Zachary Blair’s Boystown describes the way that digital media reinforces racism and racial segregation in Boystown, a prominent gay neighborhood in Chicago. In 2009, following a series of violent assaults in the Boystown neighborhood over a short period of time, residents formed multiple watch groups as well as a sort of “digital neighborhood watch” on Facebook (Blair, 292). While the intention of these digital efforts was to stop or reduce violent crime, they reinforced racial segregation by taking and sharing pictures of people of color in the streets (Blair, 293). These pictures were posted to the Facebook group and depicted people of color as disproportionately responsible for crime (Blair, 294). As a result, “digital interactions…legitimized racism by providing Boystown residents and business owners with social experiences that supported degrading and criminalizing people of color” and shifted race relations in the community (Blair, 298). This led to white residents redefining crime to criminalize people of color by enacting fictitious noise and loitering ordinances (Blair, 298). The Facebook groups also gave a platform for the sharing and legitimization of racist views (Blair, 298). “Boystown’s neighborhood-based digital practices…create and exclusionary heteronormative environment where racism can flourish” (Blair, 300).
Reference
Blair, “Boystown. Gay Neighborhoods, Social Media, and the (Re)production of Racism”