Black girl awkwardness and humor in social media
Bradley, R. (2015). Awkwardly hysterical: theorizing black girl awkwardness and humor in social media. Comedy Studies, 6(2), 148-153. https://doi.org/10.1080/2040610x.2015.1084176
Thesis: Black girls have taken advantage of the laid social media to create their own awkward identities. Though it might not be their will, they have cohabited in an uncomfortable environment to take advantage of some awkward characteristics and popularize them as their niche to the limelight. It has led to the love of awkwardness by the black girls and other marginalized groups, as this will feature them in social media, unlike the white girls who flourish quickly in comfort and quacks.
The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl: It was a web comedy series by Issa Rae, who expressed the daily life of a black girl who finds her only comfort in living an awkward experience. Like the play, black girls use social media as a cultural workspace for black women. Social media is significant for black girls and other marginalized groups as it provides a platform where they can express their views in the vast world. Such social media sites include YouTube, Tumblr, and Pinterest. The sites allow black girls to form a community that they can identify with, and share their daily experiences. It will enable discussions of the racial disparities and create a path for social change and critique. It is significant in that it archives and ground the existence of black women in the community (148- 149).
Am I quirky or Nah? A brief awkward black girl history: white women identify themselves as quirky in social media, which is very acceptable by the community and considered “cute.” It is different from the experience of black girls who must identify awkwardly to make sense in media. For black girls, awkwardness started a long time ago. It’s a culture. And social media only made it easy to express their awkward culture. The black girl has, therefore, used awkwardness to identify and map out when and how the drivers of the community do not display the expected norms in society. It was there in the 1980s and 1990s with efforts to establish a black social-cultural aesthetic in post-Civil Rights. This period was a significant turning point for popularizing blackness in the harsh environment. It involved the use of popular media and culture to bring a new dawn and a new way to fight of freedom for the black girl. It was characterized by hip-hop culture, white-fight, heroin and crack cocaine epidemics, comedy, and middle-class black folks (150-151).
Comments, Questions, or concerns: Social media is significant in the lives of black girls and other marginalized groups as it provides a platform where they can express their views in the vast world. Social media sites allow black girls to form a community that they can identify with and share their daily experiences. It will enable discussions of the racial disparities and create a path for social change and critique. It is significant in that it archives and ground the existence of black women in the community. One may question whether or not the depth of these social media character’s awkwardness reflects the social climate: is the show a diverse cast or dominantly black?
Notable Quotes: “if it weren’t for YouTube, I would be extremely pessimistic, but I’m not anymore. YouTube has revolutionized content creation. If it weren’t for YouTube, I would still be at the studios trying to convince executives that Awkward Black Girls do exist” (149).