organization in a West Side clining friend requests from certain neighborhood that struggles with gang people. I identifed two underlying violence. Participants were also recruit- goals of a signifcant amount of partic- ed from my personal network formed at ipating youth that more or less corre- my institution as well as a local recre- sponded with either general or specifc ational center. Three participants came uses of social media. For general use, directly from my personal network safety was identifed as a goal, while while the remaining participants were successfully grieving was a goal of the recruited indirectly or were the result of specifc use of social media. I then ana- snowball sampling. While a signifcant lyzed these results using the conceptual minority of participants reported hav- framework of networked privacy man- ing once been ‘gang-affliated’ or still agement and specifcally examined the having some ties to a local gang, none lives of two contrasting participants us- reported active membership within a ing networked privacy management to gang. reveal possible explanations as to why Participants were frst asked ques- marginalized youth are heterogeneous- tions about their experiences with and ly impacted by SNSs. perceptions of the neighborhoods in A limitation to the generaliz- which they were raised. I also asked ability of this study is its rather small them about how safe they felt in their sample size (n = 23). Additionally, I neighborhood as well as social prob- interviewed youth from a variety of lems they encountered. I then moved to disadvantaged neighborhoods; limiting questions about their social media use, each participant to the neighborhood in asking questions about which SNSs they which they resided for the longest pe- 38 riod of time, I interviewed youth from RESULTS at least twelve different neighborhoods My analyses are organized into in Chicago. As such, participants were three sections. First, I analyze safety from neighborhoods with varying lev- concerns through the lens of networked els and characteristics of “disadvan- privacy management. Second, I show tage,” meaning some neighborhoods the psychological and social benefts struggled more than others regarding that grieving online afforded some par- concentrated poverty, gang violence, ticipants, followed by successful and and violent crime. This meant that the unsuccessful accounts of networked label of living in a “disadvantaged” or privacy management. Finally, I offer “marginalized” neighborhood was not two contrasting on- and offine experi- consistent among participants; as a re- ences from two participants that suggest sult, I relied upon self-reported mea- reasons as to why some youth seemed sures of factors like gun violence in to require or care about networked pri- labelling participants as living in a dis- vacy management more than others did. advantaged neighborhood, lacking the Managing Networked Privacy as a precision that quantitative measures of Means to Safety disadvantage can offer. A signifcant minority of male Moreover, accounts from in-depth participants reported having to engage interviews are inherently limited if not in various behaviors online for the pur- verifed through ethnographic observa- poses of staying safe from physical tion or other forms of fact-checking. violence and gun violence. They also As such, I tried to focus my analysis on reported utilizing specifc offine be- concrete anecdotes and perceptions that haviors to avoid misrepresentation on- youth espoused. Finally, the method of line or avoid online conficts that could snowball sampling inherently biases the be continued offine. Contrasting the study with the characteristics of the so- narrative of other participants, these cial networks of those who referred me youth were not able to talk to or accept to other participants. One consequence friend requests from just anyone online. of this was that I could not achieve my At times, this prevented the potential desired balance of Latino and black par- accumulation of social capital or pre- ticipants, nor could I achieve equal rep- vented firting with others whom they resentation of male and female youth. did not know well. These youth found Despite these limitations, this study ways to minimize the likelihood of neg- provides fruitful accounts of how SNS ative interactions offine and online by affect youth living in disadvantaged employing strategies to manage their communities. These accounts provide networked privacy. valuable insight into an empirically While the female youth in this understudied topic and research popu- study were not immune to physical vio- lation: disadvantaged youth and social lence in their offine worlds, none of the media. female participants reported safety as a real concern in their everyday online lives. Although they reported engaging 39 in argumentative conficts on social me- gized to him. The presence of multiple dia, these conficts were not reported as gangs in his neighborhood and in the specifc fears they had in their everyday adjacent neighborhoods taught Julio to use of social media. Although female be very careful of whom he chose to youth did report fghting with other fe- trust, especially with girls. He reported male youth as a result of a confict on having special concern regarding girls social media, those youth did not re- because gang members often worked port engaging in specifc behaviors that with them to ‘set up’ boys from other would help to ensure their safety from neighborhoods. As a result, youth like physical violence. This is not to say that Julio reported having to be cognizant female youth do not experience threats at all times of whom he was talking to or take action to minimize potential at school and online; he is cautious and incidents of violence, but rather to say suspicious of unknown girls sending that this was not reported by the female him messages or friend requests. participants in this study. As such, this Julio’s friend Jeffrey, another section will focus on the fears and con- 18-year-old from the same South Side cerns of specifc male participants as neighborhood, reported similar sen- they pertain to safety. timents. He watches what he says to The importance of associations: mis- his gang-involved peers and friends, taken identity and when he does spend time with his Julio, an 18-year-old black male gang-involved friends, he told me about from a South Side neighborhood, de- a personal rule of his: “make sure you scribed multiple situations offine that don’t take no pictures with them.” Ac- infuenced his online behavior, includ- cording to Jeffrey, those pictures can ing this interaction with a girl with easily end up on the social media ac- whom he had a romantic interest: counts of his gang-affliated friends, “She wanted me to come to her leaving him vulnerable to being mistak- neighborhood, but I ain’t really en for having an association with a gang know anybody from over there. or certain gang members. Having heard But then she pulled up [to pick me frequently of cases where young men up at my house]…and her brothers are mistaken by gang members as a rival were in the car. And her brothers gang member or having an association didn’t look familiar, so I just took with a rival gang, he establishes rules of off. Just ran…She was trynna get to self-conduct such as “watch[ing] what me ‘cause she was the one to text you say” and “watch[ing] who you me frst.” talking to if you don’t know them.” Networked privacy (Marwick and What appeared to be a romantic boyd 2014) elucidates how individuals meeting was actually a local rival gang require trust in those they share informa- ‘setting up’ Julio to be beaten, stabbed, tion in order to effectively manage their or killed. Julio told me that it was a case privacy. When individuals inevitably of mistaken identity—he was not the share personal information, they can- gang-involved individual which they not use the technical features of SNSs sought—and that the girl later apolo- to control what others do with that per- 40 sonal information. Privacy, then, “must hold membership in a local faction of be negotiated socially” (1061), and Ju- a street gang. Those family members lio and Jeffrey have come to understand might display those gang associations this. They lack the means of controlling on their public social media profles. how they would be perceived online by Even though the individual is not in- certain users if they were pictured in a volved in a gang, they may be implicat- photo with their gang-affliated friends. ed in said gang through their online ties As a consequence, they strategical- to gang-involved family members. The ly avoid taking photos with gang-in- importance of associations in neigh- volved friends because they also lack borhoods with a signifcant presence of control over what their friends will do street gangs was made clear to me while with the photo. They may have devel- interviewing Chase, a 23-year-old black oped these behaviors because of stories male from a West Side neighborhood: they’ve heard about a fatal case of mis- “If someone was after me right taken gang identity, or they might have now, and I don’t be on bullshit like past negative experiences from a case that, especially not out here [in this of mistaken gang identity. Regardless neighborhood]…but if somebody of the exact way in which they acquire was really lookin’ for me, and they these beliefs, the perception that they saw us sitting here, both of us are may be beaten, shot, or killed because getting killed! ‘Cause you with of a photo posted on social media means me, so you must have some type of they won’t take the risk. Thus, the pit- affliation with me. And on top of falls of privacy management in the net- that, you’re a witness.” worked age can further restrict the ac- Chase affrms not just the potential ceptable range of behaviors—however stakes of an association, but that associ- innocuous they seem—for some disad- ations are easily and often mistakenly vantaged youth. formed in neighborhoods with a signif- Screening the audience: friend requests icant presence of street gangs. Regard- In addition to self-monitoring and less of the intentionality or authenticity restricting one’s behavior, some youth of an association, Chase knows that the expressed concern over whom they ac- wrong individual perceiving a partic- cepted as ‘friends’ online and to whom ular association leaves him vulnerable they gave access to their private or to physical harm. In Chase’s life, the semi-private social media profles. For block on which he lives is considered some male youth, accepting friend re- the territory of a local faction of a West quests of unknown individuals runs the Side gang. If Chase accepts any and risk of giving increased access to the all friend requests, he leaves himself ‘wrong’ people, leaving open the pos- and his online information accessible sibility that others will infer a certain to gang members from the rival terri- identity or infer an association to a par- tory. Thus, Chase keeps much of his ticular individual or group. For instance, Facebook profle private and proceeds an individual may have family mem- cautiously when deciding which friend bers who are actively involved with or requests he approves on Facebook: 41 “I’m kind of careful and screen who may employ, it involves both exper- I accept friend requests from…I tise of the social rules and realities of only do it with people I actually their neighborhoods, as well as techni- know [or] if the mutual friends are cal knowledge of privacy features on the people I really fuck with. Like SNSs. Expertise still does not guarantee I got an uncle who’s a ZP [gang safety, but managing networked priva- affliation] out in [a non-adjacent cy affords individuals their best strategy neighborhood] and it was a guy for staying safe. from his clique that had sent me a Networked Privacy as a Means to Suc- friend request. At frst, I ain’t know cessfully Grieving who the fuck he was, but then I saw In this section, ‘successfully pictures of him with my uncle, so I grieving’ refers to the ability to grieve accepted his friend request.” in offine and online spaces as well as Chase, Jeffrey, and Julio all utilize having meaningful protection from the technical features of Facebook as emotional hindrances to their grieving well as various offine strategies to keep process. I use the term ‘successfully them safe from potentially harmful in- grieving’ to encompass four possible dividuals and actions. However, just benefts of grieving online: emotional as Marwick and boyd (2014) contend, expression, receiving social support, privacy is never guaranteed by practic- strengthening the quality of social ties, ing these techniques. Individuals’ gang and limiting exposure to social actors affliations vary temporally, by types that are likely to cause adverse emo- of ties, and by levels of involvement in tional reactions. the everyday activities of a gang (Garot This section will focus on describ- 2010). Individuals who were once not ing the motivations, reasonings, and affliated with any gang may become consequences associated with youth affliated, making it diffcult to simply posting about their deceased loved ones ensure all online friends do not pose a on SNSs. It will also underscore how risk to one’s safety. An unwanted indi- participants managed their privacy in vidual may be overlooked and uninten- order to grieve on- and offine and mit- tionally accepted as a friend or follower igate any obstacles to accomplishing online. this. Before doing this, it is important to The privacy settings required to establish that participants need not feel maintain full privacy may be too dif- as though they would receive some ben- fcult implement, whether it be tech- eft in order to grieve on social media. nologically or socially. As such, indi- Some participants did not always con- viduals may take to extreme cases by sciously understand why they took to deleting certain social media accounts social media to post and grieve, saying and creating new ones, or they may they felt a desire to post rather than re- simply refrain from posting content porting that posting signifcantly helped on platforms where they know it can with the process of coping. cause controversy or potential harm. Though the study only required Whatever the strategy the individual that participants use social media reg- 42 ularly and that they had experienced can mean unnamed, implicit references the loss of a loved one to gun violence along the lines of “Why did you have within the past fve years, all participat- to go so soon?” or more indirect refer- ing youth reported creating or sharing ences to the feelings and actions that are content on social media pertaining to a result of losing a loved one, such as their loved one in the days following the “Still can’t sleep.” Questions concern- passing of their loved one. At the very ing the directness of posts frequently least, posting online seemed to some an allowed me to comprehend the privacy instinctual process or desire that all par- management that indirect posts often ticipants experienced in some form. As involved. such, these results will operate under Social support and “knowing that they the assumption that these participants care” voluntarily created or posted about the A number of participants had close death of a loved one because they sim- friends and family ‘check-in’ on them ply wanted to post or found some relief and offer emotional support in response in doing so. They need not believe that to posts about the deceased. These posts it would present some beneft to their provided a chance for youth to beneft mental or physical well-being in order from the “supportive relationships… to create a post or beneft from a post. that people need to stay healthy or to A beneft could be the social response adapt to stress” (House et al. 1988: 302) to the post, or a beneft could just be the with or without intending to do so. Par- act of posting as an end in itself. ticipants often mentioned that posting Posts were made on a variety of online offered them a distinct method platforms, the most popular of which of sharing information that a phone call, were Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and text, or face-to-face conversation could Snapchat. For some youth, posts were not offer. Denise, a 21-year-old black made for only a few days afterwards, female from a South Side neighbor- but posts were more often made weeks hood, describes how she purposely took or even months following the deaths of to social media to let her family know their loved one. Posts consisted of both she was grieving her friend’s death: direct and indirect references to the “[I posted a picture] online for [my deceased. Direct posts memorialized family members] that don’t live the loved one with messages such as with me, where we’re apart most “RIP” or “LONG LIVE” preceding the of the time, to give them a chance deceased’s name or nickname. These to see who I was talking about, and posts often contained pictures of the to maybe spark an interest, like, individual with the deceased, captioned ‘Okay well, this is something that’s with small paragraphs that expressed really serious to her that she would condolences and other emotions typical post it on Facebook.’ Because as to the grieving process. compared to offine, where I just Indirect posts did not directly called them and told them [about address the deceased as the subject of the death]…they’ll listen to me the post, but their contents were still in and understand where I’m coming reference to the deceased. Referencing 43 from, but they wouldn’t understand friends ‘till this day. I wasn’t gonna that it’s really important to me.” complain about that or anything. For Denise, posting pictures on And then we spent a lot of time af- her Facebook about a particular topic ter his death, you know. indicates it’s something of importance. Here, Cole explains the little Because it’s not addressed to anyone downsides he sees in making the post; in particular, the post can let multiple if nobody checks in on him, it’s not go- family members know that her friend’s ing to disappoint or bother him. In this death was important to her without her sense, posting on social media allows having to explicitly say so and directly for individuals to receive support from address her family members as the in- their friends and family without expect- tended audience. When a family mem- ing it or asking for it. These results are ber contacts her as a result of the post, in partial agreement with Patton et al. she confrms that that family member is (2015) in that SNSs have the potential “gonna be there” for her. This was the to “facilitate interpersonal relationships case when she received a call from her between users at a time when being so- grandmother in response to the post that cially connected with peers can help ad- helped her to “look at the positives” of olescents cope with loss” (236). How- the situation. ever, further investigation reveals that For many participants, the calls, this task is not as straightforward as it texts, or comments they received as a appears, at times requiring individuals result of their posts weren’t necessari- to disclose information in particular ly about receiving comforting advice. ways. For some, being called or contacted by Can’t look soft: masculine ideals loved ones is the end in itself. Youth “You can’t really get into [your usually don’t have an expectation that emotions] ‘cause people are gonna friends have to check in on them if they see you as one wave, and once you make a post, either, saying that it just show them that one wave, they’ll shows “they truly do care for you.” use it against you…so I just keep Cole, a 19-year-old black male from it to myself…for example, say a South Side neighborhood, refected you’re in a relationship with a girl on how he would have felt if his close and she see you cryin’ or something friends hadn’t checked in on him after like that, she gonna go tell her little he made a post about his late friend: friends or something like that…It “I still would have considered them hasn’t happened to me personally, my close friend even if they didn’t but I see that all the time on Face- because you know at the end of book. You’ll see a bunch of people the day we been through a lot, you getting put on blast for bein’ soft know four years of high school, and stuff…I’m just gonna avoid some of them I knew from gram- that situation.” mar school because of basketball, so about six years altogether. So - Victor, an 18-year-old Latino you know, they’re still my close from a westside neighborhood 44 As Victor explains, being ‘soft’ thoughts, and I’ll be like, let me put carries signifcant consequences for this ‘Damn’ [on my Twitter]…Like men of color in communities affected I could literally say, like, ‘Damn, by concentrated poverty and violence. I’m hurting right now, like, I miss Consistent with Elijah Anderson’s con- my homie’ or whatever, but I’m cept of decency and having a “nice” at- not putting that. I’m just putting titude (1999: 100), showing this type of ‘Damn’ so people just look at it and weakness in inner-city neighborhoods not really know what I’m doin’. I of concentrated disadvantage, runs the want them to see that. At the same risk of picking up the reputation of be- time, [I want them to think] what is ing a “sissy.” (100). In the networked he—what’s goin’ on?” era, displays of weakness have the po- Victor’s “Damn” is a form of net- tential to stray from their original more worked privacy management similar to private context into an online environ- what Marwick and boyd (2014) refer ment of hundreds of possible local au- to as “subtweeting” (1059) or creating dience members. a controversial post that is purposely In this way, networked publics vague in order to maintain plausible de- (boyd 2010) have indeed raised the niability of the meaning and intention stakes of failing to perform masculinity of the post. In this case, the post isn’t for some marginalized youth. He could about creating confict or controversy. be screenshotted or ‘exposed’ online by Victor strategically discloses informa- anybody with either physical or testi- tion in a certain way; the post is not an monial evidence of his ‘softness.’ Vic- explicit showing of weakness, and thus, tor fears the embarrassment and con- it cannot be used against him. At the sequences of losing face—in this case, same time, the post communicates to failure to perform hegemonic mascu- his close friends online that he’s hurting linity—so much so that he refuses to or experiencing some emotional pain. delve too deep into his emotions about Having the ‘Chicago mindset’ means the death, even with a close partner or getting through emotionally-taxing and friend. With this in mind, Victor must stressful situations on one’s own, as he balance the need to avoid looking ‘soft’ described earlier, but having this mind- with his desire to open up about how set isn’t always conducive to emotional he’s feeling: and psychological well-being, nor does “I don’t go to nobody and be like, ‘I it reduce the desire to want to express need to talk about this,’ you know. extremely diffcult feelings. I’ll start thinkin’ about it in my Victor manages this dissonance by head and be like, damn, I wanna creating a message in a certain way that talk to somebody, but at the same briefy hints at some emotional pain. time I just wanna keep it to myself, Some participants also reported the ex- have that Chicago mindset or what- istence of seemingly implicit guidelines ever. But at the same time, I’ll just of performing weakness online follow- be on my phone, like, I’ll be on my ing the death of a loved one: phone all day, I’ll be on social me- “I mean, if it’s just ‘Damn, they dia scrollin’ through, feelin’ these 45 took my brother,’ that’s cool, but if his friends provide him valuable social you put a whole paragraph…I’ve support and a positive experience, such been around people where it be as going out to eat together. Victor suc- like, somebody will read a para- cessfully performs his ‘soft’ emotions graph that a dude done wrote, and thereby successfully grieves by and he’ll say, ‘He really doin’ too managing his networked privacy. That much. He in his feelings… He soft is, he creatively and selectively disclos- as hell.’” es information to avoid the embarrass- -David, a 19-year-old black male ment that comes with failing to perform from a southside neighborhood socially acceptable forms of masculin- ity. These masculine ideals that em- Managing networked privacy barrass men who show too much weak- helps disadvantaged youth with the ness encourage Victor to keep his grief problems of hegemonic masculinity and short and vague in his online posts. By the high stakes that failing to perform just Tweeting “Damn,” he retains the op- masculinity entails in poorer, more vi- tion of claiming that the post was about olent neighborhoods. As Gunn (2008) something else, and he remains in line notes about disadvantaged communi- with acceptable social norms of show- ties, “young boys must learn to survive ing weakness and vulnerable emotions. this hostile environment on their own… In this way, he can grieve and receive the most common [strategy] is to sim- social support without appearing too ply toughen up, to perform masculini- ‘soft’ and without explicitly asking his ty in ways that are recognized by oth- friends to check in on him and provide er residents of that community” (32). him support. Although Victor mentions There are no privacy controls on SNSs that this post was mostly just a means to combat the problems that arise when of “putting [the feelings] out there” and certain youth fail to perform masculin- venting, this post now allows his close ity. Instead, privacy must be achieved friends a notice of his emotional pain by “hiding content in plain sight” (Mar- and an opportunity to check in on him: wick and boyd 2014: 1058) to which “If I post something like ‘Damn” on only trusted individuals have access. Twitter, then someone will pull up on As the model of networked privacy me. ‘Cause they know how I’m feelin’.” makes clear, youth must fnd creative Victor describes how his friends means of achieving privacy on public or often “pulled up on him” or showed semi-public forums. Social media have up to his house and took him out to do allowed youth unique benefts that may something. The pervasiveness of gun vi- help to alleviate some of the problems olence in neighborhoods of concentrat- of disadvantaged neighborhoods if they ed disadvantage means it is not uncom- fnd a socially acceptable means of do- mon for individuals in his friend group ing so. to have also experienced the loss of a Furthermore, the tendency of loved one to gun violence. Regardless some disadvantaged youth to value of whether Victor and his friends have strength over weakness, even in griev- a conversation about his actual feelings, ing the passing of a loved one, is not 46 limited to boys and men. Indeed, as like it.” Nikki Jean (2010) contends, many girls June explains her reticence in in disadvantaged neighborhoods do not opening up to specifc friends stems meet or do not have access to the gen- from the possibility that they will one dered standards of a “good girl” (79). day use the information against her. The These girls also contend with Ander- information wouldn’t necessarily cause son’s “code of the street” (1999) and her physical harm, but it does leave demonstrate their ability to fght in or- her vulnerable to being embarrassed or der to cope with threats to their safety teased online. She therefore tries to lim- and reputation. In essence, many female it ‘personal information’ that she puts youth and young women must perform online, as she claims that not everyone strength as well, and I found these con- needs to know certain things. Similar to clusions to be consistent with ideals of the case of Victor, however, June is on some female participants in this study. her phone a lot. She mentions that there June, a 20-year-old black female will be occasional moments where her from a West Side neighborhood, re- emotions, typically anger or sadness, counted an experience growing up are so strong that she’ll feel compelled wherein her trusted friend became an to post something: enemy of hers; that friend took to so- “June: I’ll probably post something cial media to ‘expose’ a piece of June’s online [about how I’m feeling]… personal information, resulting in a it’ll build up, then I’ll probably great deal of embarrassment for June. post it. But then, after a while, I’ll She didn’t hang out outside her house probably delete it. in the several days following the inci- Diego: Why would you delete it? dent, and she came to be more cautious June: ‘Cause I don’t want nobody as to whom she entrusted with personal to be like, ‘She said [this],’ because information. Though she feels comfort- people like when people be down. able going to certain people like close Like they get off on seeing people family members to talk about sensi- down to make themselves feel bet- tive information, she still prefers not ter. But I’ll still post it to let people to delve too deep into the emotions she know how I feel.” feels during the grieving process: “I’m the type of person who’ll try June realizes that if she leaves cer- and help everybody else. I don’t tain moments of vulnerability or even like nobody to see me cryin’, like anger on her profle, people have great- I’ll do that on my own time…I er and longer access to these posts. As don’t like people to see me weak long as they stay on her profle, others ‘cause I feel like people pray on can possibly use them against her in the the weak. People’ll use your weak future or use them to misrepresent her. and your weakness against you. As a result, June utilizes another facet Like if you sittin’ here tellin’ them of networked privacy: creatively ma- a personal situation, and then y’all nipulating the technical features of the get into it, and then they fip and website (Marwick and boyd 2014). Be- they’ll throw it in your face. I don’t cause posts normally stay up on one’s 47 profle until deleted, June will stay con- gang member that said something along scious of what she’s posted and limit the lines of “Fuck yo’ dead homie” or specifc posts temporally. This does not “We smokin’ on him tonight.” “Smok- completely eliminate the possibility ing on” someone is an expression of that another viewer might see the post, disrespect among gang members that but it does help to minimize the possi- intends to taunt a recently deceased bility that someone will one day use the rival gang member. This type of con- post against her. By limiting access to sequence to grieving online seemed to her thoughts temporally, June fnds that be one of the hardest obstacles to avoid she can occasionally talk about how because blocking access to all strangers she’s feeling online. requires that one make their SNS ac- June and Victor are both quint- counts fully private. Even if one sacri- essential examples of how the ideals fces the social benefts of a public or of hegemonic masculinity functions in semi-public profle, there is no guaran- neighborhoods afficted by high levels tee that a disrespectful individual won’t of violence. Although other neighbor- make it on to one’s friend or follower hoods certainly are impacted by he- list. gemonic masculinity, the high levels This was the case with Destiny, a of trauma that pervasive gun violence 20-year-old black female from a West inficts upon disadvantaged communi- Side neighborhood. Though Desti- ties suggests that many disadvantaged ny has had multiple loved ones die as youth have to put forth more emotion- a result of gun violence, it was during al effort to perform strength. For some her brother’s death that she was antag- youth, the consequences of showing onized online. Following the loss of her weakness are steep enough to warrant gang-affliated brother in a car accident, careful approaches to posting on SNSs. an unknown gang-affliated individual These youth make frequent attempts to sent her a message on Facebook: manage networked privacy as a means “Destiny: Some boy inboxed me of being able to cope online without like “I hope he get up” with a the ramifcations of public displays of laughing emoji… ‘cause he was weakness. Thus, the benefts of SNSs, hospitalized [at the time]… I didn’t like grieving online, are not available know who [the boy] was. I don’t to all youth in disadvantaged neighbor- even think he was my friend. He hoods without the awareness and skills just inboxed me. to manage their privacy. Diego: How did you react to that? “We smokin’ on to’ dead homie”: block- Destiny: At frst I told my brother, ing antagonism and disrespect and he told me to ignore it. I ignored A small number of youth, both it at frst, but then he sent me anoth- female and male, reported having an- er message, like a GIF of [a famous tagonistic or disrespectful responses actor] dancing and laughing, to get to grieving online. Following a “RIP” me to argue with him… I told him post, for example, a participant might ‘What was his purpose?’ and he have received a direct message from a didn’t answer me, he just kept say- ing, ‘I hope he get up.’ So I just left 48 him on ‘seen.’ I didn’t think he was tions. If Destiny had blocked him after gonna message me again ‘cause I the frst message, she would still be left left him on ‘seen.’ But then he in- to deal with the emotional reaction to boxed me one more time, and that’s the frst message. Even if her privacy when I blocked him.” settings were set to fully private, Face- Since Destiny’s privacy settings book still allows others to send individ- allowed non-friends to send her a di- uals ‘message requests’ that allow the rect message, this left her vulnerable to user to be contacted. In accordance with unwanted harassment in a time of great Marwick and boyd (2014), youth can- diffculty. The ability to block specifc not be expected to successfully manage users, preventing them from contacting their privacy in an online environment you or viewing your profle, cannot be that does not allow them to exert full utilized unless one knows exactly whom control over whom is allowed access to one needs to block. In Destiny’s case, them. The increased challenges to in- she couldn’t have known this stranger dividuals’ ability to manage their own would be a future problem. This kind of privacy has increased the ease and the harassment was also present in her of- likelihood that disadvantaged individ- fine life, as she recalled being harassed uals can be accessed and affected by by her rival gang members when taking the actors who carry out these forms a certain route home from school. of antagonism in disadvantaged neigh- In contrast to her offine life, borhoods. In this way, SNSs can further wherein she merely took a different intensify the conditions of disadvantage route to school or home, Destiny’s for specifc youth. mere online presence left her vulnera- The consequences of failing to ble to this type of harassment. In addi- manage networked privacy carry dif- tion, Destiny’s understanding of online ferent implications for different youth. social norms was inaccurate here. She I could not measure the stakes of this believed that the stranger wouldn’t send failure to manage privacy for Destiny her another message if she left him ‘on beyond the fact that she was bothered seen,’ a feature of SNSs where users are and hurt by this message. For others, notifed when the recipient has opened however, these instances of disrespect their private direct message. Leaving may lead to physical retaliation (Pat- someone ‘on seen’ should have signaled ton et al. 2017), or they may be a cata- that she didn’t want to respond and that lyst that sinks one further into feelings she would no longer respond, but the of sadness and pain. Regardless of the boy nonetheless messaged her a third type of consequence, failing to manage time before being blocked. As a result, one’s networked privacy can carry seri- Destiny was harassed and her loved one ous ramifcations for certain youth. The was disrespected on three different oc- last section of my analyses conveys the casions. potential consequences that an inability Managing networked privacy, to manage one’s networked privacy can though often successful, cannot protect entail. individuals against all privacy viola- 49 Contrasting Hector and Jasmine: A Hector Tale of Two Online Worlds Hector grew up living on a block Stevens et al. (2016) make the mis- that was contentious territory for the ri- take of treating disadvantaged youth as val factions of two gangs in his neigh- a homogenous population; that is, that borhood. Having grown up close to his the ‘digital hood’ or amplifcation of cousins who were involved in a local offine problems can affect all margin- street gang, he began to identify with alized youth in the same way. In reality, the gang by association—much less of research on how neighborhood charac- a commitment than membership. At this teristics affect individual life outcomes same period in his childhood, he began of marginalized youth suggest the exact using MySpace, a formerly popular opposite: youth vary considerably by a SNS similar to Facebook. Most of his multitude of variables, including social MySpace friends were gang members networks, family resources, and educa- and gang-affliated family members. tional inputs, to name a few (Harding As he was kicked out of his ele- et al. 2011, Small and Feldman 2012). mentary school in sixth grade when As such, we should expect that there is school administrators discovered pho- considerable variation in how disadvan- tos of him ‘throwing up’ gang signs, he taged youth are affected by the advent began to re-evaluate his life. After the of social media even among youth liv- homicide of one of his gang-involved ing in neighborhoods affected by simi- cousins, he realized that he was on the lar conditions of disadvantage. path toward full-membership in the In this section, I compare the gang, a membership that carried the risk experiences of two youth: Hector, a of an early death. He decided to move 22-year-old Latino male from a West away from the gang lifestyle, yet he Side neighborhood, and Jasmine, a was frequently reminded of the diffcul- 20-year-old black female from a South ty in successfully and safely separating Side neighborhood. Although they both oneself from the gang. As he entered currently attend private colleges and no high school, Facebook was becoming longer live in their original neighbor- increasingly popular. As a rule, he be- hoods, both reported the presence of came very mindful about not adding gangs and gun violence as a signifcant specifc individuals that he knew were problem affecting the neighborhoods gang members as friends despite having in which they spent 18 years of their known them in his prior time with the lives. I intend to show how differenc- gang. es in their networked privacy concerns For Hector, high school posed real are a result of the heterogeneity among risks to his safety and educational at- their individual characteristics. I also tainment, as his high school was located show how Victor’s ability to manage in the rival gang territory. Hector had to networked privacy helped preserve his walk to school and cross local bound- safety, albeit sometimes at the cost of aries of the two gang territories. This his emotional well-being. meant he frequently encountered the possibility of an interaction with a rival gang member hanging out on the street. 50 As a result of potential safety risks and ing Jasmine, received a school laptop, harassment from gang members who some youth would attempt to steal lap- might have been able to recognize him tops after school. On days where she from his past gang ties, Hector em- would walk home, Jasmine would try ployed creative strategies to avoid vic- to disguise her laptop behind her purse timization, similar to those described or under her arms to make the appear- by Garot (2010). He lied about where ance of the laptop less visible. This is he lived when he was “hit up,” claim- a strategy similar to those described by ing he lived on a block that wasn’t in Anderson (1990) as “street wisdom,” or rival territory. He also made use of his the pragmatic strategies individuals de- social networks and managed to get his velop to decrease the chances of being local pastor to walk with him to school robbed. Ultimately, Jasmine reported throughout his freshman year. These that these occasional walks to school two strategies mitigated harassment and never caused her much trouble. When potential victimization. As he got older, she entered high school, she always the gang members who might’ve recog- received rides to and from her school. nized him from his past gang ties had Her school was a small school located either graduated or dropped out, and his outside of her neighborhood that had a route to school was made safer. strict no-gang-activity policy. Jasmine Jasmine would rarely have the chance to explore Jasmine, in contrast to Hector, did the neighborhood after school because not report growing up on a block partic- of various extracurricular responsibili- ularly known for violence or having a ties as well as the car rides that would strong gang presence. She also did not pick her up afterwards directly from the report having too many gang-involved school. friends and family members in her so- Hector and Jasmine’s two differ- cial networks. Throughout her child- ent “doses” (Sharkey and Faber 2014) hood, Jasmine seemed to be particularly of their neighborhoods as well as their insulated from some of the social prob- individual differences meant that Hec- lems of her neighborhood. For instance, tor and Jasmine also had differences in Jasmine affrmed that she wasn’t really the online experiences during their high involved in much of the social conficts school years and beyond. These differ- and drama that took place after school ences led to varying levels of concerns at her neighborhood grammar school. over managing networked privacy. This was because she usually received Contrasting networked privacy con- rides to and from school. She recalled cerns how the occasional instances that she Hector reported having lost loved had to walk home increased the like- ones in high school and during his frst lihood that her school laptop could be years at an out- of-state college. When stolen from her. he frst lost his cousin, he was still in Since other youth from nearby grammar school and still partially affli- schools knew that every youth who ated with the local gang. With sound pri- attended Jasmine’s school, includ- vacy settings and mostly gang-involved 51 individuals on his MySpace friends list, control over his friends list, there was he was able to grieve and post photos always the possibility that someone else of his cousin on his MySpace page. might share or talk about Hector’s post In response to these posts, other gang if he were to have made one for his late members and family provided him sup- friend Skittles. Here, both Hector’s past port as well as advice for dealing with involvement in the local gang and his his cousin’s death. Years later, when high school’s location in rival gang ter- he was no longer involved in the gang, ritory meant he was in a situation where he describes the death of one friend as he couldn’t grieve online as he had particularly polarizing moment on his wanted. He told me he remembers the Facebook timeline: ‘rot in hell’ posts as particularly hurtful, “This dude named Skittles got but because of the predicament he was killed [by Hector’s former gang]. in, he had to internalize the pain and And all these people on social me- grief he felt over his friend’s death. dia, I have people on both sides Hector’s experiences online and [of the territorial boundary], right? grieving online stand in stark contrast People over here were saying ‘rot with Jasmine’s experiences. Jasmine in hell,’ and then I had people from described her online Facebook environ- high school who were saying ‘rest ment as being under surveillance of her in peace’ and stuff like that. For me, high school principal who frequently I played football with this dude, I monitored the students’ accounts for established a relationship with him, any social media “drama.” The small but I couldn’t be vocal about it and student body congregated daily at the show my...appreciation that I had high school, so if any social media dra- for my friendship with him because ma or conficts were to occur, the stu- I knew that some of the people who dents implicated in the conficts would were saying ‘rot in hell’ were prob- be “put on blast” in front of everyone ably gonna call me out and say and instructed to apologize. As such, in- some shit... so that was a reason cidents or drama were either decreased why I was kind of silent [on so- or moved to Twitter, a SNS that afford- cial media] when things happened, ed students more privacy because us- because I knew other people were ers need not provide their real names. watching, like some of my cousins This allows for a certain buffer between would have said something.” the user and those who do not have Hector went on to describe that knowledge of the individual’s user- posts like ‘rot in hell’ weren’t neces- name. However, Jasmine also describes sarily coming from the gang members there being someone who occasionally that he managed to keep off his friends “snitched” or told the principal about list on Facebook. Rather, these mes- instances of social confict on Twitter. sages often came from ‘gang-associat- The student body eventually started to ed’ girls and boys who were associated fgure out who was “snitching” and be- with the local gang by virtue of their came more mindful of this individual family members’ gang ties. Even with on Twitter. Aside from some administrative 52 surveillance, Jasmine didn’t report hav- cial to his academic success and ability ing any real privacy concerns. Moving to attend a top-tier private college. Had to Twitter was enough privacy for her. Hector lacked the ability to keep gang She says that she was never really in- members off his social media, he may volved in any of the school’s “drama,” have encountered further obstacles to and that nothing she said online would educational achievement. The ability to have ever caused trouble for her because manage networked privacy offers some she “minded [her] business.” Having marginalized youth invaluable tools for attended a small high school with little resisting the offine and online social tolerance for online confict and having problems of their neighborhood. Net- no gang affliations and ties to gangs, worked privacy management is a use- Jasmine reported feeling free to grieve ful tool for thinking about how social and express her feelings online when media may interact with conditions of her friend passed away in high school. disadvantage to affect the daily lives of Hector and Jasmine’s concerns in disadvantaged youth and their individu- managing their networked privacy tell al life outcomes. different stories with different implica- tions. Despite the fact that both individ- DISCUSSION uals had lost a friend to gun violence in This study shows that margin- high school. Hector’s need to manage alized youth are everything but ho- networked privacy, such as preventing mogenous in how they are affected by gang members from joining his friends and how they respond to the emerging list and withholding online displays of problems of their online environments. grief, show how his individual circum- Some youth approach social media with stances and exposure to gang violence great care, as they perceive fatal risks in his neighborhood produced obstacles in saying the wrong thing to the wrong in both his offine and online environ- person online. Others view social me- ment. In contrast, Jasmine’s general dia as having signifcantly lower stakes, lack of concern for managing her net- reporting few privacy concerns and worked privacy illustrate how factors problems in their online environments. such as her lack of familial ties to local As exemplifed by this study, further gangs, her involvement in extracurric- research on social media should take a ulars, her rides to school, and perhaps bottom-up approach to parse through even her gender meant for little social such intricate and complex empirical confict on her offine and online envi- data. ronments. Conclusions that paint the on- Hector and Jasmine’s stories re- line world as a ‘digital hood’ (Stevens spectively underscore the usefulness in et al. 2016) for all marginalized youth using networked privacy management produce far too simple depictions of as a tool to identify for whom and how youths’ online worlds. Aside from vari- social media have intensifed or ad- ation in online experiences, youth con- versely affected the social problems of stantly make use of their agency to keep disadvantaged neighborhoods. Indeed, offine problems from entering their Hector’s privacy management was cru- online environments. They block po- 53 tential sources of trouble when needed, youth were adversely impacted by the they creatively disclose their emotions advent of SNSs, Hector and Jasmine’s online to perform gendered versions of stories should motivate scholars of weakness and grief, and they fnd ways neighborhood effects to take social me- to tap into systems of social support dia seriously. Scholars could examine, without explicitly requesting them. Just for instance, the effects of attending as they do in their physical neighbor- high school in a rival gang’s territory on hoods, marginalized youth strategically youth’s perceptions of their online envi- avoid and prevent the social problems ronments. most salient in their everyday lives. Neighborhood scholars could Mere content analyses of social even employ quantitative approaches to media data do not capture the complex- social media and use survey methods to ity of youth’s contemporary social envi- tease out a relationship between online ronments, either. For some youth, even behaviors and certain neighborhood nongang involved youth, SNSs can be characteristics. Whatever the approach everything but safe and healthy spaces may entail, this study has shown how in which youth can make sense of their important some online behaviors are to loss. Unfortunately, interviews cannot the well-being and safety of some mar- fully measure the emotional toll of see- ginalized youth. Neighborhood schol- ing a deceased loved one disrespected ars should look to understand these by strangers online. Nonetheless, the processes if they wish to present an ac- fact that participants spoke up about curate picture of the contemporary so- these instances in interviews implies cial world and social processes of mar- these actions carry real consequences ginalized communities. for some youth. As for the youth who Finally, this study adds to a small did not report challenges to grieving on- yet increasing amount of scholarship line, Patton et al. (2015) still fail to cap- making the case for deeper, more fruit- ture the myriad of ways that online ex- ful sociological explorations of social pressions of grief were able to facilitate media; Lane (2016) perfectly illustrates social processes like social support. In the sociological value in studying social order to further understand the impacts, media, as he fnds social media were affordances, and challenges that social used not only in the micro-sociological media present to marginalized youth, processes of urban violence, but also in scholars need to carry out ethnographic neighborhood processes of collective explorations of social processes that do effcacy and violence prevention. In this not focus solely on urban violence and study, gang members’ infuence in both gang members’ social media use. offine and online processes had signif- Moreover, the conceptual tool icant effects on shaping some youths’ proposed in this study proved extreme- offine and online behaviors. Future ly useful in highlighting how partici- research should explore the implica- pants were heterogeneously affected tions of these novel online challenges by SNSs. Although I could not provide for individual life outcomes. 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At a time when Islamophobia is rampant, Muslim Americans fnd it necessary to amplify what it means to be Muslim within the American context. Muslim women who wear the hijab struggle to liberate their own identities against those presented by the larger society as the hijab becomes stripped of much of its religious, social, and personal signifcance. Perceiving the hijab as merely a symbol of oppression or of modesty ignores the spiritual, personal, and ordinary aspects of the hijab. Further, these perceptions focus more on the hijab rather than on the individual women choosing, wearing, and shaping their connec- tion with the religious covering. This research will provide a more holistic understanding of how both Muslim and non-Muslim American women view the hijab in an American context in order to recognize how the perceptions of each group shape the role of the hijab for Muslim American women as well as the larger Muslim American identity. Through interviews with eight women, I show that there exists a diversity of connections between women’s religious and personal ideologies and her hijab. In understanding the dynamism of the hijab, we can begin to reform our perceptions of both this religious symbol as well as the women who wear it. By representing themselves and their own religious and personal connections to the hijab, Muslim women will no longer be defned by their hijab but by their choices, their individuality, and their identities.

INTRODUCTION Muslim and non-Muslim women, we Muslim women across the world wear may delve into a deeper sense of how the hijab, a religious headscarf, not only the hijab functions in American soci- to get closer to God but as a means to ety. While much research has focused fnding community through region, lan- on Muslim women and their motiva- guage, and culture. In the American con- tions for wearing the hijab, little has text, however, the hijab is often deemed been researched on how non-Muslim as a symbol of oppression and terror Americans understand the hijab. This contradictory to the American ideals. research, exploring the view of both But despite the widespread animosity groups, will fll a void in sociological towards Muslims, millions of Muslim literature on the hijab, and it will pro- women continue to wear the hijab moti- vide both Muslims and non-Muslims vated by religious and personal beliefs. deeper meaning to the hijab, the lived By perpetuating the harmful stereotypes experience of the hijab, and the position against Muslims and the hijab, Muslim of Muslims in the larger American con- women are burdened with the pressure text. to break down these stereotypes, act as representatives of Islam, and often face THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK more discrimination. The hijab is no longer merely a By understanding the infuences piece of religious clothing, rather it em- and perceptions of the hijab by both bodies distinct meanings in relation to 58 58 Muslim identity within the American tions in West Africa (Karaim, 2017). context. The following section explores Immigrants from the Middle East start- literature on the hijab within the Muslim ed immigrating in the 19th century and and Muslim American narrative. These continue to arrive, many of whom are texts differ in terms of operationaliza- refugees escaping war and persecution tion: some focused on qualitative inter- (Karaim, 2017). Today, Muslims make views and participant observation while up 1% of the American population, and others conducted surveys or analyzed Islam continues to be the fastest grow- existing quantitative data. The multifac- ing religion in the world. While the eted nature of the literature mirrors that September 11 attacks, the War on Ter- of the concept of hijab in the context of ror, and the election of President Trump Muslim American identity. have exacerbated Islamophobic senti- Islamic Context of the Hijab ments, Muslims continue to live ordi- At the core of Islamic tradition nary American lives. is an understanding that God has com- For some Muslim women, these manded both men and women to em- growing tensions have fostered both brace modesty in physical, mental, fear and increased motivation to wear and spiritual ways. The physical hijab the hijab (Haddad, 2007). This histo- for Muslim women is a headscarf that ry presents a burden among American covers the hair and neck; in addition, Muslims to defend Islam, their faith, Muslim women cover the rest of the and their rights, but also to constantly body. While puberty often marks when live in a country that projects an “us women begin wearing the hijab, there is vs. them” mentality (Khan, 1998). The a wide range of timeframes when wom- pressure to represent a Muslim identity en choose to cover. Ideally, women who in line with American values often falls starts wearing the hijab always wear heavily among Muslim women who their scarf when in public and in front wear the hijab. Not only has research of men, excluding their relatives. While regarding Muslims and Muslim wom- there are differences across cultures in en focused on this tumultuous history, terms of how much skin is shown or but it has also fostered a narrative of how scarves are worn, the basic under- Muslims breaking down stereotypes standing is to dress modestly for the and reclaiming their identity. While this sake of God (Mohibullah & Kramer, active response to hate and bigotry is 2016). The differences between how an important, it limits the more nuanced Arab, Indonesian, Spanish, or Ameri- identities and experiences of American can Muslim may wear hijab are varied, Muslims. thus there is room to understand various Religious Identity Negotiation motivations for wearing the hijab. Much research has exposed the Muslims in the United States diffculty of negotiating the identity of Due to the transatlantic slave women who veil when faced with so- trade, Muslims have been in the U.S. cial, familial, and personal constraints. since the creation of the nation. Many Through a series of qualitative inter- slaves came from Muslim majority na- views conducted with second-genera- 59 tion Muslim Americans after 9/11, Peek (2007) recognize that the “hijab is a (2005) explored the process of religious symbol that condenses a number of is- identity negotiation and formation. sues for young Muslims who are in the Across 106 interviews, she identifed process of constructing the practical di- three stages of religious identity for- mensions of an American Islam” (2007, mation: religion as ascribed, religion as pg. 271). By grounding ourselves in this chosen, and religion as declared (Peek, idea of an “American Islam,” we can 2005). As these children grew older, better understand the American Mus- being Muslim was no longer just an lim identity, Muslim women, and their identity ascribed by their parents, but experiences with the hijab from a space a defned characteristic of themselves that unites both Islamic and American as they engaged more with the religion values, culture, and lifestyle. (Peek, 2007, pg. 223). Peek’s research Empowerment through the Hijab was grounded in post-9/11 America Across the literature regarding the and highlighted the infuence of Islam, hijab, Muslim women are often asked American culture, current events, and to describe their journey, reasons, and lifestyle as integral to how these young motivations for wearing the hijab. A Muslim Americans formed their identi- common narrative is based on a sense ties. Keeping Peek’s study in mind, we of modesty, liberation, control, and re- can better understand the hijab’s place sistance. These narrative elements stem within this process of identity forma- from Islamic principles of modesty but tion for Muslim Americans. also from social ostracism, societal ex- Instead, Westfall et al. (2016) pectations, interpersonal issues, and present the hijab from solely a religious patriarchal norms (Droogsma, 2007; framework, which narrowly focuses Williams & Vashi, 2007). The wom- on religious lifestyle, religious absti- en interviewed by Williams & Vashi nence, and religious socialization as (2007) project elements expressed by motivators for wearing the hijab. They Droogsma (2007) in that they expe- conducted a survey with 1,847 Muslim rience the hijab as a means to nurture American women, and found that wom- solidarity, equality, and control within a en are more likely to wear hijab if they male-dominant society. engaged in acts of worship in everyday Muslim women are often por- life (Westfall et al., 2016). While the au- trayed as oppressed, without power and thors hint at this everyday performance confdence in their own identities. By of religion as integral to the hijab, we conveying the hijab as a source of resis- cannot fully extrapolate how these tance and empowerment, Muslim wom- women process their values, habits, and en undermine this narrative. In this way, environments into their experience with the hijab is more than a symbol but a the hijab. functional instrument towards self-con- Thus, it is important to understand trol, independence, and resistance to the the hijab through its place within the gender norms leveraged against women process of identity formation. Through within American Islam. qualitative interviews with American While the discussion and experi- Muslim women, Williams & Vashi 60 ence of the hijab as a form of empower- day life to emphasize how Islam infu- ment is salient for many Muslim wom- ences dictate the lives of most American en, I want to avoid romanticizing and Muslims (2016). In this way, emphasiz- generalizing this narrative as consistent ing the hijab as an “unfxed aspect of across all American Muslim women. the everyday” provides a space where My research offers an understanding Muslim women are more than just their of the active role Muslim women play hijab and are valued for their multi- in contextualizing and changing their faceted lives. Mohibullah & Kramer identity and image within an American emphasize that women are “frst and context. This aspect of resistance and foremost, ‘acting, reacting, thinking, control stems from a history of discrim- feeling humans’” (2016, pg. 110). This ination and prejudice, thus exemplify- leaves room for not only better research ing a reaction and response to one’s en- of Muslim women and the hijab but vironment through a process of active also recognizes the ordinary and dy- meaning-making. namic underpinnings of how identities Role of the Hijab in Everyday Life and experiences color the practice of Across the literature there is an covering. overwhelming number of reasons why Moving Forward Muslim women wear the hijab and the The literature presents numerous distinct meanings applied to them. Mo- themes regarding the hijab, including hibullah & Kramer’s (2016) research identity negotiations, empowerment holistically reviews both the every- through the hijab, and the role of hijab day battles as well as everyday routine in ordinary life. Because these works of wearing the hijab. Though a small specifcally examine American Mus- sample of six interviews, this recent lims within a post-9/11 American con- research provides a more current un- text, they often frame their fndings in derstanding of the socio-political and opposition to generally negative Amer- traditional infuences for veiling. These ican perceptions of Muslims. However, infuences spanned from religious ad- there is limited research regarding the herence, to political motivations, to perceptions of Muslims or the hijab familial pressure, to a response to 9/11 from a non-Muslim American perspec- (Mohibullah & Kramer, 2016). But, this tive. Thus, the present research will rely text stands out because of the notion of on empirically-based perceptions by both the “religio-cultural ideals and ev- non-Muslim Americans in order to con- eryday pragmatics” associated with the trast the experiences of Muslim women hijab (Mohibullah & Kramer, 2016, pg. with real rather than generalized atti- 103). It is important to understand not tudes towards Muslims and the hijab. only that women cover differently and While the motivations for wear- for different reasons, but how this het- ing the hijab center on reactions to erogeneous understanding of the hijab a negative portrayal of Muslims in a functions in a wider context. post-9/11 America, this research will Mohibullah & Kramer explore the focus on current experiences and strug- intersection of Islam and secular every- gles of American Muslim women. Not 61 Figure 1. Interviewees by pseudonym, religious affliation, and hijab wearing status. only will this research be grounded in for non-Muslims the narrative of Mus- a framework of identity formation, but lim Americans from a more authentic it will advance Mohibullah & Kramer’s voice rather than what is often present- focus on an everyday lived experience ed about Muslims in American society. of the hijab. The present research thus The primary goal of this research is hopes to focus on how American Mus- not to break stereotypes but to foster a lim women experience the hijab and deeper understanding of Muslims and to place those narratives in relation to the identities they embrace. By compar- perceptions of the hijab by non-Muslim ing the views of Muslims and non-Mus- American women. lims on the hijab, I hope to reveal more nuanced meanings attributed to this re- RESEARCH DESIGN ligious symbol. My research explores the Muslim The design of this research will be American identity through the percep- a contrast of cases; that is, comparing tion and interaction with the hijab. My the perceptions of the hijab by Mus- results expand the work of Mohibul- lims, specifcally Muslim women who lah & Kramer and their ideas concern- wear the hijab, and the perceptions of ing how the hijab fts into the ordinary the hijab by non-Muslim women. Ex- lives of Muslim American women. The ploring both Muslim and non-Muslim research provides new knowledge not women will yields insight into how only for other sociologists, primarily the two groups perceive and interact sociologists of religion, but also for or- with the hijab. Both the Muslim and dinary Muslims. By understanding the non-Muslim women I interviewed live role of the hijab, Muslims can better in America, attend a Jesuit university, refect upon their own ideas about hi- and are currently developing their iden- jab, about their religious identity, and tities as emerging adults. their role in the larger American soci- ety. Further, this research can elucidate 62 DATA AND METHODS nor are their perceptions meant to be The study population are eight generalized. They do not refect the de- self-identifed American undergraduate mographic makeup of the Muslim com- women; four are non-Muslim women munity nor the American population, and four are Muslim women who wear thus this study cannot be representative the hijab. All participants were recruit- of the larger community. I will delve ed through snowball sampling from the into the qualitative methods below, but university’s campus. Other factors such it is worth recognizing the strength of as race/ethnicity or age were not as im- qualitative data for conveying a depth of portant as the primary goal was simply experience that cannot be grasped from comparing individuals who identify as quantitative data (Weiss, 1995). Hence, either Muslim and non-Muslim Ameri- while I am not projecting a representa- can women. tion of all Muslims or non-Muslims, the The four Muslim women are re- experiences and thoughts of these eight ferred to as Ala, Alex, Sarah, and Maha. individuals refect larger processes of All the Muslim women wear the hijab meaning-making (Emerson, Fretz, & and started wearing it at different ages. Shaw, 2011). The four non-Muslim women are re- Methods ferred to as Michelle, Giselle, Lara, and This study relied on qualitative Abby. All of the non-Muslims women methods and analysis through the use were raised Catholic. It is also worth of in-depth interviews with eight par- noting that the non-Muslim women frst ticipants. While qualitative methodolo- interacted with Muslim Americans at gy is often critiqued for not rigorously their university and had a superfcial producing generalizable information, it understanding of Islam overall. While provides an immersive means to under- these characteristics are refected in cer- stand theoretical concepts by immers- tain beliefs held by these women, they ing oneself in the lives of individuals also present certain biases that I will experiencing these processes (Ragin & fesh out in the limitations section. Amoroso, 2011). Additionally, qualita- The Jesuit university, located in tive methods provide underrepresented the Midwest praises itself for its di- groups, like Muslims, an opportunity to verse student population of which there express their values, lives, and identities is a substantial Muslim population on that quantitative data could not capture campus. The campus provides a prayer in the same detail (Ragain & Amoroso, space as well as a Muslim chaplain for 2011). its Muslim students. The campus has As discussed in the literature re- aided in creating a safe environment for view, scholars have presented numer- Muslims by setting a norm for Muslims ous reasons for why Muslims decide and non-Muslims to engage with one to wear the hijab as well as its place another. within the process of identity forma- Because the study relied on quali- tion. Although the motivation for this tative data and analysis, these eight par- research is informed by past literature, ticipants are not meant to be representa- the present research relies on inductive tive of the entire American population 63 analysis. In this way, I analyze themes stood the hijab, I delved deeper into as they arise from the data. As noted in their perceptions of the hijab and those the literature, there is so much variabil- who wear it. When asked why they be- ity when it comes to perceptions of the lieve women wear the hijab, there was hijab that it would be reductive to limit a common understanding that women these experiences to a single theory. For wear it for a religious connection with this reason, I kept my interview ques- God, modesty, as well as familial ex- tions broad. While there was variability pectations. Lara explained it as a “de- across interviews, patterns emerged di- votion to religion that I’ll never under- rectly from the data that both refected stand.” This is very telling of how these and differed from past research. women view those who decide to wear This study relied on snowball sam- hijab. This does not only indicate the pling to recruit participants, approved hijab as a form of devotion and religi- by the Institutional Review Board at osity; it exemplifes the individualized Loyola University Chicago. Recruit- aspect of the hijab. Their perceptions of ment depended on approval from the the hijab are not too different from how Muslim Student Association as well as Muslims themselves view the hijab. having the Muslim chaplain and oth- Many of the non-Muslims empha- er professors to share information via sized the notion of choice in relation to email and social media. I also shared the hijab. Abby explained that deciding announcements about the research to to wear the hijab “depends on the state classes and provided fyers. These pro- of our mind...if you feel a certain way cedures allowed me to garner a total of about [it].” For Giselle, Muslim wom- eight participants. en “choose to put it on and continue All participants reached out to me to make that choice” every single day. via email or phone and we conducted Both women recognize that the hijab the interviews in-person in semi-private depends on each woman’s personal rooms at the campus library. Each inter- desires. By appreciating the individu- view began with the participants read- ality of the hijab, we start to see how ing and signing a statement of consent meaning is attached to the hijab by both and protection of confdentiality. Their the women who wear them and the confdentiality was further protected non-Muslims. When these non-Muslim by replacing their names with pseud- women explain that they may not know onyms. The interviews ranged from exactly why women choose to wear the twenty to forty-fve minutes and all hijab, that creates a space for Muslim participants allowed me to record audio women to provide their own personal and take notes during the interview. In- experience and motivations for cover- terviews were then transcribed, coded, ing. and analyzed. Portrayal of the Hijab and Islam When asked how the hijab and Is- RESULTS lam are typically portrayed in the media Preliminary Perceptions of the Hijab and American society, the non-Muslim After identifying the extent to participants recognized the negativi- which the non-Muslim women under- 64 ty surrounding these depictions. They Michelle recognized that many recognized that it is problematic to see wear the hijab for an “everyday reason this connection of adverse events with as opposed to actually thinking about, Islam and the hijab. For example, Lara well, I’m going to be super radical and explained, “I think if you see someone make a big statement.” Understanding wearing a hijab in the news, you auto- this difference and highlighting the matically assume something bad hap- regularity of the hijab normalizes it pened. While it shouldn’t be like that, and allows Muslim women who wear it is.” Acknowledging that these stereo- the hijab to focus on themselves rather types are both harmful and continuous- than on how others may perceive them ly perpetuated amplifes the very reality or their hijab. Abby tied this back to in- Muslims endure on a daily basis. teracting and knowing Muslim women Abby similarly refects how who cover as a way to fully understand Muslim women must deal with these the normalcy of this religious symbol. representations while still portraying We must remember the individual mo- their individual selves. She said, “It tivations for why Muslim women de- frustrates me and I can’t even imagine cide to wear the hijab and affrm their how it would be like to be someone identity rather than the superfcial and who actually wears the hijab.” Seeing distorted portrayals. Seeing this shift in non-Muslims make these realizations perception from these non-Muslims and about media presentation of Muslims advocating for an the idea of normalcy and empathize with women who wear can create new representations of Mus- the hijab fosters hope to challenging lim women who cover. some of these prevalent stereotypes. 9/11 I asked the non-Muslim women In interviewing both Muslim and if they believed there was a difference non-Muslim women, I could not dis- in how the hijab is portrayed in the me- regard the role of 9/11, Islamophobia, dia as opposed to how ordinary Muslim and discrimination on Muslims and the women experience wearing the hijab. hijab. It was clear that the non-Muslims Giselle pointed out that there seems to recognized the negative impacts on be a shift in the media and how millen- Muslims due to the heightened preju- nials are presenting Muslims and hijabs dice exhibited within American society. as “commonplace” and “neutral.” Even Michelle, being a bit older and more more, she recognized that most of the cognizant of 9/11, explained how Is- “portrayals aren’t from the people who lam was perceived as “anti-everything are wearing them.” A need arises for [Americans] believed.” She recognized both neutral portrayals of Muslims and the clash between America and Islam for Muslims themselves to take con- as it was amplifed directly after the trol of those portrayals. Thus, this gap attacks. Giselle and Lara were quite in representation exposes the discrep- young when 9/11 happened, so it was ancy between the media portrayal and harder for them to verbalize the rami- the lived experience of the hijab. These fcations of 9/11. Nonetheless, Giselle women focused on Muslim women as explained that it “made things harder ordinary human beings. 65 [for] Muslims…and Americans felt jus- tion of that fear was actualized in war, tifed in their discrimination because heightened national security, racial pro- they thought they were protecting or fling, etc. As 9/11 becomes more of a defending their nation.” distant past, its direct impact becomes Younger generations of both Mus- less drastic. Many of these women, spe- lims and non-Muslims are disconnected cifcally Sarah and Maha, recognized from 9/11’s direct impact, but that does that their parents and older mentors not diminish their understanding that expressed a vivid fear that the young- 9/11, Islamophobia, and discrimina- er generation cannot directly relate to. tion were weaponized against Muslims. Peek (2005), Mohibullah & Kramer Lara explained that society “has gotten (2016), and to some extent Droogsma more accepting, but I don’t know if the (2007) found women donning the hijab stigma will go away.” The reality is that as a response to 9/11 and as a source 9/11 occurred more than a decade ago, of resistance, but that sentiment was not but the consequences remain embedded expressed by these women. This does within American society. not undermine the impacts of 9/11, but When I asked Muslims about it signals a shift in how younger Mus- 9/11, there was an overwhelming con- lims have internalized 9/11 as “normal” sensus that the attacks created a danger- and part of this new era of Islamopho- ous backlash against the Muslim com- bia. munity here and abroad. Ala and Alex, Islamophobia who are older and are more aware of All the women were aware of the 9/11, recognize that these events prop- term Islamophobia and associated it agated war. Alex emphasized the polit- with misconceptions, discrimination, ical implications of 9/11 rather than the judgment, terrorist attacks, ignorance, consequences on the Muslim commu- etc. At its core is the fear of the sup- nity. It is important not only to under- posed danger of Islam. While there was stand the history behind 9/11 but also consensus that this should not be the re- to acknowledge that wars were justifed ality, all participants revealed the social using this attack. Ala, whose family is internalization of these beliefs. To ex- from Afghanistan, emphasized both the emplify its pervasiveness among Amer- repercussions felt in the Muslim com- icans, Michelle explained how “it can munity in America as well as in the be easy [for individuals] to give into Muslim world. Islamophobia” when it is colored by It was diffcult to discuss this irrationality and fear. Similarly, Abby event because, as Ala described, “9/11 explained how her parents can often shook the world, but it shook the Mus- be Islamophobic without recognizing lim world a lot harder.” Like with the their prejudiced statements. They rec- non-Muslims, many of these women ognize the danger of Islamophobia in were too young to directly understand how quickly and unconsciously people the effects of 9/11. All the participants adhere to these beliefs. As many of the acknowledged a sense of collective suf- participants revealed, it is the sheer ig- fering and hurt brought to the Muslim norance that obstructs the path towards community. The fear and normaliza- 66 a more open understanding of others. ent in her environment, her parents, as We see a more empathetic per- well as herself. Maha explained that ception towards Muslims, especial- her interaction with an Islamophobic ly towards women who cover and the woman opened her eyes to the real con- harsh realities they often face. For Lara, sequences of this fear. She explained women who wear the hijab face daily how “you hear about it on the news, but challenges, but they should also “know experiencing it for the frst time, really what comes with it.” That is, they experiencing that,” exposed the reality should, and probably do, recognize that of Islamophobia. The experience of Is- their hijab will occasionally draws neg- lamophobia for these Muslim women ative attention. Abby observed among is importantly different than the mere women she met that “they’ve all had to recognition expressed by the non-Mus- deal with someone being rude to them lims. because of the hijab that they wear.” Unlike the rest of the participants, What she is noticing is not only Islam- Alex frankly described herself as be- ophobia, but how ingrained its toxicity ing Islamophobic prior to converting is within the women themselves. In a to Islam. Her environment and fami- way, Muslim women who wear hijab ly fostered a sense of hatred towards are placing themselves within public Muslims and ignorance. She explained spaces knowing that they may endure that Islamophobes “remain ignorant be- Islamophobia, discrimination, etc. By cause their ignorance empowers them.” acknowledging the destructiveness of For her, meeting a Muslim provided a Islamophobia and the challenges faced space away from her Islamophobic be- by women who cover, it becomes even liefs. She “internalized the fact that this more important to understand why Muslim was not at all what I expect- women continue to don their hijab. ed, this Muslim was a normal human Both the non-Muslim and Mus- being.” In fact, this began her journey lim women believe Islamophobia is a towards Islam and her conversion. This discriminatory form of ignorance, fear, highlights not only the power of Islam- and injustice. But the Muslim women ophobic thoughts, but also its fragility. understood Islamophobia in terms of From merely meeting a Muslim, Alex experience rather than as a distant idea. relinquished her own ignorance. This For Sarah, Islamophobia was synony- is not to say that this was an immedi- mous with discrimination. She recalled ate occurrence, but that Islamophobia instances of Islamophobia when her and the fears against Muslims are fee- father was out of work because of Is- ble. They remain weak when faced by lamophobic bosses or her mother’s hi- Muslims, including these women, who jab being torn off as reminders of how remain strong in their faith and in their real Islamophobia is. Sarah’s parents hijabs. did not want her to wear the hijab be- Discrimination cause of the rampant Islamophobia in As many of the Muslim women their neighborhood; while she wore recalled the discrimination they often it regardless, her persistence did not faced, I cannot undermine the fear, erase the fact that this fear was inher- 67 paranoia, and internalization of these discrimination, these women often have acts of intolerance caused. From be- to balance both handling and undermin- ing stared at on public transportation, ing the stares, confrontations, or subtle asked if they have a bomb, having their microaggressions. Creating a space for scarves pulled off, having friends stop themselves that negates the discrimina- talking to them after donning the hijab, tion becomes a challenge many Muslim or being yelled at for wearing the hijab, women who cover must acknowledge. these women have endured incredible There is strength in recognizing abuse. Rather than defning themselves the reality they must face and remaining by these instances, it is more important resilient in covering themselves. Ac- to recognize how the women respond to knowledging the struggle, exhaustion, and handle these prejudiced incidences. and perseverance of these women who Whether it is Maha’s shock after choose to cover. To understand these being yelled at, Ala’s anxiety when she nuances is to recognize the dynamism gets on a bus, or Sarah being shaken up of wearing the hijab. Some days may by subtle Islamophobic statements, the be painful and diffcult while others emotional exhaustion and consequenc- are flled with an unrelenting pride, but es of discrimination are worth recog- their personal desire to continue wear- nizing. Sarah explained that she grew ing their hijab underlies everything up with Islamophobia. It is diffcult else. but necessary to recognize how normal “Being Religious” these instances are for some Muslims. To better understand the role of Sarah frankly explained that “it’s sort of hijab for these Muslim women, I asked a hit in the face with sad reality” that about their religiosity and what it means these instances will continue to happen to be religious. They considered “being and may get worse. There is a fne line religious” as something they all wanted between normalization of the discrimi- to abide by to become better Muslims. nation and resisting its internalization. In terms of specifc acts, the Muslims Similarly, Ala expressed the anxi- focused on the Five Pillars (creed, ety and discomfort she often feels from prayer, fasting, charity, and pilgrimage), the stares she receives on public trans- going to the mosque, wearing modest portation. While she often forgets she clothing, etc. It is interesting that prayer is wearing the hijab, the stares remind was the strongest element of religiosi- her that there is “this thing on my head ty because they also explained that re- and people do see me for that.” Ala ligiosity was deeper than just physical recognizes the harsh reality of discrim- actions. Sarah explained that “the term ination created around the hijab, but religious is thrown around” as a way to she also tries to give people the bene- judge other Muslims on how physically ft of the doubt. She explained, “I think religious they appear. In this sense, the you’d go crazy if you [thought about] term “religious” is often a superfcial every single person who stared at you indicator of how connected one is with and what’s going through their head.” God and how genuine those prayers are. While we have to recognize the psy- Maha said that while the 5 pillars are chological exhaustion that comes with 68 important, “if you don’t feel connected lim women I interviewed were born and to God inside, it’s not worth as much.” raised Muslim, all explained that reli- Both personal and societal expectations gion was an important aspect of their shape these women’s view of religios- upbringing. There were differences in ity. In a sense, there is a desire to be how religion played out during their more invested in their personal spiritual childhoods, but overall, they found Is- growth rather than to physically appear lam as fuid in their everyday lives. For “religious.” Ala, religion was “always there” in the Many of these women brought up sense that she knew simple acts like the hijab as something other Muslims dressing modestly, not wasting food, and non-Muslims associated with reli- or acting honestly and compassionately giosity. In deciding to wear their hijab, were rooted in Islam even if her parents many of the women were questioned never explicitly stated the connection. about their religious adherence and if Her recognition of how Islam inter- they were “religious enough” to wear twined with these simple acts highlights the hijab. Others were assumed to be the unconscious role of religion. Maha more religious than other Muslims be- explained Islam as “the frst thing [she] cause of their hijab. Thus, the hijab is ever knew,” signaling the foundation of often associated with religiosity on a religion in her upbringing. Similar to scale that not all Muslim women agree Ala, Maha realized that once she moved is accurate. Maha clearly explained, “I out of her parents’ home, she continued don’t feel like [hijab] is a good indica- the habits her parents taught her that tor of your religiosity.” were grounded in the Islamic tradition. We begin to see that the hijab is For Alex, religion was an inte- not simply defned by how it appears, gral aspect of her upbringing. She was but rather as a fuid representation of raised fundamentalist Christian, attend- the personal and spiritual journey that ed Bible study, Youth Group, and went cannot be confned to a single piece of to Church every Sunday. However, her clothing. What we see is a more critical upbringing ultimately lead to her dis- understanding of how the hijab fts with illusionment with religion. Both in her religion and religious practice. Unlike Christian upbringing and now as a Mus- in Westfall et al.’s (2016) study regard- lim, she explained that Islam affected ing hijab and religiosity, it is reductive her “behavior, treatment of others, [her] to associate the hijab with strong reli- everyday, [her] studies, everything.” gious adherence. In this way, these in- While this signals a more conscious depth experiences reveal that the hijab navigation of religion, it is grounded is not necessarily conducive to a cer- in her understanding that Islam is not tain level of religious faith or practice, merely a religion, but a way of life. By but that the hijab is merely one aspect understanding the role of Islam in the of how that religiosity can shift across lives of these women, one can begin to one’s lifetime. recognize the lifestyle and values Islam Role of Islam creates. This fuidity and presence of Although only three of four Mus- Islam in all their actions foreshadows how they view the function of the hijab. 69 Hijab as Personal Reminder women explained the hijab as a remind- Many of the Muslim women dis- er for others to know they are Muslim. cussed the habitualization of wearing They are not declaring their religious their hijab, as a reminder of their in- faith for others but for themselves. tentions and motivations for covering. Much of the hijab and Islam for these Many of them felt an increased sense women is tied to their motivations and of being Muslim when wearing the hi- deep connection with themselves and jab. It is more than a physical symbol how the hijab leads them towards reli- reminding these women that they are in gious and personal betterment. This is fact Muslim, but it reminds them of the not to say that they are always enlight- meaning they have attached to “being ened by their decision to wear hijab. By Muslim.” These observations are in line understanding the personal effects of with Droogsma (2007) and Mohibullah the hijab, the focus shifts to the mean- & Kramer (2016) where the hijab rep- ing women attach to their own hijab and resents both a sense of religious adher- their own selves. ence but also a means to defne oneself Choice as Muslims. It is not merely understand- A common stereotype against ing that you are Muslim but how one women who wear the hijab is that they lives as a Muslim through speech, ac- were forced to cover. Every Muslim tions, and interactions with others. This woman I interviewed recalled a diff- can mean dressing modestly through cult moment with family members. Un- long, fowing clothing, acting with hu- like the common stereotype, many of mility, being motivated in everything these women were discouraged by their you do, etc. The hijab becomes a tangi- family members to wear the hijab. The ble reminder of these values ingrained reasons for this negativity differed for within the Islamic faith. each woman. For some, their parents This goes back to understanding assumed they were wearing the hijab how many of these women viewed re- to appear more religious, while others ligion as something intertwined with were ideologically against the hijab; everyday life. The hijab amplifes the some did not want them to face discrim- desire to incorporate Islam in every as- ination, and some merely believed their pect of their lives. As Alex explained, daughters were too young. It is worth “it’s something that starts my days with recognizing that much of the discour- a great sense of, in the very least, duty, agement exhibited a genuine concern and on some days, peace.” This high- for how the world would react to their lights the religious commandment in decision. wearing the hijab for God and fulfll- The women all remained frm in ing this promise for the sake of God. At their decision to wear the hijab based the same time, the hijab reminds these solely on how they perceived the hijab. women of the choice they made for While Williams & Vashi (2007) and themselves. Droogsma (2007) emphasized the col- Whether to connect spiritually lective empowerment and resistance of with God, to build character, or to main- Muslim women, women like Ala reco- tain a sense of humility, none of these 70 gnized choice and control from a indi- public presentations of themselves and vidualistic approach. There was a sense their hijab. of certainty that overpowered external Self-Evaluation of the Hijab forces in the way that these women The decision to wear the hijab is decided to wear the hijab. As Ala ex- important, but many do not recognize plained, the opposition by her family that Muslim women constantly evalu- did affect her decision. She “waited for ate and reevaluate their choice to cov- those [negative] sounds to go away” er. Many of the women explored their because she wanted to ensure that her own mental breakdown of the questions fnal decision would be one of her own they ask themselves to remain consis- volition. By understanding these famil- tent with their intentions and connec- ial expectations, we can appreciate the tion with the hijab. A common question deeply personal attachment to the hijab. these women ask themselves is if they In understanding how these wom- are still wearing the hijab for the same en decided to wear their hijab, there reason they put it on? The struggle with were clear assertions of choice by these wearing hijab consistently is that it nat- women: “That was my choice and I urally becomes habit. And with many want to do it,” “My hijab, my choice,” habits, over time you forget the rea- “I want to wear the hijab,” etc. Many soning behind them. Ala’s expression of these proclamations are expressive of this self-questioning showcased the of the inner decision for these women complex and refexive aspects of the to defnitively choose the hijab. How- hijab. She would ask herself, “Why am ever, many of these women made these I wearing it? What am I getting out of statements in response to those who this? Am I being myself?” These are challenged their decision. This exposes only a few of the myriad of questions both the opposition still faced by wom- she had, but this process of evaluation en who cover as well as the need for hi- provides an internal assurance of their jabi women to prove the independence decision. of their choice. While many of these women did As personal as the decision to wear choose to wear the hijab, the experience the hijab is, these instances exemplify is dynamic. But this type of question- the role the hijab plays in the public ing also reveals the pressure connected sphere. The hijab will continue to be as- with the hijab. It is understanding their sociated with different meanings across personal intention to wear the hijab, distinct contexts, often separate from the religious duty to wear the hijab, as the woman wearing it. Oftentimes the well as wondering if they are staying hijab is portrayed merely as a religious true to their personal meaning of the object rather than an object chosen and hijab. Thus, reforming their intentions worn by women. This defense of their for wearing the hijab is a complex cy- decision then reinforces their personal cle. As they change and develop their and human connection to the hijab sep- values, the meaning behind their hijab arate from the hijab as merely an object. is also in fux. While wearing the hi- Thus, it becomes a challenge for these jab is routine for most of these women, women to balance the individual and 71 their interaction with their hijab is ever standing of the hijab are inaccurate, to changing and developing. say the least. Thus, how do we bridge Hijab in the Public Sphere the divide between public perception Every Muslim woman I inter- and how the hijab is experienced by in- viewed expressed times they forgot dividual women? It therefore becomes they were wearing the hijab. Howev- necessary to amplify the experiences of er, there were moments when people these women before assigning them a stared at them or they were the only one fxed perception of the hijab. wearing a hijab, and they were bluntly Daily Interactions and Decisions reminded that they wear the hijab, they Implicit in wearing the hijab is the are Muslim, and they are different. Un- expectation to be modest in how one like the pride connected with their hi- acts, dresses, and thinks as well as hav- jab, these instances are more demean- ing physical boundaries with men. Of- ing and isolating. Thus, the hijab acts as tentimes women are expected to man- a performer in the public sphere, which age their interactions to the point where the women must then navigate. every action and decision is carefully While we have discussed the per- calculated. While many of the women I sonal and religious connections women interviewed recognized these religious place on their hijab, others may only and social expectations, there was still perceive them in terms of the religious room for fexibility and individual in- symbol rather than as individuals. Alex terpretation of those norms. explained, “I understand that a person’s However, an inner confict of hav- initial perception of me has no effect on ing to decide what you can or cannot me, whereas it does infuence them: it do takes shape. Sarah explained that conveys more about them than it does “you can do some things, but you have about me.” In this way, these women to fnd your way around, it’s sorta like realize that in American society, the a maze.” Both Sarah and Alex used a hijab is odd and becomes an easy way party to explain this confict. Parties are to categorize people superfcially. As an interesting example because they are Alex points out, the hijab invites and a typical social gathering that is enjoy- challenges the public’s perception of able, but they also consist of problem- the hijab. If people are staring, making atic behaviors like drinking alcohol, comments, etc., does this mean that the wearing revealing clothing, dancing, public has not yet acclimated to the hi- etc. For Muslims like Sarah and Alex, jab or that the hijab is still not accepted the hijab became a protector from these in society? behaviors. These moments of negoti- While these questions are diffcult ation refect Mohibullah & Kramer’s to answer, we can still see the discon- (2016) assessment of how women who nect between how these women choose wear the hijab are both policing and to view themselves and how the public embracing their actions as visible Mus- perceives the hijab. As we saw with the lim women. non-Muslims, there was consensus that This kind of environment ampli- the media portrayal and general under- fes the hijab as a moral compass for 72 how the women should act in this set- religion rather than acting as a spokes- ting. It is important to note that these person for all Muslims. women do not fnd this constricting but Unlike the other participants, Alex rather helpful to align them with their was the only one who felt appreciative own moral values. Alex points out the of being a representative of Islam. She difference between not being able to emphasized that she does not have to engage in certain acts and not wanting but wants to be a representative. She to. Maha emulated a similar sentiment; fnds it a privilege to present to oth- the hijab had stopped her from acting a ers what Islam is to her: “compassion, certain way if it contradicted her own mercy, patience, love, companionship, beliefs. At the same time, she still had peace, beauty!” The other women, re- the choice to decide which behaviors acted drastically different to the idea of she fnds acceptable for herself. While representation. It is inevitable that the there are clear acts a Muslim woman pressure to be representatives becomes should or should not do, these women burdensome. Alex’s perspective reveals still have the agency to retain their own a more optimistic approach that creates values and follow them as they see ft. an opportunity to portray the religion The hijab merely becomes a means to positively. At the same time, we cannot protect their own values as they inter- ignore the need to prove the beauty of pret them without the pressure to be a the faith as a means to offset the nega- “perfect hijabi”. tivity attached to the image of Islam. Representing Islam Act of Proving: Americanness Because it is such a clear indicator There is a sense of needing to of being Muslim, women who wear the prove to other Americans the beauty of hijab are often confronted by people to Islam. Many of these women, especially speak on the behalf of the faith. When if they are women of color, often must asked about being representatives of Is- prove that they are also American. Ala lam, many of the women felt pressured has been asked where she’s really from to represent Islam. Ala expressed feel- and what she’s doing here. For someone ing tokenized in many settings for be- raised in the United States, these ques- ing Muslim and was often asked about tions invalidate this inherent aspect of aspects of the faith or world events that themselves solely because of their hi- she felt unqualifed to explain. In this jab or their skin color. Maha, the only sense, she felt objectifed because of woman who covers in her high school, her hijab; she felt unable to live up to explained that even her non-Muslim certain expectations. Sarah explained friends “expected that [her] life would it’s “as if I’m putting 1.3 billion people be totally different” solely because of on the line.” In this regard, she recog- her religion. nizes that she may have a different in- The misconceptions, assumptions, terpretation of the religion that would and accusatory statements these women not represent the entire faith. Given this face by non-Muslims can put an added pressure, we see these women trying to strain on how these women navigate emphasize their individuality within the their lives in America. For many of 73 these women, it is not necessary nor fair agency of each woman. to have to prove if they are “American Muslim American Identity enough.” It becomes important for these Towards the end of my interviews, women to present their most authentic I asked all the non-Muslim women what selves to quell the misconceptions and it meant for them to be American and if instill a more genuine perception of Muslim ft into their defnition. I intend- Muslim American women. ed to get an overall sense of their values Act of Proving: Muslimness and how they did or did not align with For every Muslim participant, Muslims values. There was overwhelm- there were moments where they felt ing agreement that America provides a they had to prove their Muslimness. space for diversity that allows anyone Whether to their parents, to family to feel “American.” Lara explained overseas, or to other Muslims, there that we are all “puzzle pieces” that can have been moments of proving their ft into what it means to be American. adherence to the faith. Other Muslims Others explained that whoever you are, have asked Ala, “How do you not know Muslim or not, everyone can decide this?” in terms of Islamic knowledge. whether they want to be American or She explained that it “really hurts when not. Again, we see the power of choice. I hear it.” To have both her Islamic It becomes diffcult to understand iden- knowledge and the validity of her faith tity when more than one typical “identi- in God questioned is hurtful and harm- ty” is interacting. ful. Sarah explained that it is not about For Muslim Americans, the label being Muslim but how Muslim you are makes clear that these two identities are in terms of religiosity, spirituality, or in play. Finding the balance between knowledge of the religion. the self-chosen identities and those As a convert, Alex has been asked imposed on you by external factors is if she is “truly” Muslim. She often re- diffcult. Sarah was distraught when sponds with “I hope so. I try to be.” asked about being Muslim American, Alex explains that “I am as American as she very much internalizes the strug- or Muslim as those whom I associate gle of living out both identities. While with.” She understands this as a com- Maha emphasized creating a balance munal concern to help her and others between the two as a means to navi- “enhance their adherence to the faith.” gating those identities in a way that is There is a communal responsibility empowering. This tension does not un- within the Muslim community to help dermine the struggle that these women each other connect with God, yet, this often face. Ala explained, “I’ve been is often abused to judge others on their brought up Afghan, I’ve been brought level of faith, which can harm both indi- up French, brought up Muslim, but ev- vidual Muslims and the entire commu- erybody wants to tell me that I’m not nity. To confront judgement both within American.” We see that she is juggling and outside the Muslim community not numerous identities, so when others im- only solidifes the expectations con- pose limitations on her self-identifca- nected with the hijab, but it limits the tion, they do so as a challenge. Because 74 of her skin color, because of her hijab, can change as quickly as they do. because of how she is portrayed public- ly, her self-conception is hindered by a DISCUSSION sense of not belonging. Unlike much of the literature, un- Every one of these women has derstanding the perception of non-Mus- their distinct ways of managing these lims provided a distinct perspective of identities, as refected in Peek’s (2005) how Muslims and the hijab are viewed research, but their frm desire to remain in American society. It was clear that strong in how they identify themselves they recognized the negative portrayals, is at the core of these strategies. We the hardships connected to wearing the must appreciate the clash, the imbal- hijab, as well as the individual choice ance, and the messiness of identity to inherent in these women who cover. Al- enhance their sense of individuality and though their understanding of the hijab choice. was superfcial, they appreciated being In connecting this with the hijab, on a campus that allowed them to inter- the web continuously expands. Many of act with Muslims. In a way, their expo- these women are juggling being Mus- sure to the hijab has normalized it and lim, being American, and wearing the caused them to accept these women. hijab. Whether to connect them with My research provided a platform a community, with God, or with their for the Muslim women to express the own selves, the hijab both eases and more nuanced aspects of experiencing challenges their understanding of them- the hijab themselves and how it fts in selves. While it can act as a personal re- their ordinary lives. Their conception of minder of who they are and their values, religion itself as inherent in their life- it is undeniably a mark of difference in style foreshadowed how intertwined the public sphere. Whether combating and normalized the hijab was for many public forms of discrimination, familial of these women. Unlike the focus on expectations, or internal struggles with liberation and self-control that Williams the hijab, many of these women repre- and Vashi identifed, this research ex- sent the multifaceted nature of the lived panded Mohibullah and Kramer’s em- experience of wearing the hijab within phasis on the hijab as part of ordinary an American context. life. These women expressed the chal- There is an element of individuali- lenges they often face with their fami- ty connected with the hijab in a way that lies, when faced with discrimination, or these women can separate it from exter- with themselves, yet they retain a sense nal factors to fully embrace their per- of resolve in choosing to wear the hijab. sonal desire to don this symbol of their This resolve challenges the stereo- faith, of their identity, of themselves. types associated with the hijab. Instead There is both fuidity and consistency we can focus on how these women within the hijab. For some women, it re- shape the hijab in a way that highlights mains consistent in how often they wear their values and their own identities. the scarf, but as we observed with their The women even expressed the differ- personal, familial, public, and religious ent ways in which they navigate their environments, the function of the scarf 75 identities as refected by Peek. When who do not cover or who have removed contrasted with the portrayals of the their hijab or how Muslim men view non-Muslim women, their experiences and interact with the hijab, as they un- amplify the diversity and fexibility of derstand it for themselves and for wom- the hijab. All the women were able to en. As in any comparative study, one illustrate that there was a place for the must be cautious of whose experience hijab, for Muslim Americans in Ameri- is meant to be heard and avoid under- can society, that is often threatened by mining an already suppressed identity. the media or stringent stereotypes. Another limitation is keeping this Limitations study only to the university commu- One of the main limitations of this nity. It was clear that for many of the study was including non-Muslims to non-Muslims coming to this universi- discuss the hijab. While I do not regret ty was one of the frst times they were the perspectives that they brought, in a able to interact with Muslim women way, their thoughts pulled away from who wear hijab. Thus, their interpreta- the direct experiences of the Muslim tions of the hijab may be different than women in this study. As Catholic wom- before attending college and therefore en at a Jesuit university, they brought not refect the perceptions of ordinary a bias that left many of their responses Americans. At the same time, being in superfcial. Many of these women ex- the city of Chicago and being on a lib- pressed that they avoided discussing eral campus encourages a bias towards the hijab with Muslims they knew to open-mindedness that many Americans avoid being rude. While this sentiment do not share. Thus, future studies could elevates these Muslim women as more focus on smaller cities or a variety of than their hijab, it also limits the abili- cities across the country to garner a ty for the non-Muslims to engage with more holistic perception of the hijab Muslims and the experience of wearing within the American context. the hijab in a more critical manner. Fur- Conclusion ther, by offsetting the perspective of the In exploring the perceptions of Muslims with non-Muslims, it inher- both non-Muslim and Muslim Ameri- ently undermines the power of a Mus- can women, we are able to shift how lim voice. Conducting this comparative we think about the hijab. Although the study brought to light reasons why it non-Muslims recognized the stereo- was not part of the existing literature. types targeted at Muslim women who This limitation further recognizes the wear hijab, their impassioned opposi- importance of elevating underrepre- tion to these portrayals provide a sense sented experiences and identities. of hope for the future. We can create a While comparing Muslims and space where individual women can ex- non-Muslims may be limiting, the press their genuine reasons and desires method reveals a larger discussion to be for wearing the hijab in a way that both had within the larger American Muslim strengthens their sense of individuality community regarding the hijab. Further and identity but also recognizes how or- study could focus on Muslim women dinary they really are. This inclusivity 76 does not negate the fact that as a society, REFERENCES we need to have an honest conversation about discrimination, Islamophobia, Droogsma, R. (2007). 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(2016). “Being True to Ourselves...Within the Context of Islam”: Practical Considerations in Hijab Practice among Muslim American Women. Practical Matters, (9), 102-117. Peek, Lori. 2005. Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity. Sociology of Religion, 66(3), 215-242. Ragin, Charles C., and Lisa M. Amo- roso. 2010. Constructing social re- search: The unity and diversity of method. Pine Forge Press. Weiss, Robert S. 1995. Learning from strangers: The art and method of qualitative interview studies. Simon and Schuster.

77 Westfall, Aubrey, Bozena Welborne, Sarah Tobin and Özge Celik Rus- sell. 2016. “The Complexity of Covering: The Religious, Social, and Political Dynamics of Islamic Practice in the United States*.” So- cial Science Quarterly 97(3):771- 790. Williams, Rhys H. and Gira Vashi. 2007. “Hijab and American Mus- lim Women: Creating the Space for Autonomous Selves*.” Sociol- ogy of Religion 68(3):269-IV.

78 Research Chemical Subreddit: An Exploration of a Virtual Scene Camille Plunkett BA Sociology, The University of Chicago

This project explores the Research Chemicals subreddit as a scene, extending the litera- ture on online scenes and shedding light on a relatively understudied group. Reddit is a website that consists of user generated and curated content that is organized into subred- dits. The Research Chemicals subreddit acts as a forum for users to discuss a variety of topics related to Research Chemicals and the wider scene of Research Chemical users, drug users more generally, as well as society at large and the dominant narratives sur- rounding Research Chemical and drug use. The classical sociological concepts: de- viance, stigma, moral panic, and boundary work, are utilized to interpret high engage- ment posts and subsequent discussions on the subreddit. Two qualities of importance to the scene participants emerge from posts: legality/illegality and functional/nonfunc- tional users. It is primarily along these lines that the scene participants engage in reg- ulation of the scene and become moral entrepreneurs working to further and preserve the scene against stigmatization even as what constitutes the scene itself is contested.

INTRODUCTION search Chemical Scene. Following the The goal of this project is to ex- recent trends in the literature away from plore the Research Chemicals subred- individualization and pathologization dit as a case of scene in order to extend towards drug use as a social practice, the literature on online scenes and shed I look at Research Chemical and drug light on a relatively understudied group. use more generally from a perspective Classical sociological concepts—devi- informed by symbolic interactionism. I ance, stigma, moral panic, and bound- then apply concepts from the sociology ary work— will guide an interpretation of deviant behavior, particularly stigma of the Research Chemicals subreddit as and moral panic, to explain the mor- a scene. I will then make an argument al regulation and boundary work that for the understanding of scene partici- is ongoing on the scene. From there, pants as moral entrepreneurs working I establish the criteria I use to consti- to further and preserve the scene against tute the idea of scene as well as look at stigmatization even as what constitutes useful concepts from other studies of the scene itself is contested. online drug scenes. Using this theoret- First I will begin by giving a gen- ical framework we can then begin the eral background on what types of sub- exploration of the substance of the Re- stances constitute Research Chemicals search Chemicals subreddit. and give a general characterization of the scene as well as the War on Drugs. BACKGROUND I will then give an overview of the the- What are Research Chemicals? oretical framework from which I am Research Chemicals can be best approaching my exploration of the Re- understood as a category of psycho- 79 active substances rather than a class place, like in the United States, in prac- of drugs as Research Chemical status tice these laws only manage to thrust is not determined by similar chemical these substances into a grey-area. Since structure or effects of the substance. each substance must be proved to be In fact, there are Research Chemicals substantially similar to a scheduled across the spectrum of drug classifca- substance on a case-by-case basis, pros- tions including stimulants, benzodiaz- ecution becomes burdensome and these epines, dissociatives, opiates, cannabi- laws are rarely invoked to prosecute noids, psychedelics, etc. The substances individual drug users. Furthermore, by that fall under the Research Chemical labeling the substance as “not for hu- umbrella are characterized instead by man consumption,” vendors add anoth- their relative newness compared to er layer of protection from prosecution more “traditional” drugs like marijuana, enabling them to continue selling prod- cocaine, heroin, or ecstasy, as well as uct in more accessible markets online. the increased risk that comes with this The second force is the pursuit of novelty; by their reliance on Internet new and novel highs in and of itself. vendors rather than traditional dealers Beyond simply getting around the in- for supply; and by their grey-area status convenience of illegality and govern- in terms of legality in most countries. ment regulation, a spirit of discovery All three of these characteristics come is an essential part of the ethos of the together to produce a shared under- Research Chemical scene. While some standing of what constitutes Research subscribe more than others, an interest Chemicals and the Research Chemical in being on the cutting edge is preva- scene amongst scene participants. lent amongst Research Chemical us- The driving force behind the pro- ers. Research Chemical users often duction of novel Research Chemicals refer to their drug use as “research” is twofold. Firstly, by creating slightly or “researching” both as a tongue in altered analogues of already popular cheek reference to the fact that these drugs, vendors are able create an un- substances are ostensibly for research scheduled product that can be sold on purposes rather than human consump- “clearnet” websites accessible to the tion; and also because in a sense they general public rather than having to use are researching these substances, vol- more inaccessible and niche “darknet” unteering themselves as human guinea sites. If the country where the substance pigs. Users often provide detailed “trip is being produced has no analogue laws reports” on novel substances that read in place – meaning that laws controlling like a scientifc research paper, care- a particular substance also apply to sub- fully documenting their experience for stances that are substantially similar to other potential users. it – then producers can stay ahead of But beyond this careful documen- regulations fairly easily by continually tation of effects and experiences by us- making slight changes to the product in ers, the lack of history of use for these response to changes in the legal land- substances means the risk involved in scape. taking Research Chemicals is in many Even when analogue laws are in ways different from and greater than 80 taking other more established drugs. es taken to explain drug use in the lit- The long-term physical effects of these erature. The frst and more commonly substances are largely unknown, even in invoked approach in the media and the case of analogues it is unclear what popular culture “individualizes” and long term effects the slight alterations problematizes drug use. Here individual of structure could cause. This increased failings or moral weakness exacerbated potential for risk is something that Re- by the specifc pharmacological effects search Chemical users are cognizant of of a drug are given as explanations for when approaching these substances yet drug use. However, works strongly in undertake in the name of furthering the this biological/medical camp are be- scene and seeking new highs. coming less common as researchers War on Drugs move more towards symbolic and so- The emergence and proliferation cial constructivist theories (Gootenberg of the Research Chemical scene exists 2005). on the backdrop of the global War on Using this second pathway, re- Drugs. While this term is primarily used searchers like Manning (2007) draw on in the context of the United States, it re- symbolic interactionist theory and ap- fers to a wider moral logic rooted in a proaches (Blumer 1969, Becker 1963), “paternalistic assumption of wrongness as well as anthropological studies on in drug use,” that utilizes law enforce- differing effects of drugs across multi- ment to alleviate the harmfulness of ple cultures to critique and expand these drugs on society by criminalizing drug individualizing approaches. They high- users (Polomarkakis 2017). Following light the importance of the symbolic the UN conventions of 1961, 1971, and and social contexts in which drugs are 1988, and subsequent reaffrmation of consumed allowing us to look beyond these values, many countries that may the seemingly objective pharmacolog- have otherwise taken a more medical ical effects of drugs and instead view approach to the “drug problem” have drug use as an inherently social prac- made movement towards the law en- tice. forcement approach enacting legal The consumption of a psycho- sanctions against drug users (Poloma- active substance, even when done in karkis 2017). The goal of this approach solitude, is not done in isolation free is to reduce the demand for and supply from the symbolic contexts of one’s so- of drugs through legal sanctions. This cial group. “Different patterns of drug widespread effort on the part of law en- consumption are powerfully shaped by forcement to curb drug use can make social context: the time, place and par- Research Chemicals and the online ticular moment in history in which cer- drug markets they operate on enticing tain patterns of drug consumption are for many drug users. located; the social identities of those involved in consumption are located; THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK the social identities of those involved Drug use as Social Practice in consumption including their social There are two general approach- class, gender and ethnicity, and the par- ticular drugs paraphernalia or methods 81 of ingestion” (Manning 2007). Rather frameworks, the consumption does not than simply being a function of indi- lie solely in individualized pharmaco- vidual pathology, the usage of Research logical effects (Manning 2007). This Chemicals is informed by current so- allows drug users to develop particular cial contexts such as globalization, the drug repertoires or styles and engage War on Drugs, the Internet age, and the with a Research Chemical scene. movement towards normalization of Stigma some types of drug use. Following Goffman’s seminal Furthering the view of drug use as work, Stigma (1963), a large body of a social practice is the functionalist tra- work in the discipline of sociology has dition following Durkheim. Deviance is been created exploring the concept of seen as a necessary part of society that stigma and the way it is experienced by allows solidarity and “collective con- deviant groups such as Research Chem- science” to form through the creation ical users. Stigma refers to a devalued of norms and boundary work (Erkison social identity, one that exists at the 1966). These boundaries are not exactly boundaries of what is considered “nor- the same for every individual within a mal” by a society in general (Erkison society and are subject to change over 1996). Drawing on Goffman and the ex- time. Deviance and the formation of de- tensive body of literature on the subject, viant groups act as boundary work for Pescosolido (2015) asserts that stigma societal norms by reinforcing the norm requires distinguishing and labeling of in the act of deviating from it. Individ- differences; associating these differenc- uals in these deviant groups or subcul- es with negative attributes; a separation tures may then engage in deviant be- of “us” and “them;” followed by an ex- havior, like drug use, that is embedded perience of status loss and discrimina- within shared cultural practices that are tion. set apart from the values and practices Many studies have been done sur- of mainstream society (Cloward and rounding the process of socialization Ohlin 1960). into deviant groups (Dupont 2014, Vail Contemporary studies tend to 1999, Becker 1953). This is based on move away from subcultural theory as the premise that deviant characteristics used in classical literature on deviance and behaviors do not necessarily exist because it overemphasizes difference in individuals before they become a part between the deviant subculture and the of the group. While a natural affnity “normal” (Manning 2007). Instead they for the group may “suggest but hardly take a more fuid and complex approach compel a direction of movement” for using “scene” to describe groups based an individual (Matza 1969), one learns on consumption practices. It is from this how to be a member of a group through perspective that we can understand the social interactions within the group. consumption of licit and illicit drugs as Socialization into the group provides being essentially the same as other pat- a social buffer as well as techniques to terns of consumption, merely another manage potential stigma for entering cultural practice, inscribed with mean- into the group. This includes neutral- ing and understood within symbolic 82 ization techniques, which allow people waning. However, Research Chemicals, to defne a situation in such a way that with their unknown effects and poten- their violation of a norm can be excused tial dangers that lead even other drug (Kooistra & Mahoney 2016). Neutral- users to view them with suspicion and ization as a way to deal with stigma their easy availability through the Inter- is an ongoing process that takes place net are in a prime position to become both before and after the action that the next target of widespread moral must be neutralized; furthermore, neu- panic. tralizations are not foolproof and may According to Goode and Ben-Ye- be ineffective and fail leading to “nega- huda (1994), moral panics display the tive experiences” (Goffman 1963). following characteristics: Concern, Social Problem/Moral Panic Hostility, Consensus, Disproportionali- The concept of moral panic was ty, and Volatility. Concern and Hostility frst coined by Stanley Cohen (1972) certainly exist against Research Chem- and describes a situation where “a con- icals and Research Chemical users. dition, episode, person or group of per- They are almost exclusively depicted sons emerges and becomes defned as a as dangerous by the media and even threat to societal values, and interests.” by other drug users. Erowid, a widely The instigators of this panic, who gen- respected source of information among erate the concern and engage in rule drug users, cautions against their use creation and enforcement against the and warns potential users to proceed perceived problem, are known as moral at their own risk as these chemicals are entrepreneurs (Becker 1963). General- “experimental” in nature and may have ly, these moral entrepreneurs are groups unknown effects. Regarding the Con- and individuals that hold power in the sensus characteristic, Research Chem- given society. Drug use and addiction icals are interesting because the con- has been conceptualized as a moral pan- sensus against them exists not only in ic globally for many years. mainstream society but they also elic- Research Chemicals are less well it concern from the wider drug scene, known than other substances and drug even from users on the “harder” end of subcultures that have incited moral pan- the drug spectrum. The last two charac- ics over the years, but still, it is not dif- teristics of Disproportionality and Vol- fcult to fnd headlines warning against atility remain to be seen. Not all moral “designer drugs” or “legal highs” or entrepreneurs are equally successful at “bath salts” regarding substances that creating moral panics. However, given fall under the Research Chemical um- the conficts and discussion within the brella. Furthermore, we live in a time Research Chemical scene, it seems as where conversations about legaliz- though they are cognizant of the po- ing “softer” drugs like marijuana and tential threat to the group a full-blown movement towards acceptance of rec- moral panic may pose. reational drug use is becoming more A Concept of Scene normalized and the positioning of many Within the sociological tradition types of drug users as frmly deviant is there are several concepts available 83 through which we can analyze Research ing in the minds of scene participants. Chemical users as a group or network. Commonality among scene participants “Subculture” is a concept that grew is created through shared activities or- out of the study of deviant groups and ganized around a collective identity as views subcultures as subsets of societ- individuals on a scene interact not only ies. However, in more recent literature with each other but with this idea of it has been criticized for overstating in- collective identity on the scene. Being ternal coherence, boundedness and per- on a scene is best conceptualized not as manence as well as overly concentrat- a binary membership/non-membership ing on the ways the subculture differs status but rather as a spectrum of levels from the mythical norm (Hesmonhalgh of participation. The types and amount 2007). Another traditional alternative is of acts that constitute scene participa- the concept of “community.” However, tion is constructed on the scene itself. the use of this term has also been crit- These boundaries, while fairly loose, icized, as it is “entrenched within con- are a constant site of contestation and ceptual baggage” obscuring diversity change over time. within a group as well as power rela- Drug Scenes on the Internet tions, implies nonwestern pre-moderni- Previous research on online drug ty, and maintains an overly dualistic in scenes has found a focus within the group/out group logic (Maher 2009). scenes themselves on what it means to The concept of “scene” has been “do drugs well” (Boothroyd and Lewis proposed as an alternative and improve- 2016). Identity is formed within these ment to these concepts and has been scenes as a binary of “responsible” primarily utilized by researchers study- and “irresponsible” drug users (Ravn ing music and queer scenes (Taylor 2012). However, the content of these 2010, Bennet 2006) but can be applied categories is scene specifc and nego- to a wide variety of groups and social tiated through horizontal exchanges contexts. However, it also runs the risk by scene participants based on internal of becoming vague and muddled as it is distinctions, hierarchies, and practices. invoked by researchers for a variety of This ethos of responsibility and “harm purposes. reduction” within drug scenes, while in- For the purposes of this project I formed by the mainstream culture and will utilize Maher’s (2009) defnition of power structures, rejects a top down im- scene to examine the Research Chem- position. Instead, the scenes rely on a ical scene, as it exists on the Research culture of communicative sharing based Chemicals subreddit. This conceptu- on collective experience that tends to alization of scene builds off of Irwin’s reject moralistic devaluing of drug use (1977) original concept of scene and and is instead based on a desire to create is informed by community studies a set of best practices with regards to and Cultural Geography. In this def- doing drugs well (Boothroyd and Lewis nition there are three core aspects of 2016). scene: space, identity, and participation. Furthermore the negotiation of Scenes occur in space, which can be this concept of “responsibility” is in physical spaces or abstract spaces exist- 84 fux and contextually specifc. While ing. Utilizing these concepts we can various sites may be considered to be see the interactions on the subreddit as part of the same wider scene, individual a negotiation of scene boundaries and online spaces must be looked at in their how power structures that been created own right. Rather than simply existing around scene specifc ideas about drug as windows into offine practices, on- use, particularly responsible drug use. line spaces develop their own individ- ual and site specifc norms regarding DATA AND METHODS responsible drug use and what types of Data Selection Methods information and experience are valued The data analyzed for this proj- (Barlev 2008, Lewis 2014). The online ect is taken from public posts on the nature of these scenes allow for a shift Research Chemicals Subreddit, reddit. in power distribution towards a system com/r/researchchemicals. Reddit is a that is more “peer generated and user website that consists of user generated led” rather than “top-down and pro- and curated content that is organized fessionalized” (Boothroyd and Lewis into subreddits. Users post to and fol- 2016). However, in the process of ne- low individual subreddits pertaining to gotiation scene boundaries and creating their interests as well as discuss posts the idealized image of “responsible” within a subreddit through comment- drug user power structures emerge on ing threads. They also have the ability the scene surrounding scene specifc to “upvote” and “downvote” posts and ideas about drug use and what consti- comments within a subreddit to indicate tutes acceptable and unacceptable be- support or distaste which helps dictate havior on the scene. what content gets to the “top” of a par- Through this theoretical frame- ticular subreddit. This allows for the work I will make observations and an- creation of different scenes within the alyze the postings on Research Chem- website as each subreddit develops its icals Subreddit. Understanding drug own norms and rules for engagement. use as a social practice rather than an The Research Chemicals subreddit acts individual failing is important for un- as a forum for users to discuss a vari- derstanding how these specifc drug ety of topics related to Research Chem- scenes emerge and the choices made icals and the wider scene of Research by scene participants regarding their Chemical users, drug users more gen- participation and interaction with the erally, as well as society at large and scene. The desire to avoid and neutral- the dominant narratives surrounding ize the negative effects that come from Research Chemical and drug use. This stigma and threat of being the targets of particular subreddit has a no sourcing a moral panic are important to consid- rule meaning that requesting, mention- er when analyzing the scene regulation ing, or giving sources for drugs whether occurring on the subreddit. We can see legal or illegal is prohibited. This rule the core aspects of scene, space, iden- has allowed the Research Chemicals tity, and participation, at play in this subreddit to exist more as a discussion subreddit, through which we can see the space where members actively engage subreddit as a social group worth study- with the idea of and create the Research 85 Chemical scene rather than simply de- Data Analysis Methods volving into a forum for drug sourcing. Utilizing grounded coding meth- For this project I explored the con- ods, fve general post types emerged tent available in the Research Chemi- with each type generating a similar con- cals subreddit and will specifcally dis- versation and discussion among posts cuss the content of 20 of the top posts of that type. The types are as follows: on the page along with their subsequent Addiction/Warning, Scene Regulation, discussion threads. The fact that these Legal Information, Safety Informa- posts were under the top header indi- tion, Substance Recommendation. Al- cates that they received a high number though the topics discussed within each of “upvotes” from subreddit partici- type bleed into each other somewhat pants indicating approval of the post. and there are some common themes Of the top posts listed on the Research throughout all the posts, these catego- Chemicals subreddit on November 19th ries are still useful for organizing the 2017, I chose to look more closely at information within the subreddit con- the top 20 posts that in addition to hav- ceptually and highlight some general ing a large number of “upvotes” also trends within the subreddit. had a high degree of engagement in While the category of Research the discussion section. This allowed for Chemicals spans the spectrum of drug analysis not just of the original posts types, and most Research Chemical Us- made by users, but also of the interac- ers are polysubstance users, using sub- tions between users within the scene. stances from multiple classes of drugs Engagement with posts in this at least to some extent, factions of a subreddit varied greatly leaving some sort emerge within the scene based on posts essentially ignored, receiving few preferred drug types and personal iden- “upvotes” or “downvotes” and few re- tifcation with a faction. In most cases sponses in the comments. Rather than in the text, the class of drug the user is spend time discussing these largely talking about is either all that is need- ignored posts, the posts discussed in ed for understanding the context, or is the following sections all have a high even more important than the specifc degree of engagement both in terms of substance itself when confict emerges “upvotes” and in terms of discussion between factions. Psychedelic and dis- threads that revealed areas of interest sociative users form the frst faction; and confict within the scene. From my Stimulant users form a second; and position as an observer on this subreddit Benzodiazepine and opioid users from I was unable to gain any more informa- a third. tion on the members of this subreddit, other than what they have shared pub- RESULTS licly in their posts. For most posters the Substance Recommendation only identifying information collected Several of the top posts were cen- was their username. I will therefore re- tered on recommending and promoting fer to posters by their usernames, elimi- a particular substance, or requesting a nating trailing numbers in the interest of recommendation for a particular sub- clarity and readability. 86 stance based on desired effects. Most of other groups of users within the scene the posts promoting a substance were can be blamed for the negative depic- proselytizing the values of Dissocia- tions of the scene in the wider public tives. One poster MikeBane went as and media as will be expanded further far as to create a “Dissos Manifesto” in the Scene Regulation section. They written entirely mimicking the style of can also be blamed for the lack of avail- Marx’s Communist Manifesto about the ability of other “better” substances, like “spectre of Dissoism.” In this manifesto quality dissociatives, by accepting low- he describes dissociation as “already ac- er quality and driving up demand for knowledged by all serious psychonauts other types of substances. to be itself a worthy pursuit” elevating Another important aspect of this dissociatives particularly in opposition type of post is the way in which they to Stimulants and Benzodiazepines. serve to initiate and inform new mem- He, and others in the group express bers of the scene. Sipofsoma describes frustration at the lack of availability of feeling a “civic duty to foster along unscheduled dissociatives, which they their [dissociatives] proliferation” such view as a superior pursuit compared to that the vendors “shall hear the cries of Stimulants and Benzodiazepines. the disso guinea pigs en masse!” While The perceived safety of disso- this post is in a response in the thread ciative compounds is often invoked discussing the “Dissos Manifesto,” and in their defense as stimulant and ben- the elevated language and spirit is like- zodiazepine addiction is described as ly mostly said in jest and in response comparatively easier to fall into and to the style of the original post, it still diffcult to climb out of. Dissociatives speaks to important attitudes present can be more “functional” according throughout the discussions. to users, meaning that one is unlikely Firstly, the conception of RC to get into trouble while on them and Dissociative users as guinea pigs is they can even be considered therapeu- important as it reminds us of the ever tic for users, the term also usually im- present undercurrent in these discus- plies that the substance can be taken sions regarding the potential hazards frequently or daily without signifcant these substances present to users. Casu- repercussions. For example, the user al comments along the lines of ‘I love Deschloroketamine describes their ex- X substance! I hope it doesn’t give me perience with a new dissociative as “the cancer’ can be found sprinkled through- most euphoric most groundbreaking out most if not all of the posts observed. and enlightening experience of my en- Researchers, as they often call them- tire life… I strongly believe this could selves, are extremely cognizant of the be a new form of psychotherapy if it dangerous nature of Research Chemi- was researched enough.” This supposed cals and do their best to help each oth- therapeutic or medical use for the sub- er mitigate these risks and create accu- stance is often invoked as justifcation rate knowledge untainted by anti-drug for a particular substance or category to government propaganda; to guide oth- be elevated in comparison to the other er users in the pursuit of novel highs. categories. From this elevated position, Within these posts, questions about 87 specifc substances regarding both prac- ommendation Posts, which was much tical aspects for their use (dosing, route more excited and positive in nature. of administration, etc) as well as more In these posts commenters expressed subjective merits in terms of personal feelings of anger and distrust towards responses to pharmacological effects the government and law enforcement are frequently found. Passing on expe- agencies and the ongoing global War rience and expertise to not only teach On Drugs, which they view to be dis- people how to be Research Chemical ingenuous. While the extent to which users but also how to be “good” Re- psychoactive substances should be con- search Chemical users is an important trolled by governments is a largely con- aspect to this scene as will be expand- tested subject within the scene, an ag- ed on further in the discussion of Scene gressive anti-War On Drugs sentiment Regulation posts. is shared essentially unanimously. One Through these processes of social- user M_G accuses “this [the scheduling ization and promotion of specifc drugs of all Fentanyl Analogues] is easier than scene participants engage in boundary combatting the social problems that led work and defne the parameters of Re- to the [opioid] epidemic – which is search Chemical Scene participation the SYMPTOM not that cause.” There and what it means to be a responsible is a general feeling of discontent to- drug user within this context. Func- wards the government for blaming the tionality, ability to take frequently with substances themselves and legislating no obvious physical safety issues, and, against them rather than addressing the perhaps most importantly, the quali- systemic issues that lead to drug abuse ty of the high all factor in to whether and addiction. other scene participants will designate Even users like Wildbird who this type of scene participation as valid do see value in the legal restriction of and within the bounds of responsibili- particularly dangerous substances like ty. They also guide new participants to fentanyl, which can be deadly in very continue the already established norms small amounts, push back against new related to safety and responsibility, legal sanctions scheduling all fentanyl which reinforces the divide between the analogues in the United States. factions as Dissociative users attempt “I don’t like the precedent this is to teach new members the benefts of setting for banning other drugs, but Dissociatives as compared to the Stim- I am glad something is being done ulant/Benzodiazepine faction. for the opioid epidemic, I have no Legal Information problems with psychedelics and Two posts in this sample were such but opioids don’t really have made explicitly to share information any major benefts.” regarding law and law enforcement as This precedent is worrying to Re- it pertained to Research Chemicals. search Chemical users in terms of avail- Tonally, the discussion in these posts ability and accessibility to substances was fairly aggressive, especially when through the “clearnet.” While more compared to the language in the Rec- dedicated users express that they would 88 continue to seek out novel substances illogical nature of government sched- through the “darknet” continuing the uling. Research Chemical users frmly quest for novel highs, many worry that believe that the government does not reduced demand for vendors to contin- have their best interests at heart and that ue creating novel substances will have the War on Drugs is waged in the name negative repercussions for the growth of proft and power rather than public of the scene. health and safety as the actual pharma- “ I think we’ve always wanted to cological effects of a substance don’t say that [schedule] I/II analogues seem to align with their legal status. For are legal because it makes us feel this reason the general sentiment to- safe, and because it is kind of true. wards increased legal regulation, even But people have defnitely gotten when users agree that the substance is into serious trouble with them.” dangerous, is anger and frustration. In- This assessment by user Hypna- creased legal sanctions only affect be- goggle illustrates the practical meaning havior in that it makes acquisition of of “grey area substance.” Once users substances more diffcult rather than have a substance they know that the any sort of moral alignment to the law risk of trouble with law enforcement is making them less likely to use a new- only marginally improved by the grey ly scheduled drug since in practice all area nature of the substance. Doubt that “harder” drugs are viewed as unaccept- law enforcement offcers would have able by both law enforcement and wider enough knowledge to know that the society. substance was technically legal was Legitimate Information common. Furthermore, doubt that Law Safety information and specu- Enforcement would care even if they lation regarding the risk of various had appropriate the knowledge was a Research Chemicals is embedded in common sentiment. It is was generally discussions throughout the subreddit. believed that police would do “what- However, in addition to these, there ever they want” in order to look good are also posts dedicated specifcally to in the media in terms of arrest numbers litigating the safety of specifc novel and fghting the War on Drugs. substances. As discussed earlier, mem- “Thank you oh wise and powerful bers of this subreddit treat government government! What on earth would sources and the mainstream media as we do without?‼! If it wasn’t for suspect and potential propaganda. In- you oh powerful government I stead, users look to new scientifc re- wouldn’t be able to get prescribed search being done on specifc substanc- my methamphetamine. Without es and similar substances as well as user that prescription who knows what experience reports, interpreted by scene crazy drugs I would resort to! I participants themselves. In this sample might be forced to consume high there are two such posts, one links to amount of a schedule I drug like a scientifc article titled “Separating marijuana‼” (XxCherrypinkxX) the agony from ecstasy: R-MDMA has prosocial and therapeutic like effects This post points to the perceived 89 without signs of neurotoxicity in mice” a novel high, attempt to balance this de- the other post is titled “Etoxadrol and sire with a calculated physical risk as- Dexoxadrol – a new class of unsched- sessment. uled dissociatives?” and links to the Although categories such as class, Wikipedia pages for these chemicals. race, and gender, are largely invisible in These posts and the ensuing comments online scenes they are not sites where lend insight as to what sources of safety power is distributed equally among all information, as well as whose interpre- group members. While peer to peer tations of these sources, are considered horizontal exchange of information is legitimate. important to the scene, members with In the frst post discussing the po- regular access to a computer and inter- tential for a new ecstasy analogue, post- net connection as well as members with ers argue about what the fndings from higher degrees of scientifc literacy and this paper could mean in terms of safety education are better positioned to infu- for users of the substance. Typically, a ence the norms and boundaries of re- waiting period ranging from 2 weeks sponsible drug use on the scene. They to 3 months is recommended between can post more often and have a greater ecstasy uses in order to avoid neurotox- ability to decipher the scientifc litera- ic effects and allow for serotonin levels ture being produced around Research to return to normal. Some posters were Chemicals and thus their recommenda- hoping that these results meant that the tions tend to carry more weight on the waiting period could be reduced or even scene. eliminated entirely with this new sub- Scene Regulation stance, R-MDMA. However, to even Scene Regulation is the category engage with this initial discussion and in which the idea of factions among Re- consensus building, a certain degree search Chemical users becomes most of scientifc literacy and knowledge is relevant as users negotiate the bound- necessary. Additionally, reliable and aries of the scene and who should be private Internet access as well as access included. User serotoninsoup created a to a location where you feel comfort- post with the heading “Benzos and Fent able receiving questionable deliveries are killing this scene;” another post are required. If you lack the scientifc admonishes users for treating vendors literacy necessary to form a stance from poorly; and several others are created the article itself then you are forced to concerning chemicals and behaviors to entrust your personal safety on the as- stay away from, particularly for begin- sessment of other scene participants ners. One of these posts is quite exten- given the novelty of the substance. sive and well cited, linking to multiple The second post engages in a sim- types of sources throughout its argu- ilar sort of discussion and argument ment. All of these posts are attempting regarding what the scientifc literature to engage in norm building and bound- means for users and what the potential ary work within the scene in the pursuit pharmacological effects will mean for of, if not positive media attention, then user experience. Here the frst round of no media attention, meaning less legal researchers, excited for the potential for 90 regulation and alleviating the threat second response, like the original post- posed by a widespread moral panic. er wants to exclude people who cause To varying degrees of success, problems from the scene and engage in some users attempt to act as moral en- social distancing from these problemat- trepreneurs for the scene, prescribing ic users. The disagreement for this fac- how to be “good” Research Chemical tion lies in what the source of the bad users and attempting to distance the behavior is. These users are if not more scene from “bad” drug users. “Why do abundant then often more vocal in ex- we let etizolam bartards cause ruckus pressing their views and stupidity in this scene and equate “ It’s not the drugs tho, it’s the peo- them the same because they are re- ple. I can use etilozam for anxiety, searchers” continues serotoninsoup, and not act like a total dumbas. alleging that benzodiazepine and opioid Even when I use recreationally. users are the “idiots” who are endanger- There’s a group of people who ing the scene for everyone else. Despite have no respect for drugs. Those being a polysubstance user and admit- are the people who aren’t respon- ting to occasionally using etizolam, he sible enough to use them. Why ban distinguishes himself from “bastards” driving for everyone?” (Tuncerpet- and wants to restructure the boundaries ua) of the research scene to exclude these These members push back on the users who are perceived by many as the creation of factions based on preferred “real problem.” class of drugs instead embracing Re- Although this post was upvoted search Chemical users from all classes by a fairly large number of people in- as the same group. They take exception dicating agreement with the general to placing any sort of blame on the sub- sentiment at least, this is far from an stances themselves instead constantly uncontested stance. Other group mem- blaming “idiots” who didn’t do their bers push back on this sentiment in one “due diligence” in gaining information of two ways. Firstly, by expressing sol- regarding a drug before taking it. idarity “At the end of the day the RC scene Addiction is a scene of recreational drug users This common assertion that it is and such drug addicts are an inex- “idiots” who are becoming addicts, tricable element of it. Good for you behaving poorly, and ruining or endan- for not falling into the horrors of gering the scene conficts with the fact benzo opiate addiction.” that Addiction is the category with the most posts in the subreddit. These posts This approach takes a more com- are often made by users who have been passionate stance towards the supposed participants on the scene for many years problematic irresponsible group mem- and have high levels of knowledge about bers. Acknowledging that addiction is Research Chemicals. Darwinsdayoff a risk of casual drug use and while an writes “I’ve read how compulsive re- acceptable risk, those that succumb are dosing is. I thought I mentally pre- nonetheless members of the group. The pared myself for it. I wasn’t…” which 91 is followed by comment after comment scene participants want access to, but expressing sympathy for others strug- also knowing that there will always be a gling with addiction and relaying past human cost to this freedom. struggles with addiction of their own. The fact that these knowledgeable and DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION responsible users still fell into the trap The contradictions and confict of addiction conficts with the dismissal that exist on Research Chemical scene of all addicts as “idiots” who used the on this subreddit support the idea of chemical wrong and didn’t know what scenes as sites of contestation. In an at- they were doing. tempt to preserve and enrich the scene, These posts generally take on a and neutralize stigma by potential mor- more somber and empathetic tone as al panics which pose a danger to the users seek support from the same scene scene, participants attempt to act as that created their problem and made moral entrepreneurs. However, this en- them into RC users. Even in posts trepreneurship does not go uncontest- seeking to aid addicts in recovery, the ed and the norms and standards of the group’s identity as recreational drug scene are very much in fux. and Research Chemical users informs The moral logic of the War on the paths taken to sobriety. Users sug- Drugs that views drugs that views gest more “functional” substances to drugs as inherently bad and individual- curb addiction, often using weed as a izes drug use is simultaneously upheld crutch to manage addiction. It is in these and rejected by scene participants as posts that the scene attempts to engage the navigate a collective idea of what it seriously with what the cost of personal means to be a responsible or functional autonomy and freedom costs. drug user. It is explicitly rejected during “ As much as I believe in the free- discussions of the legal landscape sur- dom of substances, the freedom of rounding Research Chemicals with us- people, and any combination of ers expressing dissatisfaction with gov- the two, there is a real danger here. ernments for ignoring the real social There is a real dark side. Maximum issues that lead to addiction and crime caution is always warranted.” and instead punishing individuals for There is a strong sentiment drug use. Yet they seem to buy into in throughout the group, it can even be other facets of discussion, for example somewhat militant at times, that people when recommending substances or en- should be allowed to put whatever it is gaging in scene regulation. they want into their bodies, even if it Instead of rejecting the premise leads to harm. It is up to the individual that drugs are morally bad they instead to negotiate what risk is acceptable to attempt to battle stigmatization by mak- them, to determine what levels of drug ing a case for the shifting of the bound- use are acceptable to them and what aries of scene participation, pushing constitutes non-functional addiction. types of users deemed irresponsible There is a tension between wanting the out of the scene as a way to make the group to look good in order to protect Research Chemical scene more legiti- the legality and freedom of substances mate and less policed. Yet at the same 92 time, by recommending certain sub- was examined manually, thus limiting stances and discussing safety informa- the amount of content that could be ex- tion participants make the claim that amined more closely. The project also some kinds of drug use, drug use that largely ignores content that was not en- is deemed functional or therapeutic, gaged with on the subreddit which has is in fact a worthy pursuit in of itself. the potential to provide insight to the This also offers insight into how power scene by looking at what was ignored works on the scene and what types of in addition to what was upvoted and en- characteristics – experience and scien- gaged with heavily. tifc literacy - are valued. That being said, two methods of Posts regarding addiction in some categorization can be identifed that senses, throw a wrench into the en- emerge on the scene, a legal/illegal dis- tire underlying logic of the scene. The tinction and a functional/nonfunctional claim that responsible drug use is possi- distinction. In practice, these categories ble and irresponsible drug use is due to are not strict binaries but rather bleed a lack of information and “idiots” who into each other forming a spectrum. don’t know what their doing is called Most Research Chemicals fall into a into question by amount of scene par- legal grey area where they could tech- ticipants struggling with their own ad- nically be controlled by the Federal diction. Many of these users are expe- Analogue Act in the United States (sev- rienced and knowledgeable Research eral other countries have similar laws) Chemical users who have been scene if they are “substantially similar” to a participants for many years. They have controlled substance. However, in prac- been immersed in the knowledge and tice, this Act is cumbersome to use and norms being produced on the scene when it is invoked it is usually in the yet they still fall victim to irresponsi- prosecution of vendors rather than in- ble drug use and its consequences. It is dividual users. Further complicating the diffcult for the scene to simply dismiss legal status of Research Chemicals is these users as idiots separate from the the fact that they are marked as “not for scene giving it a bad name, to some ex- human consumption” by sellers despite tent calling into question how much we the end goal of human consumption can dismiss individualizing models for assumed by both the vendors and the the explanation of drug use and abuse. users. While some Research Chemicals While the scope of this project is exist in the light grey legal area and can limited, conclusions can still be drawn be purchased online from easily acces- regarding scene trends and character. sible websites, as the legality becomes While I have referred to the Research more suspect they become more diff- Chemical Scene throughout the paper, cult to procure. this project can only really speak to the Changes to the legal landscape specifc iteration of the scene as it exist- and increased policing spurred by ed on this particular site at the time the moral panic are viewed as a threat to data was gathered. Furthermore the high the scene. For many users the relative volume of content produced and posted ease of procurement due to the rela- to the Research Chemicals subreddit tive legality of Research Chemicals is 93 the reason they are drawn to Research within this scene users are considered Chemicals. Without the demand from to have beaten addiction once they have these users, users invested in the spir- reached the point of functionality again. it of research and discovery ethos of In many of the discussions about addic- the scene are worried that production tion this point of functionality could be of new Research Chemicals will slow achieved while still using various sub- or even cease completely. Furthermore stances, in some cases daily, as long as discussions regarding the changing le- one could remain functional in daily gal landscape around Research Chem- life. Functionality becomes a prerequi- icals reveal that although legality may site to being fully included in the scene draw users to the scene, it is not due to a as users who are nonfunctional are moral alignment with the law in opposi- viewed as a threat to the scene’s image, tion to illegal drugs or a strong attempt its safety, and sustainability. to avoid legal sanctions. Scene partici- This concern with functionality and pants have little faith in Law Enforce- “responsible” Research Chemical users ment to treat them fairly or know the can be seen as a response to the stig- difference between various substances. matized position of Research Chemical Instead, the preference for legality is users both by other drug users and by centered on accessibility and potential mainstream society. Scene boundaries growth of the scene. are constantly contested on the subred- That is not to say that moral regu- dit as participants invoke factions of lation does not exist within this scene. other types of users as the problem on Rather than being tied to any particular the scene in an attempt to neutralize legal system or the moral logic behind criticism against the scene as a whole. the War on Drugs, it is based on a us- These factions are dependent on iden- ers ability to remain “functional” and tifcation rather than actual usage pat- be “responsible.” Research Chemical terns as those who invoke the idea of users in this scene regularly attempt to factions often admit within the post to act as moral entrepreneurs and engage using drugs belonging to the class they in rule making by devaluing other fac- are attempting to regulate. tions of Research Chemical users. The In these cases their stronger iden- basis for this stigmatization is usually tifcation with a different faction out- that this other type of drug and faction weighs the act of using a particular of drug users are “nonfunctional” and drug. As a form of neutralization this thus contributing to the stigmatization is not particularly effective. There is of the Research Chemical scene. often pushback within the scene at the This nonfunctional designation imposition of these new boundaries. also acts as the criteria for diagnosing Attempts at regulating what kinds of addiction among group members. When participation constitute good Research users reach a point of non-functionality Chemical Scene participation end up they then become categorized by them- re-individualizing and problematizing selves and others as addicts. 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Customers who search for “good” restaurants use various metrics to decide where to eat and spend their money, one of which tends to be “authenticity.” If a restaurant gives off an air of what they presume to be authenticity and invokes a certain culture, customers will often claim that the restaurant is worth the visit. Yet, sociologists posit that authen- ticity does not come naturally; it is actively overseen and produced by restaurant owners. This approach tends to focus on the following paradox: through the process of produc- ing authenticity in ethnic restaurants, restaurant owners seemingly undermine precise- ly the “authenticity” they are striving to achieve. In this paper, I research how restau- rant owners and customers navigate this paradox by producing and consuming different types of “authenticity.” Through interviews and ethnographic observation in seven Pol- ish restaurants in Chicago, I search for how different people defne authenticity and how their concepts of authenticity produce different theoretical and material imaginings of culture. My research reveals that customers and restaurant owners fall into three dif- ferent “markets of authenticity,” each governed by one of the following sentiments: the desire for economic proft, nostalgia, and apathy. I argue that the economic and cultural conditions of possibility in Chicago allow for and produce multiple markets of authen- ticity, each catering to a different audience by emphasizing different cultural aspects. In an ever-globalizing world, these fourishing markets of authenticity reveal possibili- ties of coexistence among seemingly contradictory ambitions and social affliations. INTRODUCTION example, producers and consumers as- For many, authenticity is a metric by sume different roles in restaurant spaces which eating spaces can and should be and have unique lived experiences in- judged, allegedly referring to some sin- forming their executions of these roles, gle truth or original ethnic experience thereby causing them to imagine au- embodied by food, ambience, location, thenticity differently. Moreover, some and staff members. Restaurant owners groups of producers imagine authentic- will commonly claim symbolic owner- ity differently from others; the same ap- ship over “the most authentic Mexican plies for consumers. Whether authentic food in the city” or “genuine Indian restaurants provide a sense of belong- food” in marketing their establishment. ing, nostalgia, or cultural accomplish- Customers also make these informal ment from fnding an unknown niche claims through word of mouth and via spot, customers voluntarily go out of online platforms. their way to fnd a specifc restaurant However, every restaurant that that meets their individual expectations. claims to serve authentic ethnic food Day-to-day validations by means is not the same. The functions that of claims of authenticity suggest that authenticity serves and the meanings authenticity is a socially constructed that authenticity takes vary from place scale that means something to people to place and from group to group. For and refects on the quality of the food 97 and the experiences surrounding it. dispersed due to gentrifcation, desires From Millennial foodies following food to move to the suburbs, and other cir- trends to immigrants who miss the taste cumstances. One outcome of this demo- of home, customers are players who val- graphic change is the presence of Polish ue authenticity as a merit of quality and restaurants in ethnically heterogeneous worthiness, in that they choose where neighborhoods. to spend money and thereby approve of The questions I have pursued in and govern defnitions and ideas about this research are what kind(s) of au- a culture and region. On the other hand, thenticity does the market allow for? producers make decisions on what to Specifcally, how and why do restaurant serve and how to construct the food owners and workers in Polish neigh- and space surrounding it. The socially borhoods work to present authenticity constructed category of authenticity is in their food and restaurant space, and deeply informed by cultural and histor- what kinds of authenticity or experi- ical circumstances and seems to serve ences do customers seek? What strat- multiple functions for different people. egies of economic survival do Polish As I show in this paper, the intersec- restaurant owners employ when the tions between different affliations and area in which they reside is no longer sentiments that drive a person to open a ethnically homogenous? What kinds of restaurant actually create the possibility sentiments or social feelings, such as for multiple, what I will call in this proj- “belonging,” are involved, and do these ect, markets of authenticity. sentiments represent harmony between In Chicago specifcally, a city the local and the global? What are the known for its diverse food options, various functions of authenticity and plethora of neighborhoods, and slew whom does each serve? of immigrant communities, restaurants In this paper, I explore the ways in play a large role in sustaining a neigh- which authenticity operates and the mo- borhood’s culture and public identity. tivations that create markets of authen- Both outsiders and insiders venture ticity for different types of audiences. to specifc neighborhoods not only in As I show in my research, it is not one search of a certain type of cuisine, but authenticity that restaurant owners per- for an authentic cultural experience. In form or embody in their restaurants but this paper, I research the different con- multiple visions of authenticity, each ceptualizations and performances of au- with its own properties and audience. thenticity in ethnic restaurants, focusing My fndings suggest that three types of specifcally on Polish restaurants. affliations serve as bases for markets of Chicago’s Polish population, es- authenticity. tablished in 1837, is the largest Euro- Based on ethnographic and inter- pean-American ethnic group in the city view data, I present six ideal types of and the largest Polish community out- players in three different markets of side of Poland. The Polish-American authenticity in which restaurant own- community was originally concentrated ers and customers fall. The Capitalist in neighborhoods on the west side of producer and the Foodie consumer both Chicago and has over time moved and partake in an economic market of au- 98 thenticity, while the Historian producer patible with and cannot exist within a and the Community Seeker consumer capitalist society (Grazian 2003). This both contribute to a market of authentic- sociological perspective thus denies the ity founded on nostalgic ties to cultural idea that variations of authenticity ex- heritage. Finally, the Happenstance En- ist within a single social setting (Weiss trepreneur and the Local consumer both 2011, Grazian 2003, Comaroff 2009, participate in a market of authenticity Wilcox and Busse 2016). perpetuated by apathy and convenience. My project argues that the drive Thus, contrary to what contempo- to make money promoted in capitalism rary sociological literature commonly is not the only motive for restaurant claims, I argue that the market does al- owners to try and perform authenticity, low for multiple markets of authenticity rather, multiple markets of authentici- rather than a single homogenous, insin- ty fourish simultaneously to illustrate cere authenticity that merely plays off that authenticity takes on more than a of customers’ expectations. My fndings single defnition or standard form. This suggest that the drives to be authentic approach defnes authenticity as “the and to make money, while seemingly ability of a place or event to conform to in confict with one another (Grazian an idealized representation of reality,” 2003), actually produce conditions of which does not inherently deny the idea possibility for the simultaneous exis- of there being multiple ideals of authen- tence of multiple markets of authentici- ticity within a setting, as well as speak- ty. In the following sections, I will frst ing to how authenticity can be idealized review relevant literature and my meth- and glamorized while simultaneously odology. I will then outline my fndings reducing an ethnicity or community and conclude with an analysis of the set (Grazian 2003: 10). Sociological defni- of ideal types I present and a discussion tions have traditionally viewed authen- of their implications. ticity as something that is constructed and, just like other aspects of social life, THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK “performed” (Grazian 2003: 11). How- Authenticity ever, past assumptions of only one kind Most contemporary research on of authenticity neglect the possibility the production of authenticity presents of rich categories of authenticities de- a cynical view on the possibility for sin- pendent on nuanced social context and cere performance of singular authentic- differing defnitions. ity. Sociologists that study authenticity Food is an expression of cul- often treat it not as an objective term ture that undoubtedly has the capacity used to describe an inherent quality, but to explain other areas of life, such as as a socially constructed metric that is communication, social class, morali- highly subjective and produced through ty, and world-making, and my project conscious efforts to appear a certain specifcally concerns itself with the way way (Grazian 2003, Weiss 2011). This food creates and showcases markets of perspective, somewhat hypocritically, authenticity (Barthes 1997, Bourdieu approaches authenticity normatively, 1984, Richards 1939, Rozin 1999, Josee arguing that true authenticity is incom- et al 2011). By examining the practices 99 of the restaurant owners who partake in (ibid 9). Symbolic ethnicity thus em- a tradition of cultural production, the phasizes the visibility of ethnic groups origins of productions, and the consum- and emerges as a type of ethnic expres- ers who govern them, my own research sion when people work to maintain an hopes to contribute to existing scholarly ethnic social identity rather than a per- work in the felds of cultural sociology sonal relation with their ethnic groups and anthropology. (Gans 1979: 7). Whereas Polish restaurant own- While symbolic ethnicity is cer- ers directly govern cultural production tainly a dominant and evidenct charac- by deciding what to produce and how teristic of many second and third gener- to produce it, consumers also exercise ation immigrants and their descendants, a type of “mundane governance” in de- the explanations of ethnic identifcation ciding to return to a certain restaurant and expression that stem from this ap- and where to spend their money (Wool- proach do not adequately account for gar and Neyland 2013). Moreover, au- everyone seeking ethnic establishments thenticity draws out specifc affliations and neighborhoods. Symbolic ethnicity of customers, including identities asso- is useful for explaining consumption ciated with Polish culture, migration, patterns tied to certain patrons of eth- history, geography, generation, produc- nic restaurants, although not totally ac- tion, and consumerism. If authenticity counting for those with high levels of attracts people into an establishment, it cultural knowledge and regional lived does so because it capitalizes on appeals experiences. to certain identities that may yearn for a Ethnicity as something marketable community of Polish immigrants or for and attractive to consumers has recently an environment of fellow foodies. received more scholarly attention. How- Ethnicity ever, relevant literature often looks at There is a branch of sociologi- overt “cultural tourism,” neglecting the cal literature that approaches the ways nuanced, more informal levels at which through which ethnicity is expressed, identity is marketed (Butcher 2005, Di- notably through consumption and oth- etler 2010, Comaroff 2009). Anthropo- er visible, external gestures and inter- logical studies on the commodifcation actions (Gans 1979, Riesman 1950, of ethnicity with respect to economic Alba 1990). These theorists primarily conditions of possibility look at cultural attempt to explain resurgence in visible tourism as a more popular and extreme ethnic interest during the 1970s in the vehicle of othering and purchasing the United States (Gans 1979, Sandberg other. Comaroff and Comaroff (2009) 1974, Gordon 1964). Gans (1979), for analyze the unique moment of com- example, introduces the term “symbol- modifying identity as penetrating so- ic ethnicity” as “a nostalgic allegiance cieties all over the world, citing many to the culture of the immigrant gener- examples of self-branding grounded in ations [....] a love for and a pride in a ethnicity and claims of origin. Tourists’ tradition that can be felt without having fascination stems from a reduction of to be incorporated in everyday behavior humans’ identities to their ethnicity and the capitalist motivation to consume the 100 other; in the United States, for example, (Marx 1887, Paxson 2013, Bourdieu tourists “commodify descent” of Native 1984). Bourdieu (1984), for example, Americans (Comaroff 2009: 60). argues that tastes and preferences are Theories of commodifed ethnicity informed by social class. He posits through cultural tourism would suggest that these socialized tastes are polariz- that customers of Polish restaurants in ing and further reify class boundaries. Chicago reduce the people in the restau- Moreover, Bourdieu’s concept of “ho- rants to their Polish descent and that mology” seeks to explain a type of so- restaurant owners willingly take part cial correspondence that exists between in their own commodifcation. Howev- producers and consumers. According er given the large Polish population in to Bourdieu (1993), the concept of ho- Chicago and the differences between mology suggests that if certain players Polish restaurants, this lens would not are similarly located in a social space, explain the popularity and the diverse they also have similar views and tastes, customer-base of different restaurants. and, thus, they share an affnity that cuts This approach neglects the range of across different felds. motivations and affliations for restau- In a feld of cultural production, rant owners and customers that infu- such as a restaurant, there is a homol- ence decisions as informal as choosing ogy between producers and consumers, where to eat. The level to which con- which prompts producers or restaurant sumers idealize and glamorize not only owners to cater towards a specifc audi- the food that restaurants serve, but also ence in deciding both what to produce the people with whom they interact and and how to market it. Economic mod- the space they are in (Puczkó 2005, els and analyses of taste that depend on Brown-Saracino 2010) is a delicate social class provide no insight into the balance between complete objectifca- cultural factors that make one product tion and cultural profciency (Butcher more appealing to consumers. Several 2005). other scholars also explore taste and Consumption its formation in the context of culinary Economic sociologists and sociol- tourism and ethnic food production. ogists of culture have long sought to Dietler (2010) and similar consump- develop understandings of consumer tion theorists, like Bourdieu (1984) and choices that go beyond economic mod- Goody (1982), focus on food specifcal- els of utility maximization by incorpo- ly, analyze how taste is shaped not only rating cultural considerations. There by income level, but also by globaliza- now exists an abundance of literature tion, social position, histories of colo- on consumption as a social practice nialism, and nationalist and religious that constructs relationships, cultures sentiments (Paxson 2013, Errington et of taste, and homology (Bourdieu 1984, al 2012). Goody 1982, Schouten 2005). Accord- However, these studies that dili- ing to this line of thought, social rela- gently take into account the socially in- tions are founded and reinforced by formed tastes of the customer do not si- class position and notions of exchange multaneously address the interests and actions of the producer who both needs 101 to please the consumer and may wish restaurants and residents in that area. to work ethically and create something I selected this site because a series of more than a device of proft. Moreover, displacements has made historical Pol- social theorists explain customers’ in- ish neighborhoods much more hetero- terests and actions by analyzing mac- geneous (Pacyga 1991). As such, the ro-trends in history and in fad diets, ne- scattered and relatively scarce existence glecting individual agency and diverse of concentrated Poles and Polish-Amer- interests of customers. icans in Chicago presents a case indic- Although the existing literature ative of social processes of authenticity concerning authenticity, ethnic identity construction. By being scattered, the construction of immigrants, and capi- constructions of authentically Polish is talist production and consumption are executed through physical and mental robust and plentiful, the theories com- work rather than mere reputation. That bining these social realms are scarce. is, the ethnically heterogeneous nature My research project regarding tension of neighborhoods in Chicago where between authenticity and proft for im- we fnd Polish restaurants today (e.g. migrants in the United States will bring Wicker Park, Avondale) requires that these social factors together into con- restaurant owners consciously employ versation. marketing and branding tactics in order to bring in a diverse array of customers. DATA AND METHODS Seeing as the employment of authen- F or this article, I draw on 11 inter- ticity as a marketing tactic in different views with 5 owners and 6 customers, ways is what interests me, I turn to Pol- 45 hours of ethnographic observation, ish restaurants for the purposes of this and online reviews to research the pro- paper. duction of culture and employment of Coding the Data authenticity in seven ethnically Polish In order to analyze the data I col- restaurants. I conducted interviews at lected, I conducted qualitative coding. fve of these restaurants because they I searched for typologies of think- had the most and highest ratings on ing about authenticity, types of Polish Yelp, the Chicago Eater, Google, and restaurants, and types of customers Thrillist, and, after some preliminary while coding (Van Maanen 1988). By ethnographic interviews, I learned that constructing typologies around these those fve were the most popular within topics, I was able to make connections the Polish community (Weiss 1995). As between typologies and identify key such, the data I have collected has al- ideologies and players in the production lowed me to conduct qualitative analy- of culture. Using my data, I investigated sis of defnitions, sentiment, and cultur- not only authenticity in the restaurants, al processes occurring in the fagships but also what it means to be Polish in of commercial Polish cuisine. Chicago or ethnic in America. More- I focused on restaurants in Avon- over, while focusing on the customer dale and the “Polish Corridor” because point of view, I examine how and why there is a high concentration of Polish customers choose to visit a restaurant 102 for its type of authenticity. In the results markets of authenticity. that follow, I identify types of restau- There are three types of restaurant rant owners and customers, identifying owners in Polish restaurants in Chicago how they conceptualize authenticity who are directly responsible for pro- and connecting them to Polish history ducing something “authentic.” First, in and collective consciousness in Chica- the Economic Market, Capitalists view go. authenticity as something they can use Limitations of the Study to bring in more customers. Secondly, While this data may possess fac- the Historian, who belongs to the Nos- tors allowing it to represent a larger talgic Market, holds romanticized ideas social pattern concerning authentici- about authenticity and wants to create ty and cultural production, it is by no an environment of physically embod- means without limitations. Because of ied cultural imaginings and sentiments. the small number of Polish restaurants Thirdly, the Happenstance Entrepreneur in Chicago, my research, while refned, of the Apathetic Market exerts little to is not necessarily representative of the no conscious effort in fostering authen- rest of the American population. In ticity. addition, historically Polish neighbor- Moreover, there are generally hoods in Chicago have undergone vast three types of customers who come in transformations over the years due to to these Polish restaurants, each with a gentrifcation, so my research may not different motivation. First, the Foodie apply to ethnic enclaves in urban areas marvels at authenticity as something to whose demographic compositions have be consumed as a commodity, thereby remained static over time. affording the Foodie more cultural cap- ital. Secondly, the Community Seeker is someone who possesses knowledge RESULTS about Polish culture in some capacity Authenticity as a concept takes on and wishes to use authentic food to re- different empirical defnitions and so- visit cultural affliations. Lastly, the Lo- cial functions for different people. In cals really do not concern themselves the setting of Polish restaurants, authen- with authenticity, but rather with con- ticity brings certain types of restaurant venience and routine. owners and customers together, who These six typologies may over- then exist within unique homologies lap, but, nevertheless, each draws upon or, what I call in this project, markets unique values and feelings, originating of authenticity. The following analysis from one central, defning motivation seeks to explain how restaurants pres- that founds their market of authenticity ent authenticity within the context of (Figure 1). In the following analysis, I an ethnically changing neighborhood. will explain the properties of each mar- In order to fully understand these ways ket of authenticity by describing the of thinking about authenticity, I identify ideal types of restaurant owners and the six types of people found in Polish customers in each market. I then argue restaurants and address how they con- that the market allows for multiple vi- ceptualize authenticity within the three sions of authenticity that cater to dif- 103 Figure 1. Analytic framework: The relationship of markets of authenticity and restaurant role. ferent niches, as evidenced by the three place she has never visited. Foodies not different motivations that push custom- only visit these restaurants out of a tour- ers and restaurant owners to partake in ist inclination, but they also go further the market. to write reviews and spread the word. In The Economic Market doing so, Foodies are validated in their The Foodie Customer choice and assume some authority over Foodies are generally younger people who have not visited the restau- Americans, often with no connection to rant at hand. Poland. Their goal when eating out is Further, like reviewer Jessica, to consume the most “authentic” food Foodies may praise the service, “Won- because, in doing so, they increase their derful staff and so pleasant.” They seek cultural capital (Bourdieu 1972). Au- to offer reviews that will initiate a new thenticity grants Foodies social credit, trend or fad over which they will even- which they reap from social media posts tually be able to take partial ownership. and online reviews claiming a Capital- Thus, they analyze not just food, but ist’s restaurant offers a new and genuine also the holistic identity of the restau- experience. For example, reviewer Sar- rant, “Beautifully decorated by the ah writes about a Capitalist’s restaurant owner herself. Defnitely a fve star on Yelp: restaurant,” as reviewer Pat claims. “I’ve heard about this restaurant a What is important to the Foodie is lot from my Polish friends and f- the experience, the appearance of the nally decided to go. This place is restaurant, and how the restaurant ranks a gem. The décor makes me feel against others. Foodies strive to be the like I’m in a fancy Polish lodge in person others go to when they want Warsaw and the waitresses’ Pol- restaurant recommendations, which ish accents make the experience Foodies make known through Insta- so much more authentic. I haven’t gram and blog posts. However, Foodies eaten Polish food before, well, not still tend to write positive reviews of knowingly at least.” restaurants when they cite authenticity, either because their perception of what Although Sarah does have Polish is authentically Polish is rather open friends who told her about this restau- due to a lack of Polish experience or be- rant, she herself had not had Polish food cause they still want to reap any cultur- before. And yet, she still claims that al capital that comes from a restaurant’s this restaurant features an authenticity success. that somehow reminds her of Poland, a As ethical eating is most on the 104 minds of white Millennials, it makes my time spent in KoPo and Zywnosc, sense that this same population is of- I would commonly see women in their ten the most conscious of what restau- 20s and 30s come into the restaurant rants they are supporting (Johnston et al and, upon the arrival of their food to 2011). They consume authenticity as a their table, take pictures with their commodity and are most often seen at smart phones of the food from two to Capitalists’ restaurants because Capi- three different angles. Sometimes, these talists work the hardest to display and Foodies would take pictures of their commodify authenticity in their large food with fash and flter edits, and they restaurants built to house large quanti- would often show one another the pic- ties of Foodies. tures to consult the quality of the picture KoPo, for example, is a Kore- before posting to social media sites, like an-Polish fusion restaurant in Chicago Instagram. On these Instagram photos, owned by a Korean and Polish couple captions commonly use hashtags like who aligns with the Capitalist ideal “#Polish,” “#pierogi,” “#foodporn,” type. The raving reviews and glowing and “#yummy.” reputation as a “funky and unique fu- KoPo and the Foodies that fre- sion” precede KoPo, whose customers quent the fusion restaurant demonstrate recommend their “crazy good pierogis” a type of authenticity motivated by eco- and praise the “great quality and fusion nomic motives to accumulate cultural of Polish and Korean” several times capital and monetarily validate an au- over, both online and in person. The thentic restaurant. In restaurants owned customer base at KoPo is composed of by Capitalists, Foodies create and per- Foodies who are eager to have an “in- petuate a market of authenticity that is teresting and unique experience” while based on the opportunity to increase simultaneously experiencing, as one of one’s cultural capital. their employees explains, “really Pol- The authenticity that Foodies seek ish, authentic sausage.” in the Economic market of authentic- The Foodies that come to KoPo ity is often something that is novel to are not only searching for “tasty food,” them. Instead of returning to the same but, more importantly, they come to authentic restaurant regularly like many KoPo for the cultural capital that comes Community Seekers, Foodies are like- from eating at a niche, exciting, unique ly to visit a Capitalist’s restaurant once restaurant. The customers of KoPo and or twice before moving on to another Zywnosc, which I describe in the fol- restaurant. When visiting Zywnosc, lowing subsection, go out of their way it was common to hear customers say to come to Capitalists’ restaurants they things like, “This food is so good!” “I read about online and are generally in love the décor here,” and “I can’t be- their 20s and 30s. They visit KoPo in lieve this is my frst time having Pol- small groups and are more likely to post ish food in Chicago.” One table of two pictures on Instagram than write a for- white women in their 20s, one wearing mal review as a form of expression of a Loyola t-shirt, spent about 10 minutes cultural capital rather than a form of with their waitress asking questions ethnic admiration or affliation. During about Polish food and the waitress’s 105 personal background. The waitress told pearance of authenticity is. That is, the them that she grew up in Krakow and Capitalists’ focus is more on how the came to Chicago when she was 17 and Polishness of the restaurant seems to started working in Zywnosc. After the outsiders. In terms of initially attracting waitress left to put in their order, one of customers, they rely on the Internet, es- the Foodies said, “Wow, I can’t believe pecially websites like Yelp and Google she’s actually from Poland. I feel like where they aim for good ratings and re- I heard that there’s a big Polish popu- views. The Capitalist may have a large lation in Chicago,” to which the other quantity of knowledge about Polish Foodie replied, “Yeah, no, it’s wild. food in Poland, but they choose to serve There are a ton of Polish people here. what Americans and outsiders most That’s why I wanted to go here.” commonly think of when they think These Foodies had never eat- of Polish food, which often tends to be en Polish food and wanted to experi- food that would be classifed as peasant ence an authentic Polish experience, food in Poland. which, in the case of many Foodies, is Julia, for example, is the own- something new that they know little to er of the most and highly rated Polish nothing about. As I will explain in my restaurant in Chicago, Zywnosc. Their description of Community Seekers, most popular dish is the “Polish Plate,” this defnition of authenticity contrasts which is a “sample of Polish food. It greatly with the defnition of authen- comes with pierogi, stuffed cabbage, ticity that guides the Nostalgic market potato pancakes, and sausage with sau- of authenticity. Although both Foodies erkraut.” According to Julia, “this is and Community Seekers seek an au- very Polish, old Polish food…. People thentic experience when they visit these like to try it.” From Poland herself, Ju- restaurants, one searches for something lia carefully curates her restaurant to new and the other for something famil- appear authentic. When asked what au- iar. thenticity means for her, Julia replied: The Capitalist Restaurant Owner It’s a Polish restaurant so it’s, for us, The Capitalist is a restaurant own- it’s good business because I know peo- er who views authenticity purely as a ple [are] coming to eat Polish food, to functional tool. What Capitalists decide see Polish decoration, so for sure. If to offer and how they decide to curate it’s Polish, it’s Polish. It’s, for us, good their restaurant depends on what will business. get customers, specifcally Foodies, in From food to décor, Julia aims to the door. They generally cater toward present something that customers view the American customer and the Food- as “VERY authentic” with “authentic ies who actively search online for an Polish food,” as several Google and authentic experience, but they also do Yelp reviewers claim. Moreover, Julia proft from the Locals and, very rarely, even hires Polish waitresses because the Community Seeker. Thus, the ori- she “likes them to speak Polish.” And gins of the décor and the recipes are not in the kitchen, Julia staffs “some Polish as important to the Capitalists as the ap- people because they know how Polish food tastes” and “some Spanish guys 106 for help in the kitchen.” For Zywnosc, and can use food as a mode of transpor- it is important to give customers the tation to a country or time of origin, and impression that they are in a truly au- they identify authenticity as a major ne- thentic Polish environment, from the cessity for this community. Community initial greeting by a Polish waitress to Seekers are often regulars, like Locals the Polish Plate comprised of common- (whom I will discuss later), but they ly known Polish foods. cherish authentic tradition and history. On the other hand, as I mentioned As follows, Community Seekers mostly in the Foodie description, a Capitalist frequent Historians’ restaurants where couple owns KoPo. Behind the restau- they are greeted warmly by Polish food rant, a trendy bar and seating area sits and traditional recipes. and houses Foodies. Upon entering Helena, for example, has been KoPo, it is diffcult to discern what type coming to Historian Anna’s Polish of food is served. Customers are greeted restaurant, Pozywienie, for over ten with a small entry space before moving years because, although she has “been through to the bar to sit and eat. Accord- to other Polish restaurants, this one to ing to a manager at KoPo, “Uhhh, yeah, [her] is the best.” According to Helena, I guess we’re getting a few Polish peo- Pozywiene is the best, and she cites, “I ple making the trip out here.” Foodies think the freshness of everything, the who come for the experience of Polish food variety is good, and the food, re- and Korean fare are more likely to visit ally. This is more pleasant.” Helena’s KoPo than Locals or Community Seek- “grandfather came from Poland when ers. KoPo, through claims of Polish af- he was 14 years old. But I wasn’t raised fliations, demonstrates participation in speaking Polish or anything.” As she a market of economic authenticity that comes alone generally, Helena uses does not rely on Polish lived experienc- Polish food to relate to her father’s side es, but, rather, on rhetoric and cultural of her family. capital. The kinds of social relations Com- The Nostalgic Market munity Seekers desire are not necessar- The Community Seeker Customer ily personal ones established through The Community Seeker is often communication and audible social in- Polish, Polish-American, or has family teraction, but rather through the sense with Polish affliations. They are gen- of belonging and nostalgia that food erally older frst- or second-generation provides for Community Seekers. Au- immigrants but can also be younger thenticity, for Community Seekers, is people born in America who want to a feeling and a nostalgia that should be revisit a part of their ethnic identity or appreciated, in that it preserves cultural learn more about an ancestor’s heritage memories and communities. through authentic food and décor often Whereas Community Seekers are displayed in Historians’ restaurants. often older and less likely to post re- Restaurants, to Community Seekers, views or social media posts praising are not just places to eat, but spaces restaurants than are Foodies, when they where they fnd like-minded individuals do, their reviews depict the authentici- ty created in the Historian’s restaurant 107 as something that reminds them of an spending time in Pokarm, there are also experience in Poland or with a Polish Community Seekers who exercise day- relative. For example: to-day cultural and ethnic affliations “Best European restaurants in Chi- who are generally older and considered cago! Here I always fnd my favor- to be “regulars.” ite Polish and Ukrainian dishes. For example, Sylwester is a regu- Pierogi, stuffed cabbage, potato lar at Pokarm of about 70 years of age pancakes, pork chops, goulash, who sits at the same seat at the bar near pancakes, beef, salads – like my the cash register every time he comes. grandmother’s dishes: very tasty, Sylwester orders the Soup of the Day delicious and always fresh!” and either a plate of pierogis or a meat Community Seekers visit Historians’ dish for an early dinner around 5pm on restaurants because, there, they are able weekdays. He sits alone and will speak to revisit an ethnic affliation. By fre- quietly with Frania every now and then. quenting Historians’ restaurants, they Sylwester and other Community Seek- validate a sort of authenticity based on ers may feel some symbolic ownership insider knowledge, consuming food over the Historian’s restaurant, sizing and cultural feeling geared specifcally up newcomers who come to the Polish toward them. restaurant (Deener 2007). Sylwester is Frania, a Historian restaurant just one example of regular Commu- owner, has owned Pokarm in Wicker nity Seekers who frequent Historians’ Park for over 31 years and has lived restaurants and demand a Nostalgic in Chicago for almost 40 years. Online authenticity in the form of food, atmo- reviews of Pokarm feature comments sphere, and people. from Community Seekers like: In this Nostalgic market of authen- “OK, so I love this place. I’m of ticity, Community Seekers visit certain Polish decent, and so this place re- restaurants they deem authentic because ally reminds me of my grandma’s these places remind them of their home cooking. The owner is awesome. and heritage. Community Seekers’ def- And I’m very happy to see now a nition of authenticity is synonymous larger percentage of regular Amer- with familiarity. This is why Communi- ican folks eating here. If you really ty Seekers are often regulars, like Syl- want to have authentic food, this wester or the people who come to Pozy- place is it.” wienie every Wednesday for borscht. My frst time at Pokarm, Lucy and Community Seekers who write on- Sam who are brother and sister came in line reviews demonstrate Gans’ (1979) quickly that Tuesday evening as if they concept of symbolic ethnicity, in that had been there before and sat down at they visit restaurants like Pokarm and the bar. They said hello to Frania who Pozywienie in order to maintain their immediately went behind the bar to take ethnic identity and practice ethnic visi- their order. Frania told them what soups bility through interactions and strategic they were serving, and Sam said, “Give validations of restaurants that exhibit us two cabbage soups.” Frania then a nostalgic authenticity. Further, after asked Lucy some questions, including 108 “How are you? How old are you now?” selves as “moral entrepreneurs” provid- Lucy responded that she was 24 years ing the public with a Polish community old and was going to school in Arizona, or cultural knowledge, it is important for and Sam was older and living in Chica- them to stay as true as possible to what go. one would see at a Polish restaurant in Frania, Lucy, and Sam continued Poland (Best 1987). So, unlike the Cap- talking like they had all known each oth- italist who often displays an abundance er for years, discussing the recent death of ornate decorations that appear to be of Lucy’s and Sam’s mother, their cur- Polish and invoke stereotypes and com- rent stepfather of whom they were not mon conceptions of Polish identity, the too fond, school, and the possibility of Historian tends to keep a clean and sim- marriage for Lucy. Community Seekers ple restaurant with completely Polish like Lucy and Sam come to Historians’ staff, focusing more on food as a device restaurants like Pokarm to experience to transport Polish culture to customers. something known and familiar to them, Anna is the manager at a restau- which, in this case, is not only some rant well known among the Polish com- “homemade cabbage soup” as Frania munity in Chicago, Pozywienie. Like refers to it, but also conversation with many Historians, she is saddened by the Frania and the other staff. The authen- shrinking of the Polish community in ticity they seek is something familiar Chicago since she immigrated twenty and homey. This authenticity differs years ago and misses the large number vastly from the Economic authenticity of Polish customers Pozywienie used to Foodies seek. In contrast to the authen- see. When asked how customers hear ticity that Community Seekers associ- about Pozywienie, Anna replied: ate with familiarity, Economic authen- “We have this thing, like a little in- ticity refers to something novel, niche, terview, every week with the own- and new for Foodies. er of the Polish radio, so there’s The Historian Restaurant Owner like more fow from the older peo- The Historian takes it on as their ple. They listen to Polish radio, so duty to create a long-lasting, personally they come and say, “Oh, I heard and historically-based performance of your boss on the radio,” and, you Polish culture and traditions. Historians know. We really try to bring every- identify with Polish culture so much body here.” that it is their master status (Becker Historians also have “regulars” 1963). Authenticity, according to the who are often older, Polish customers. Historian, should come easily without They hold romanticized conceptions effort. However, in order to produce a of authenticity, like Anna who believes curated environment imbued with Pol- authenticity is “keeping true to yourself ish culture, Historians must actually and always, you know, it’s in who you choose carefully when deciding what are. You are like, if you’re everything, food and decorations are really repre- you’re actually like nothing, you know. sentative of Polish culture. You need to keep it like it is.” Pozywie- While Historians do see them- nie and Historians are nostalgic for a 109 time when there were more Polish peo- scription of the food items because they ple in the area and the Polish commu- are meant to be understood by the Pol- nity had a gathering space to perform ish customer base she aims to serve. their cultural identities through food, Frania also told me that the restaurant language, and other commonalities. has not changed much since she opened Frania, the Historian owner of Po- it. “Still old style because this building karm, has lived in Chicago for almost is old and everybody [likes] it. This is 40 years. She is from Krakow, which authentic, everything Polish,” she says, she describes reminiscently as a “big, referring to the Polish fags, dolls, post- beautiful city,” and came to Chicago cards, art, and couches in her restaurant. for school and to open her restaurant. By including these Polish items in her When describing why she decided to décor and catering her food and over- open Pokarm, Frania said: all restaurant to the Polish people who “I like it, this job, because I like used to live in this area, Frania aims to people, I like cooking, I like serv- succeed in a Nostalgic market of au- ing. And, I know Polish kitchen. thenticity. And [when I came,] this is the year Historians, by aiming to create a 1986, [there were] a lot of Polish space for Community Seekers to ex- people living here in this area. Lot plicitly mobilize Polish ethnic identities of Polish people, and for lunch- through interactions, food, and atmo- time, almost it’s full of Polish peo- sphere, partake in the market of authen- ple. There is a little bit of change ticity founded on nostalgic motives. because generations sold houses. The Apathetic Market Very change, very change. And The Local Customer then now, I have young American The Local eats at Polish restaurants people, and tourists, and Polish because they are convenient. They most people come from other places.” often live in the same neighborhood While Frania’s motive to open a as the Polish restaurant and frequent restaurant may have initially aligned restaurants owned by Happenstance more closely with motives of conve- Entrepreneurs that are affordable, fll- nience or apathy, she remarks that, now ing, and clean, usually ignoring origins that much of the Polish population has of people, recipes, and trinkets found in left the area, Frania wishes to create the restaurant. Authenticity is of little or a space for Polish people, in addition no importance to Locals because they to others who come and visit, to en- view the food as something that will fll joy her “everyday soups homemade, their stomach and taste good. Locals are […] pierogi, four kinds: potato and generally white males and females and cheese, cabbage and mushroom, meat, between the ages of 35 and 60. and sweet cheese, [… and] homemade Sarah and Jack, for example, come stuffed cabbage.” to Jacob’s restaurant, Jedzenie, rath- The menu at Pokarm is printed er randomly because they “live close in both English and Polish, but neither by.” They “had a search about [their] portion of the menu features much de- neighborhood, so that’s why [they] just 110 wanted to come to this place.” They are sets them apart from Community Seek- not Polish and had never eaten Polish ers and Foodies. Nevertheless, Locals food before. Locals often have not vis- unknowingly participate in the produc- ited Poland and do not know or care tion of an authenticity created out of a whether or not the food can be deemed lack of conscious strategy by Happen- authentic. Rather, they enjoy the conve- stance Entrepreneurs. nient location and the food offered. The Happenstance Entrepreneur Pierogi Place, for example, is a Restaurant Owner small restaurant in the Loop whose The Happenstance Entrepreneur, customer base is comprised mostly of unlike the Capitalist and the Histori- Locals. The Locals who visit do not an, does not try very hard to produce live in the area but, rather, work nearby. any sort of aesthetic in their restaurant. Around noon, the small, simple restau- While Capitalists and Historians per- rant flls with people who work in the form explicitly their ethnicity for the nearby businesses. Locals are often audiences within their respective mar- considered regulars by dint of visiting kets, Happenstance Entrepreneurs do the conveniently located restaurant. not perform Polish identity, and, rather, Locals will order what seems fll- their restaurants merely embody Polish ing, tasty, and popular, but often do not identity. That is, Happenstance Entre- have any Polish affliations. Online preneurs’ restaurants are classifed as reviews from Locals appreciate that Polish restaurants because they serve Pierogi Place is “super convenient” and Polish food and are owned by a Polish claim, “Pierogis [are] served quickly owner. and quite good tasting. Not bad on seat- While they may feature certain ing if you arrive a little before the lunch décor and trinkets, these restaurants do rush. Nice spot to grab lunch.” When I not put in the effort to perform a Polish asked a customer at Pierogi Place who experience recognizable by a certain was there on his lunch break if he liked audience or customer base. Unlike at any other Polish restaurants in Chica- Historians’ restaurants, it is rare to see go, he responded, “Is this place Polish? Happenstance Entrepreneurs talking […] I just like the dumplings. They’re with the customers for longer periods of cheap and flling and like fve minutes time. At the restaurant Zamek, there was from my offce.” This Local customer very little conversation between cus- not only does not care about the décor tomers, and I never saw the manager or and experience offered by the restau- owner once during my time there. Wait rant, but he is not even aware of the em- staff and bartenders would only speak bodied ethnicity he experiences or the with the customers to take their orders. market of authenticity he partakes in at While they spoke with Polish accents, Pierogi Place. they would not speak Polish most likely For Locals who frequent restau- because the majority of their customers rants like Pierogi Place and Jedzenie, were English-speaking Americans. The convenience and taste are more import- restaurant is rather bare and the staff are ant than cultural feelings invoked or there to serve Polish food rather than cultural capital to gain, which is what 111 provide some strategic performance for migrants to enter the restaurant indus- its customers. try when moving to America (Bailey Further, Happenstance Entre- 1985). However, when the neighbor- preneurs do not think about why they hood they work in changes to be more opened up a restaurant because they did ethnically heterogeneous and they see it merely out of convenience. Happen- fewer Polish customers and more Food- stance Entrepreneurs’ restaurants are ies and Locals, Happenstance Entre- usually located in smaller buildings near preneurs may transform their vision their homes, both of which are often in of their restaurant to foster a space for historically Polish neighborhoods. At more Community Seekers, or they may these restaurants, the majority of the wish to take advantage of the opportu- customers also live in the neighborhood nity to proft from the increased number and either fall in the Local and Com- of tourists and Foodies coming and be- munity Seeker categories. Jacob has co- gin to align with the characteristics of owned Jedzenie, a small Polish restau- Capitalists. rant northwest of Avondale, for almost Frania is an example of a Hap- 15 years. When asked why he decided penstance Entrepreneur who opened to open up a Polish restaurant, Jacob re- Pokarm out of convenience but now plied, “I don’t know, just an idea. Hard resembles more closely a Historian. to know why. We had to do something, Frania said, “I had school in Poland for so, you know, we’re thinking, ‘What to business for restaurants. I fnished and do?’” came to Chicago. I [went] to a special Jacob and other Happenstance class for management class for business, Entrepreneurs do not really pay atten- and I opened the restaurant.” After the tion to what kinds of customers they “neighborhood changed very much,” serve, in that they treat regulars, Poles, she felt even more that “it’s important Americans, young, and old all the same. to keep it authentic in the restaurant.” Owning a Polish restaurant is just a job Her consciousness surrounding the mo- for Happenstance Entrepreneurs, but bilization of Polish affliations changed they still put up Polish decorations from being nonexistent or in the back from home in their restaurant. Jedze- of her mind to being a main motivation nie uses both Polish and English on its for serving the food that she does in the menus and signage because Jacob and way that she does. his co-owners recognize the mix of cus- What is central to her and others’ tomers they will serve, yet they do the transformations from Happenstance minimum in describing what meals are Entrepreneurs to Capitalists or Histo- or what they should be eaten with. rians is the aspect of performance of While all of the ideal types I have ethnicity. Happenstance Entrepreneurs listed are likely to overlap, it is common do not explicitly perform Polish identi- for restaurant owners to begin their ca- ty but, rather, embody it through ethnic reers in the food industry as Happen- affliations and cultural knowledges. stance Entrepreneurs and later become This distinction between performance either Capitalists or Historians. This and embodiment setting the Economic is because it is not uncommon for im- and Nostalgic markets apart from the 112 Apathetic market is central to common J ulia came to Chicago because her fam- defnitions of authenticity. The perfor- ily lived here and began her career in the mance of ethnicity seen in the other restaurant industry out of convenience markets of authenticity employ a type and apathy, but, now, more of her cus- of fabrication that can commonly be tomers are American than Polish, and interpreted as inauthentic, whereas the she says, “we prefer them.” After notic- embodiment of ethnicity, in its purest ing the increase in Foodies coming to form, produces a type of organic Polish her restaurant, Julia describes: authenticity. Seeing as all of these types “We did decorations, […] did of authenticity are real to the restau- building, front, everything, we rant owners and customers regardless changed everything. So we re- of embodiment or performance, these modeled everything. We changed markets of authenticity are still able to food a little bit. We try to change coexist despite their radical differences. food little bit every two years to Fluidity of Ideal Types put something new. But still, like, The typologies I have listed here Polish food. Has to be Polish food. are ideal types, and, while the people I Because people come to eat Polish observed and interviewed fall into these food.” categories, they are by no means rigid While Julia began as a Happen- or holistic. People, especially custom- stance Entrepreneur, embodying the ers, move between these typologies or Polish ethnicity and partaking in the identify with multiple descriptors. Or, Apathetic market of authenticity, she their traits might manifest themselves changed with the neighborhood to cater in different ways depending on the to more Foodies as many Capitalists do. space and time they occupy. For exam- The restaurant owners and customers ple, Community Seekers may be very who exist within the markets of authen- vocal and outgoing in the Polish restau- ticity I have described fall in multiple rant because of how they view commu- categories and exhibit traits of different nity and social interactions, or, as seen ideal types at the same time. Neverthe- in many Historians’ restaurants, they less, these ideal types do represent the may sit alone, quietly to eat in a place motivations and identities of many of they feel comfortable in. the people I interviewed and conversed Julia, the owner of Zywnosc, de- with. scribes the reasons she opened her While each type of restaurant own- restaurant: er is motivated by a different type of “I always liked cooking and to do necessity and goal when curating their things, like, with the restaurants. restaurants, they, interestingly enough, I had to do something. I didn’t go all have emigrated from Poland. With- to college here. I [went] to college in Chicago, Polish people own Polish in Poland. So it was a good choice restaurants, suggesting that tradition to open a restaurant. And I like to and insider knowledge are fundamen- work with the kitchen and with the tally necessary for Polish food produc- restaurant.” tion. Historically, Polish immigrants 113 in Chicago have predominantly come Polish….We prefer them. They are from peasant classes in Poland, and, so, very nice people. They like every- opening a restaurant is a common oc- thing, they are very polite….Young cupational path for Polish immigrants people, they are very nice.” (Pacyga 1991). Although both types of restaurant Every restaurant owner I inter- owners recognize the changes in the viewed came to Chicago from Poland neighborhood composition in terms of no less than 20 years ago, often because Polish affliations, they interpret this their “family lived here” or they met a Polish migration and dispersion quite signifcant other in the states on a vis- differently. Historians aim to serve it. They also unanimously cite the “big Community Seekers, who, because they Polish community” as a reason to either tend to be Polish and out in the suburbs, come to or stay in Chicago specifcally. are no longer coming to their restaurant While they all also lament the shrink- as much. The neighborhood transforma- ing of the Polish community in Chicago tions thus amplify the nostalgic proper- on a sentimental level, different types ties of their identities, and they react by of restaurant owners view the changes catering more toward Polish customers. in customer demographics different- Capitalists, on the other hand, fnd that ly. For example, Historians like Anna, Foodies and other Americans spend the manager of Pozywienie, claim that, their money and look for an authentic since she came to Chicago, the Polish experience. Given Capitalists’ motives community here: to maximize proft by selling an authen- “It’s shrunk. Kind of sad. It’s tic experience, they are ambivalent, if changed a lot. It used to be like… not satisfed, with the decaying Polish just Polish people come to this identity of Avondale and the surround- restaurant…, but now it’s mostly ing area. Americans, Latinos, Chinese peo- A comparison between customer ple. All, everybody, different na- ideal types would show a main differ- tions.” ence between customers of the Eco- On the other hand, Capitalists nomic and Nostalgic markets. As cus- like Julia, the owner of Zywnosc, are tomers are the players expressly looking glad that more Americans come to her for some neat experience, tasty food, or restaurant: basic necessity, an analysis of the senti- “The people are moving. The Pol- ments driving customers sheds light on ish people all already moved. It’s the appealing aspects of authenticities only maybe some of the old peo- and the types of benefts they provide ple live here, young people moving to the consumer base. First, Community I think to suburbs of Chicago…. Seekers and Foodies both actively seek But we got so many nice American out something they can call authentic people coming from downtown when they venture to Polish restaurants. from Logan Square. So the busi- Community Seekers engage with their ness is going better. Yeah, we love ethnic affliations, whereas Foodies aim American customers. Better than to accumulate cultural capital through 114 claims of authenticity. What sets them strategies, and other social contexts, so, apart is the temporal nature of the au- too, do the restaurant spaces they visit. thenticity they wish to experience. That These ideal markets of authenticity con- is, while Community Seekers search for stitute a framework explaining different something familiar and reminding them manifestations of authenticity in urban of their past, Foodies seek something areas. Although the restaurants that new and unfamiliar to them. Anna, reside in these markets often remain the Historian manager of Pozywienie, in their specifc market with their re- notes that they have regulars who come spective restaurant owner and customer to Pozywienie to eat the same dish reg- typologies, it is still possible for them ularly. She says: to move from one market to another as “We do have regulars. When they people and places transform. come, we know what they eat, what they drink, when they [come]. Ev- DISCUSSION ery Thursday or Friday, you know. My investigation of authenticity in Like people sometimes come for a Polish restaurants allowed me to derive specifc thing, like for Ukrainian these six social typologies of people borscht because it’s Wednesday. in Polish restaurants. As follows, each And you know them when you talk market of authenticity employs differ- to them, and it’s like a little fam- ent conceptions of authenticity, its func- ily.” tions, and its implications. Each con- These Community Seekers come ception of authenticity is founded on a to Pozywienie on Wednesdays for the different motive for opening or visiting same borscht or come on Thursdays a certain restaurant. Thus, people who and Fridays because they wish to eat share these motives are likely to be in familiar Polish food. On the other hand, similar spaces and mobilize these mar- Foodies visit restaurants like KoPo kets of authenticity. because it is like nothing they’ve ever Foodies appreciate the environ- tried. The novelty of the restaurant is ment provided by Capitalists more actually what makes the place more often, Community Seekers fnd the authentic to these Foodies. This main authenticity offered by Historians the difference revolves around their level most warm and traditional, and Hap- of knowledge. While the Foodie looks penstance Entrepreneurs’ restaurants for some new experience, the Commu- are most convenient for Locals. While nity Seekers searches for mutual under- the Capitalists work the hardest to pro- standing and shared lived experiences. vide a seemingly authentic experience While the markets of authenticity for their customers, the Historians are I have described assume fundamen- more concerned with what is actual- tally different visions of authenticity, ly found in Poland and put in effort to there can still be movement between curate a simple yet traditional eating the markets themselves. As restaurant space. Further, the Happenstance Entre- owners and customers change by learn- preneurs’ restaurants, while they use no ing more about Polish culture, business strategy in the hopes of appearing au- thentic to a certain customer base, they 115 produce something closest to their lived Because different markets of authentic- experiences in Poland. Instead of acting ity emerge out of disparities between in the aim of producing something that ethnic expression and consumption, the seems authentic, they act through their synthesis of concepts like symbolic eth- Polish identities and Polish experiences nicity and cultural tourism that seek to when creating something they know. As explain ethnic expression in public and they are not concerned with how their private spaces have been crucial to my restaurant appears to its customers, research (Gans 1979, Butcher 2005, Di- Happenstance Entrepreneurs produce etler 2010, Comaroff 2009). These mar- restaurants that are informed by only kets of authenticity not only implicate informal Polish knowledge and lived cultural truth and economic happen- experiences, whereas the Historians ings, but they also illuminate differenc- and Capitalists use American ideals or es in ethnic identities in a transforming affliations with “otherness” and immi- urban setting. grant identities to inform their restau- Based on existing theories and the rant curations. data I have collected, I argue that dif- My research questions the seem- ferent restaurant owners and consumers ingly inharmonious relationship be- have varying defnitions of authenticity. tween authenticity and capitalism in While some restaurant owners work to the United States propagated by many produce something that seems authentic sociological scholars. For Polish restau- to people who are not familiar with Pol- rant owners in Chicago, several motiva- ish ethnicity, others attempt to recreate tions for food and atmosphere produc- something that other Polish people will tion interact and infuence the reputation identify with and remember. Further, of the restaurant. Based on the literature another type of restaurant owner puts I have read and the research I have no conscious effort whatsoever into the conducted, my fndings suggest that authentic experience of their restau- the drives to be authentic and to make rant, but, rather, embodies ethnicity. money, while seemingly in confict with The main axes of performance versus one another (Grazian 2003), actually embodiment distinguish Capitalists and produce conditions of possibility for Historians from Happenstance Entre- the simultaneous existence of multiple preneurs, in addition to the motives that markets of authenticity. guide their respective market of authen- By drawing from the work of so- ticity. ciologists who have positioned authen- On the other hand, customers con- ticity against the drives to make money sume these three different authentici- and appeal to tourists, I have shown ties and thereby validate a certain type that, on the contrary, authenticity works of restaurant’s projection of ethnicity. with these drives to create different While Foodies seek a novel perfor- markets of authenticity. I have chal- mance of Polish ethnicity that differs lenged specifcally the work of schol- from something they have already ex- ars like Grazian (2003) who simplifes perienced, which they deem authentic- the expression of authenticity to merely ity, Community Seekers search for an meeting the expectations of customers. authenticity that reminds them of their 116 own Polish affliations and fosters a typologies of customers and producers. feeling of familiarity. Restaurant owners motivated by capital T he result of these different mar- put in the most effort in deciding what kets of authenticity is a social fssion will look authentic and bring in the in cultural defnitions and implications most paying customers. of ethnic identities. That is, the atmo- On the other hand, those motivat- sphere that restaurant owners curate ed by nostalgia and cultural or ethnic as authentic allows customers to con- ties aim to produce a space fostering sume images and tastes of a culture or familiarity for those who identify with country as truth that may not actually Polishness, featuring sentimental par- resonate with citizens of that nation. Al- aphernalia from Poland. Finally, there though sociologists commonly concep- are apathetic restaurant owners who tualize authenticity as a homogenous open up restaurants because it seems commodifcation of insincerity promul- like the next logical step in their life. gated by the desire to proft, I argue that They decide what dishes to serve based the market allows for multiple visions on what recipes they already know. Dif- of authenticity that cater to different ferent ways of thinking about authentic- niches, as evidenced by the three dif- ity produce these typologies of restau- ferent motivations that push customers rant owners and bring in specifc types and restaurant owners to partake in the of customers. Restaurant owners, thus, market. Because there is a homology of possess great power in the production authenticity between certain customers of culture because of how customers and certain restaurant owners, custom- consume authenticity as something re- ers in one market of authenticity are fecting an entire culture. wont to stay in that market and, thus, Further research regarding the consume only one view of authentici- use of authenticity as economic and ty and one type of performance of eth- social devices, the various markets of nicity. This creates a disparity between authenticity, and the players within what different customers believe about these markets could continue to explore Polish identity in Chicago and in the more thoroughly the reasons for which world. restaurant owners and customers who In my research, the restaurant, fall in these ideal types are pushed into including both the food and the envi- one ideal type instead of another. While ronment in which it is served, is the my research has parsed the differences vehicle transporting and absorbing between the restaurants and the differ- measurements of authenticity claimed ent players’ outlooks on authenticity, it by customers both on restaurant rating also prompts deeper sociological inqui- websites like Yelp and through infor- ry into how the same neighborhood cir- mal face-to-face interactions. I fnd that cumstances brought on by displacement there are actually three different mo- and ethnic migration to the suburbs can tivations for producing or seeking out produce different outcomes. something resembling cultural authen- My research also shines light on ticity: capital, nostalgia, and apathy. how people and establishments change The search for food unites these three and respond to neighborhood changes 117 and to the dispersion of ethnic enclaves REFERENCES in urban settings. This theoretical mod- el of authenticity presents an optimistic Alba, Richard. 1990. Ethnic Identi- view of the coexistence of seemingly ty: The Transformation of White contradictory ambitions and drives un- America. New Haven: Yale Uni- der a capitalist market. 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