Those Asian American Woke Kids: Asian American Hashtag Activism, Identity, and Interracial Solidarity

Abstract

This dissertation examined the discursive strategies employed by Asian American activists engaged in interracial solidarity activity on Twitter. In light of the recent anti-Asian racism due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the long-standing model minority stereotype, studying Asian American identity and activity is a timely and relevant endeavor. The study contributes to a rich understanding of race relations in the United States beyond the black-white binary and furthers research on Asian American representation and use of social media for activism purposes.

I use theories of racial formation and racial triangulation to make sense of the current racial order. I also conceptualize Twitter as a space conducive for the creation and maintenance of counterpublics through its affordances and build upon scholarly work on racial biases and representations online. I use critical discourse studies, discourse tracing, and guided interviews to answer the research question, how do Asian Americans express solidarity with other people of color online? I select three hashtags for analysis: #Asians4BlackLives, #JusticeForAkaiGurley, and #NotYourWedge. I also conducted interviews with seventeen respondents who participated in at least one of the hashtags above.

I found in my analysis that Asian American activists employ several discursive strategies that redefine Asian American identity and position in the racial order. Because I theorize race as context specified and mutually constitutive, I found that in expressing interracial solidarity Asian American activists must interrogate their own racializations and challenge a racial order in which Asian Americans as a group are used to uphold white supremacy. They do this by creating alternative racial projects and use their racial identities as a mechanism or technology to accomplish their goals. However, challenging the racial order involves provisional and liminal redefinitions of identity and position. I also problematize the educational and class barriers to Asian American activism within the context of the model minority stereotype and techno-Orientalist perspectives.