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Cited by 41Cultural Identity and RepresentationGender, Feminism, and MediaDigital Economy and Work Transformation

Blackfishing on Instagram: influencing and the commodification of black urban aesthetics

Open access
Stevens, Wesley E.·2021·Social Media + Society
DOI 10.1177/20563051211038236
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Abstract

This article examines blackfishing, a practice in which cultural and economic agents appropriate Black culture and urban aesthetics in an effort to capitalize on Black markets. Specifically, this study analyzes the Instagram accounts of four influencers (Instagram models) who were accused of blackfishing in late 2018 and is supplemented with a critical analysis of 27 news and popular press articles which comprise the media discourse surrounding the controversy. Situated within the literature on cultural appropriation and urban redevelopment policies, this study explores how Black identity is mined for its cultural and economic value in the context of digital labor. I assert that Instagram’s unique platform affordances (including its racial affordances) and the neoliberal logics which undergird cultural notions of labor facilitate the mechanisms by which Black identity is rendered a lucrative commodity vis-à-vis influencing.

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Crossref · 10.1177/20563051211038236

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41 of 41 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • What Malakai is describing is a phenomenon known as "blackfishing," which includes "altering physical appearances through physical and digital means" to appropriate black aesthetics.

    “Although he does not use the term, what he is describing is a phenomenon known as “blackfishing,” which includes “altering physical appearances through physical and digital means” to appropriate black aesthetics (Stevens, 2021, p. 1).”

    From Skin shade and relationships: how colourism pits Black and mixed Black-White women against each other (2024) · cites this paper as Stevens, 2021

  • The Kardashians have used cultural appropriation, which has had a detrimental effect on black women.

    “The family has also used cultural appropriation which has had a detrimental effect on black women (Stevens, 2021).”

    From How False Social Media Beauty Standards Lead To Body Dysmorphia (2023) · cites this paper as Stevens, 2021

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Authors
Stevens, W. E.
Affiliations
University of South Carolina (US)
Corresponding author
Stevens, Wesley E.
ORCID
Stevens, Wesley E.
Venue
Social Media + Society
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2021-07
Volume
7
Issue
3
ISSN
2056-3051 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1177/20563051211038236
OpenAlex
W3195295185
Semantic Scholar
f837bc13e404c0f9b748e757d098740c5faeda50
Cited by
41
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7
FWCI
32.42
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Social Media + Society (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Cultural Identity and Representation
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Feminism, and Media
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Digital Economy and Work Transformation
Keywords
Instagram influencers, cultural appropriation, digital labor, neoliberalism, urban regeneration, black market, media discourse, influencer culture

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