Trivialization and Disembodiment of the Black Lives Matter Movement through the Hashtag #BlackLinesMatter

Abstract

The hashtag #BlackLinesMatter, with lines replacing lives , proliferates on social media among users who couch the tag in humor. The #Lines hashtag devalues the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement through implicit trivialization of the movement ’ s necessity and explicit microaggression toward issues of race. Through an accumulation of #Lines content, social media users disembody BLM and detract from the movement ’ s ability to demonstrate the harm done to Black individuals by systemic racism.