Includes bibliographical references (pages 207-236) and index.

Introduction: Making race and gender politics on Twitter -- Women tweet on violence: from #YesAllWomen to #MeToo -- Visions of Black feminism: #FastTailedGirls, #YouOKSis, #SayHerName -- #GirlsLikeUs: Trans feminist advocacy and community building -- Racial violence and racial profiling: from #OscarGrant to #TrayvonMartin -- From #Ferguson to #FalconHeights: the networked case for Black lives -- The utility of digital allyship: #AllMenCan and #CrimingWhileWhite -- Conclusion: #HashtagActivism: here to stay -- Afterword: Ethics, backlash and access in Twitter research.

"The beginning of the 21st century brought forth a number of social media platforms that have allowed activists to increase their audience exponentially and with relative ease. Under hashtags such as #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo to the Arab Spring and the Occupy movements, digital social activision mobilized people and movements like almost never before. In #HashtagActivism: Networked Counterpublics in the Digital Age the authors examine how and why Twitter hashtags have become an important platform for historically disenfranchised populations to advance counter narratives and advocate for social change. We contend that members of these marginalized groups, in the tradition of counterpublics, are using Twitter hashtags to build diverse networks of dissent and shape the cultural and political knowledge fundamental to contemporary identity-based social movements. Given shifting understandings and ongoing conversations about the role of social media in 21st century democracy, and considering recent high-profile public debates about racial violence, feminist inclusivity, and sexual identity, #Hashtag Activism will provide readers with a model of how to study political identity and meaning-making processes within digital spaces while highlighting compelling cases of counterpublic activism and dissent"--