Black and Desi: Indian American Perceptions of Kamala Harris

Lemi, Danielle Casarez; Arora, Maneesh; Sadhwani, Sara

doi:10.1080/1554477x.2022.2075678

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…For example, we found that some messages criticized Harris's racial identity by claiming she was not "Indian" or "Black" enough. This finding reflects the challenges that individuals with multiracial identities face, and how they must manage the perceptions of others [43,45]. Research regarding the digital harassment of public women [32], moreover, suggests that the heightened targeting of a politician such as Harris ultimately reflects perpetrators' goals to objectify and silence active women, especially those from minority groups, and dissuade them from political life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Multiracial individuals, in particular, must manage how others perceive them [ 43 , 44 ]. Within political campaigns, multiracial candidates have the advantage of building partnerships with voters from multiple groups, but they are disadvantaged when appealing to those of the same race with strong racial identities [ 45 ]. For instance, some South Asian groups question Harris’s representation of them and her motivations for highlighting her Indian ancestry [ 46 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Debating stereotypes: Online reactions to the vice-presidential debate of 2020

2023

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The 2020 Vice-Presidential debate afforded the opportunity to examine online reactions toward a woman of color, Kamala Harris, and a white man, Mike Pence, as they vied for the same position. We collected tweets from the Twitter API related to Harris and Pence, mainly using neutral hashtags. We examined keywords for gender and race slurs and conducted a multivariate analysis of tweet sentiment. Gender and racial slurs surface in both Harris and Pence datasets, showcasing the insidious nature of sexist and racist stereotypes that seep into online conversations regarding a high-status job debate. As anticipated, tweets regarding Harris contained a higher proportion of racist and sexist curse words, highlighting greater levels of harassment and “intersectional,” multi-ethnic/gender attacks. Racial insults targeting Blacks or Asians were more negative than those associated with Whites. Unexpectedly, tweets related to Harris were more positive in average sentiment than those regarding Pence. Yet, there were significantly more retweets, and more negativity of retweets, relating to Harris than to Pence, underscoring the relatively widespread broadcasting of derogatory messages about Harris. Overall, we found that harassing messages toward the candidates reinforced traditional race and gender stereotypes and bolstered the status of those who posted negative content by attaining more retweets. Harassers routinely invoked well-worn, stereotypical insults in their attacks, especially when targeting a multiracial woman.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Debating stereotypes: Online reactions to the vice-presidential debate of 2020

2023

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The Asian American Vote in 2020: Indicators of Turnout and Vote Choice

2022

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What were the indicators of voter turnout and presidential vote choice among Asian Americans in 2020? We argue that 2020 was a unique year in which race was salient for Asian Americans due to the rise of anti-Asian attitudes attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and the opportunity to elect a vice presidential candidate of Asian descent. Because of this, racial considerations played a unique role that informed Asian American political participation and attitudes in this election. Using data from the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey, we identify the individual-level factors associated with turnout and presidential vote choice among Asian Americans. We find that stronger perceptions of racial discrimination were related to a higher likelihood of turnout and voting in support of the Democratic Party, especially among Asian immigrants relative to the native-born. This study offers new insight for when we can expect racial considerations to inform the politics of Asian Americans, who are the fastest growing racial group in the United States and therefore an increasingly important bloc of the electorate. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11109-022-09844-9.

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Shared identity endorsement narratives: a framework for studying celebrity endorsements of minority political candidates in the US

Reddi

2023

Communication, Culture &Amp; Critique

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This article introduces the concept of shared identity endorsement narratives (SIENs), or celebrity endorsements of political candidates that intentionally highlight shared social identities between the endorser and the endorsed. Scholars of celebrity endorsements in political contexts have primarily focused on the efficacy rather than the rhetorical content of these endorsements and what latent social structures make them effective. Through close readings of two SIENs of Vice President Kamala Harris by American celebrities of Indian descent, I draw upon social identity theory to elucidate the ways in which these endorsements create valuable networks of support for Indian Americans, but simultaneously create homogenizing articulations of Indian American identity that exploit caste, ethnolinguistic, and racial differences. Analyzing how Indian Americans and other minority groups present themselves/connect with their community provides insights into what it takes to succeed in America’s diversifying political and media landscape.

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Black and Desi: Indian American Perceptions of Kamala Harris

Cited by 4 publications

References 36 publications

Debating stereotypes: Online reactions to the vice-presidential debate of 2020

Debating stereotypes: Online reactions to the vice-presidential debate of 2020

The Asian American Vote in 2020: Indicators of Turnout and Vote Choice

Shared identity endorsement narratives: a framework for studying celebrity endorsements of minority political candidates in the US

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