ALC 215 - Photographic Essay on Hashtag Activism and Global Media

This photographic essay examines hashtag activism within the context of global media and culture, focusing on movements like #BlackLivesMatter and the #MeToo campaign. The essay analyzes the evolution and impact of hashtags as tools for social change, highlighting their role in raising awareness and mobilizing communities. The essay uses images to illustrate how hashtag activism has been utilized to address issues of racial discrimination and female empowerment, showcasing the power of digital platforms and social media in disseminating information and fostering discussions. The work includes an introduction, image analyses, and references, providing a comprehensive overview of the topic. The student's essay investigates how hashtag activism has become a significant force in contemporary society, driving awareness and action on critical social issues.

Running head: HASHTAG ACTIVISM
Hashtag Activism
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HASHTAG ACTIVISM
Global media and culture needs to be understood from the point of view of the changing
needs of the society and the human civilization (Khan-Ibarra 2014). The thought process and the
ability of the human beings to rationalize certain aspects of the society changes with the
changing times. In this respect, the need of the society is to understand the changes and work
accordingly. The purpose of this essay is to examine the issue of global media and culture in the
context of the hangtag activism culture.
The essay has taken in to consideration the issue of hashtag and how it has come about in
existence. The idea of hashtag activism was first coined by a several media outlets (Losh 2014).
The purpose of this form of activism was to take to the internet sources in order to bring about
some changes in the society. The main aim of hashtag activism is to make the individuals of the
society aware of the events occurring with regard to the issue under focus and to make them
aware of the need to bring about a change.
In this context, I have undertaken the issue of #BlackLivesMatter and the #MeToo
campaign. The main objective of both of these movements were to bring about a significant
change in the community with respect to the manner in which the individuals were being treated.
I have chosen the image showing the banner of #BlackLivesMatter beinbg held up by the
individuals of the community in which many of them are of the ‘white’ ethnic background. The
main reason for using this photo was to showcase to the world the fact that the issue of racism is
a social evil which exists only in certain communities of the world. Racial discrimination occurs
in those societies where the people face the issue of colonial hangover (Stornaiuolo and Thomas
2017). With the proper education facilities and the generation of the right mindset, the issue of

2HASHTAG ACTIVISM
racism can be mitigated. However, there is a need to first make the people of the society aware
about such incidents which still plagues the human civilization. To this extent, the next two
images attempt to show the various twitter posts which try to raise awareness amongst the people
so that they may become enlightened.
Furthermore, the campaign of #MeToo movement is also a significant hashtag activism
which has gained considerable lime light in the contemporary social order. The main point which
is being conveyed by this campaign is the issue of female empowerment. Since ages, it can be
seen that the women race gave been treated in a subservient manner.
The first image shows the first update which was made by Alyssa Milano in the year
2017 which attempted to awaken the society to the presence of the social evil of sexual assault of
the women of the society. The main purpose of using this post was to show to the audience that a
single post carries the significance of bringing about a rippling effect of change in the lives of the
people. The following image shows the response of the society. Many people can be seen to be
rising to the challenge and accepting the fact that sexual assault in a social crime which needs to
be mitigated (Kangere, Kemitare and Michau 2017).
In this respect, the issue of hashtag activism shows the various measures with the aid of
which a positive change can be brought about in the society. To this extent, the digital platform
and the social media outlets have been used effectively in order to reach out to most of the
people in the society so as to make them aware of the social evil which needs to be eradicated.

3HASHTAG ACTIVISM
References:
Kangere, M., Kemitare, J. and Michau, L., 2017. Hashtag activism: popularizing feminist
analysis of violence against women in the Horn, East and Southern Africa. Feminist Media
Studies, 17(5), pp.899-902.
Khan-Ibarra, S., 2014. The case for social media and Hashtag activism. The Huffington Post, 13.
Losh, E., 2014. Hashtag feminism and Twitter activism in India. Social Epistemology Review
and Reply Collective, 3(3), pp.11-22.
Stornaiuolo, A. and Thomas, E.E., 2017. Disrupting educational inequalities through youth
digital activism. Review of Research in Education, 41(1), pp.337-357.