In a public school tucked in Chattanooga, TN, sat a girl in the cafeteria, surrounded by smells of various foods, as well as a wide range of diversity. As she finished the last crunchy bite of her carrots and ranch, she rushed to her phone to get on social media. This was the most exciting time of her life as she was preparing to graduate. On the hunt, the young girl and her friends scoured Instagram in search for the perfect photographer for their senior photos. Little did she know the importance photography would have on her life.
The young girl continues sitting next to her friends at the lunch table as they finish up their conversation about which photographer they are using for senior pictures. Social media was almost an extra arm to her friend group. They would often make plans to do an activity or go to an event just for the pictures to post on social media. Oftentimes they went around asking for bags from different boutiques so it looked like they went on a shopping spree when they posted on Instagram. The young girl enjoyed her time with them but oftentimes would leave feeling pits in her stomach. She began to question why she was always being asked to take the picture rather than to be included in it.
This close knit friend group would spend almost every weekend together scrolling through social media, watching movies, making food, and other fun activities teenagers did at the time. What made it even better was that they all lived in the same neighborhood. This made it seamless when it came to making plans and riding to school together.
One day in particular, the car ride to school felt particularly slow. The young girl questioned if it was because she had little sleep or forgot her coffee at home. Packed like sardines, the girls rotated through the series of conversations they would often have. One topic in particular jolted the young girl up out of her seat.
“I’m not racist, but Black people do not photograph well,” one of the girls stated. “No wonder why I rarely see pictures of them on social media, I do not think pictures are for them.”
The girl was appalled, “did she really say that knowing I am sitting right behind her?” she thought. Built up with rage, it took everything in her body to stay silent for the rest of the ride.
As the hot pink jeep approached the parking spot painted with pink polka dots, the girl jolted out of the car and for once was excited to be at school. For the rest of the day she pondered trying to make sense of everything and quickly came to a realization. Social media is faceted in a way that focuses on one race, letting the underrepresented slip through the cracks.
“How can I be a part of something and pursue opportunities that I can’t see?” she mumbled to herself. She started to believe that people like her are not shown in the media because the majority of the posts provide the racist and negative depictions of them.
This sparked curiosity and creativity for the young girl. “What if I can become a photographer and document the underrepresented in a unique way that represents them in a positive and inspiring way.” Conveniently enough, she majored in Photography and revolved her portfolio around capturing and telling the stories of those who often go unnoticed.
What happened to her will always be a part of her story. The young girl was able to take something negative that happened and turn it into something good, her career in photography. Now she uses her career as a platform to capture the uniqueness of everyone no matter their race.
- Racial Representation on Social Media – by Stephanie Shannon - April 6, 2024