Publications

  • This Special Issue with the Teaching Anthropology Journal is comprised of articles written by members of the TikTok Ethnography Collective which reflect on the work we do within the collective and how it informs how we teach and learn anthropology. You can access the full Special Issue here.

    Articles

    Austin Locke, T. (2023) In the Cracks of Attention: ADHD, Vernacular Anthropologies and Communities of Care on TikTok. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.23-25.

    Cerretani, J. (2023) Do I Belong on TikTok? Algorithimography and Self-Making. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.36-47

    Fahim, H. (2023). From Habbo Hotel to TikTok: Navigating Through Complexities of Online Identity and Struggles of Belonging. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.61-64.

    Golebiowski, G. & Liber, E. (2023). Collaborative Possibilities: Reflections on the Experience of Teaching and Learning Anthropology. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.69-74.

    Hewlett-Hall, J. (2023). Folklore, Storytelling and Coping with the Internet on TikTok. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.48-60.

    Liber, E. & Yogarajah, Y. (2023). Introduction - The TikTok of Teaching: The Pedagogical Possibilities of Collaborative Digital Ethnography. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.1-10

    Lloyd-Evans, E. (2023). The Rambling Reflections of an Anthropologist: A Look Back at an Educational Journey and Research Development During the Covid-19 Pandemic. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.65-68.

    Smout, J. (2023). Main Characters in Search Liber, E.of an Audience: How Institutions used #LearnOnTikTok to Perform Authenticity. Teaching Anthropology. Vol.12, No.1. pp.11-22.

  • Abstract

    Marketing focused on online communities is becoming increasingly important. But some companies have also employed community-based marketing in a different way – by trying to win the “pink dollars” of the LGBTQ+ community. Presenting yourself as an LGBTQ+ ally can boost sales but also intersects with social activism. It is exactly this intersectionality that raises questions about the nature of allyship and the role that brand image plays in cultural politics. Can businesses become allies while operating within a capitalist economy? And if so, how? To explore these questions, this paper pursues an interdisciplinary approach that merges marketing analysis with concepts from anthropology and media studies. LGBTQ+-friendly marketing campaigns launched in the last six years by the social media platform TikTok and ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s serve as examples. Though TikTok is known for “Queer TikTok,” it has also been accused of queerbaiting. Performative allyship can hurt social causes and brand images alike. In contrast, companies like Ben & Jerry’s have succeeded in practicing scandal-free allyship with the support of CSR activities. In both instances, the company in question has sought to integrate marginalized communities into the neoliberal consumer system. Understanding what power businesses hold as allies, and what kind of activism sells, are of importance in today’s capitalist economy.

    Keywords

    Rainbow washing; (Performative) Allyship; CSR; Consumer marketing; Marketing strategy

  • Abstract

    As the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the world, many became physically isolated and disconnected. During this time TikTok became the most downloaded app of the year, quickly becoming a global sensation. This article offers an initial exploration of two key themes relating to the app and begins situating what made the app popular during an unprecedentedly tumultuous period. To achieve this, we consider algorithmic intimacy and representations of identity as a starting point for deeper engagement with TikTok and what makes it unique to other social media platforms. This article first explores the ways in which the TikTok algorithm captures and reflects forms of user identity through the For You Page (FYP). This is then explored in relation to the forms of intimacy, which are enabled through the algorithm both in relation to user and platform and user relationships with other users and non-users. This article describes innovative and unique collaborative ethnographic methods, which make the space between user and screen methodologically viable. Where more conventional anthropological methods would struggle, this collaborative approach also draws attention to potential ethics of care toward researchers operating in times of pandemic and the feelings of isolation and anxiety, which frequently accompany the ‘lone ethnographer’.

    Link to article.