Sapphire Mendonca

What Did I Learn?   

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     I believe that if done correctly and with an open mind, research should be challenging, transformative, and offer opportunities for growth. Allyship is a topic ever-present in current conversations and social media. Often, it’s thought of as a noun, as people are labelled as (or label themselves as) an “ally.” This project, however, has highlighted the idea that allyship is not a characteristic that an individual either does or does not possess. Instead, allyship is defined by actions and attitudes that are consistently applied in everyday life. Allyship looks different for everyone and can be expressed in so many different ways. Expressing solidarity and standing with minority groups, educating yourself on topics you don’t know about, having difficult conversations with your friends and family members, and calling other people to act are all ways people can practice allyship in their daily lives. This project has highlighted the importance of listening to and amplifying BIPOC voices, researching topics you are unfamiliar with, and constantly working to learn and grow as an individual so that you can practice genuine allyship. Investigating allyship in online verbal art has broadened my own definition and understanding and has offered me insight into performativity, especially in online spaces. Going forward, I am going to challenge myself to think critically about the actions I take and why I choose to take them. Am I posting online so the content can reach a larger target audience, or so that I can show my followers my stance and prove myself as a good person? I think it’s important to question what being an ally means to you, and the purpose behind the actions you take. 

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     This opportunity has offered me the chance to explore online verbal art, expand my discourse analysis skills, become familiar with the coding process and using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. It has also allowed me to critically investigate the language used in discourse surrounding racism and anti-racism and explore how creators use the platforms TikTok and YouTube to do things with words. I believe that these platforms provide us with insight into the culture of the people that use it, along with the culture of online settings. Both provide valuable information, especially as social media has been so heavily used to spread news and information since the onset of the pandemic. Overall, the project has encouraged me to be a more critical consumer and user of online spaces and pay attention to how people creatively use their platforms to comment and discuss important topics such as racism.  

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     A special thank you to Dr. Pennesi for your support and guidance, my research partner Joyce Leung and undergraduate student Ewere Agbamuche. It has been a pleasure collaborating with you both, and thank you for sharing your ideas, insight and feedback with me. I am eternally grateful for this opportunity, and I’m excited to see what other projects can come out of this data set!