JULIEN, CHRISTOPHER M., M.A. The Iconic Ghetto, Color-Blind Racism and White Masculinities: A Content and Discourse Analysis of Black Twitter on www.Imgur.com. (2017) Directed by Dr. Steven Kroll-Smith. 202 pp. In this research, I investigate Black Twitter on www.Imgur.com. I identify the general contours of Black Twitter images on Imgur as well as the reception and response to this content by the individuals who use this website. I first categorize the images of Black Twitter in order to describe their main features. Second, I describe the various ways that the individuals on Imgur respond to Black Twitter through a thematic content analysis and critical discourse analysis of the written comments. I conclude that Black Twitter on Imgur reproduces the same racist stereotypes that have been present in decades of media coverage of African Americans in the United States. Furthermore, the responses of individuals on Imgur to Black Twitter evidence anti-Ebonics ideologies, SIDE theory for group identity and participation, and the ongoing development of competing white, masculine identities in a color-blind space. THE ICONIC GHETTO, COLOR-BLIND RACISM AND WHITE MASCULINITIES: A CONTENT AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF BLACK TWITTER ON WWW.IMGUR.COM by Christopher M. Julien A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Greensboro 2017 Approved by Committee Chair To my wife, Nicole, my constant companion through trials and triumphs, who encourages and believes in me, even when I do not. ii APPROVAL PAGE This thesis written by CHRISTOPHER M. JULIEN has been approved by the following committee of the Faculty of The Graduate School at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Committee Chair Committee Members Date of Acceptance by Committee Date of Final Oral Examination iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ vii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................1 Research Questions ...................................................................................1 II. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................3 The Internet and Dreams of Utopia ...........................................................3 White Flight in Digital Spaces ..................................................................5 The Basic Features and Demographics of Imgur ......................................6 Black Twitter on Imgur.com and Twitter.com ..........................................9 Traditional and Modern Racism ..............................................................11 The Iconic Ghetto and the Grammar of Race ..........................................13 Modern Racism in Digital Spaces ...........................................................15 Memesis and SIDE Theory .....................................................................18 The Construction of White Masculinities ................................................20 III. RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODS ..............................................24 What are the Main Features of Black Twitter on Imgur? ........................24 An Analysis of the Website Architecture .................................. 24 Popular Albums of Black Twitter ............................................. 25 A Typology of the Images ......................................................... 26 How do Imgurians respond to Black Twitter? ........................................27 Thematic Content Analysis ....................................................... 28 Group Identification .................................................................. 30 IV. IMGUR’S AFFORDANCES AND HEGEMONY ........................................32 Approaching Content: The Front Page Effect .........................................32 Content on Reddit and Twitter ................................................................35 Content on Imgur: The Role of Profile Pages .........................................38 What’s in a Comment? Interface Decisions on Imgur ............................40 Comment Sorting .....................................................................................43 Best, Top, and New ................................................................... 43 Scoring Comments .................................................................... 44 iv Imgur’s Affordances: Conclusion ...........................................................47 V. THE IMAGES OF STEREOTYPE AND RACE ...........................................49 Introduction .............................................................................................49 Cultural Racial Stereotypes .....................................................................51 The Vices ................................................................................... 52 Streetwise .................................................................................. 58 Blacks as Criminals ................................................................... 68 Black Men: Violent, Hypersexual, Disinterested, Absent .......................69 Black Women: Domineering, Promiscuous, Avaricious .........................75 Reifying Race: “White Twitter vs. Black Twitter” .................................79 Hall’s Types: The Native, Slave and Comedian .....................................84 Black Twitter from Twitter.com: The Political Turned Entertainment ......................................................................................89 Co-occurrence and Black Twitter on Imgur ............................................92 The Images of Stereotype and Race: Conclusion ....................................96 VI. WHITE MASCULINITIES IN A COLOR-BLIND SPACE .........................98 Online Discourse in a Color-Blind Space ...............................................98 Memesis on Imgur: Gaining the Coveted Upvote ...................................99 Memetic Ebonics and General Memesis ................................. 101 Black Twitter Shows Black Norms .......................................................106 Cultural Stereotypes ..............................................................................109 Black People are Poor Criminals............................................. 110 Black People Use and Deal Drugs .......................................... 111 Black Men are Absent Fathers ................................................ 114 Black Men and White Women: Interracial Fetishization and the Male Gaze .............................................................................118 Ebonics on Imgur ..................................................................................126 Anti-Ebonics Ideologies ........................................................................131 Discussions of Race in a Color-Blind Space .........................................139 Meta-Discourse: Is Black Twitter Racist? .............................. 140 Overt Racism Opposed ............................................................ 145 Meta-Discourse: Shouldn’t We Be Color-Blind? ................... 149 Competing White Racial Identities on Imgur ........................................152 Inter-Racial Distinctions: White Victimization ....................... 153 Inter-Racial Distinctions: Cultural Pathologies ....................... 157 Inter-Racial Distinctions: White Debt ..................................... 159 Intra-Racial Distinctions: Affective Whiteness ....................... 161 Intra-Racial Distinctions: Conscious Whiteness ..................... 166 Competing White Racial Identities: Conclusion ..................... 171 v White Masculine Identities and Color-Blindness: Conclusion .........................................................................................172 VII. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................173 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................177 APPENDIX A. SELECT TABLES .................................................................................181 vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1. Cultural Racism Minor Categories ..................................................................... 52 Table 2. Black Men Minor Category Allotments ............................................................. 70 Table 3. Black Women Minor Categories ........................................................................ 75 Table 4. Total Album Views ........................................................................................... 181 Table 5. Total Cumulative Album Votes ........................................................................ 182 Table 6. Total Number of Album Comments ................................................................. 183 Table 7. Total Votes on Top Comment .......................................................................... 184 Table 8. Minor Category Code Allotments..................................................................... 185 Table 9. Major Category Code Allotments ....................................................................