Stages of Online Activism against Proposition 8

The next speaker at AoIR 2012 is Jenny Korn, whose focus is on the #FuckProp8 hashtag which emerged around the Californian referendum to ban gay marriage, known as Proposition 8. The success of this referendum was a surprise to many Californians themselves, and resulted in a substantial amount of pushback, in the form of the hashtag (and its alternative #rejectprop8).

This is an event-based process of community formation which leads to a gradually strengthening cohesion of community activities that generates impact and finally results in stasis. In this, overlapping virtual and physical communities are embodied in a wider imagined community around the shared concern.

Part of this was also driven by celebrity involvement – both by celebrities becoming involved on their own account, or by asking celebrities for a shout-out in support of the #FuckProp8 cause. There was activist involvement from users outside of California; widespread use of memes; and some celebrities came out publicly especially in response to Proposition 8.

Proposition 8 was eventually repealed, at which point the community entered stasis – there now no longer is a need for online activism specifically against Proposition 8, and the online spaces dedicated to it have become redundant.