Bullies, Politics & the Dangers of Online Groups

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A group chat tells you everything about power, privilege, and people’s politics. And if you've ever been kicked out of a WhatsApp thread or private Facebook group, the politics of race, class, and gender were probably the reason for that exclusion.I walk through how real-world hierarchies get recreated in small digital spaces: who gets listened to, who gets sidelined, and how so-called "safe spaces" meant to protect Black women can still reproduce misogynoir and patriarchy. We talk about what digital sisterhood can feel like when it holds and when it fractures, why safe spaces online can be both empowering and exhausting, and how surveillance and social policing affect group interactions.Of course, this sociology lesson is brought to you by our dear ancestor, bell hooks!