This article, written by affiliated WGSS faculty member Professor Linda Blum, sought to identify what solidarity and activism existed in online support communities for individuals with cancer. Considering that gender and race ideologies have greatly influenced how women of color receive cancer treatment, with cancer research primarily focusing on white women, the study sought to identify how race and gender influenced this online solidarity.
After interviewing individuals with diverse racial-ethnic, gender, and sexual identities about their online experiences, it was found that while solidarity does exist online, desires for positive uplift to overcome cancer, as well as the choices around breast reconstruction lead to divisions within the community. These two influences can be categorized as moralized politics, the politics concerning the choices of others. In this case, these moralized politics led to the presence of heteronormative femininity in these communities, which in turn resulted in separation.
To read more about the results and methods of this study, click here.
