<p dir="ltr">The feeling of invisibility threatens fundamental needs and negatively affects mood. One could conclude from this research that more visibility should minimize need threats and negative moods. However, studies have also shown that, in some instances, experiences of hypervisibility are distressing. Social media is flooded with videos and articles of Black men and women feeling invisible in the medical fields and not receiving the treatment they deserve. Likewise, social media examples abound of Black individuals feeling monitored in retail situations or being killed by the police because of racial stereotypes. Researchers also found adverse experiences of invisibility or hypervisibility among Black individuals that appear to be contradictory at a phenomenological level. My research aims to assess how invisibility and hypervisibility are experienced qualitatively and how manipulations of invisibility and hypervisibility may cause different psychological effects. In Study 1, Black participants were asked to recall their experiences with both invisibility and hypervisibility. Participants had little difficulty reporting both experiences, in which strangers either dismissed, ignored, and excluded them or spotlighted them because of race-based stereotypes. Coding themes also showed that participants could recall positive events and emotions when asked about hypervisibility but not invisibility. In Study 2, I manipulated invisibility and hypervisibility using a novel method: comics. Results showed that Black participants experienced threatened needs when reading a comic about a Black child being invisible or hypervisible. However, their needs were more threatened when the child recalls an invisibility experience. Lastly, in Study 3, I replicated Study 2 but also added necessary control conditions. Additionally, I examined the impact of comic-induced invisibility and hypervisibility on cognitive interference using a Stroop test. The results of Study 2 were replicated, but there was no difference in cognitive interference between the conditions. In summary, although the present research shows that invisibility and hypervisibility are both aversive, invisibility leads Black individuals to feel worse and have lower need satisfaction. Additionally, invisibility and hypervisibility threaten the needs of self-esteem and control similarly, but invisibility leads to more threats to belonging and meaningful existence than does hypervisibility. Using an innovative method of comics, my research demonstrates the aversive psychological impact of invisibility as well as the aversive reactions to hypervisibility. Future research should focus on whether hypervisibility is primarily detrimental because the individual may feel that while their stereotypic physical or social features are highly noticed, their core attributes of what makes them a person are not.</p>

This thesis interrogates gangsta hip-hop for the unique attention it plays to the drug trade. I read theories of hypervisibility/invisibility and Louis Althusser’s theory of interpellation alongside hip-hop feminist theory to examine the Black female criminal subjectivity that operates within hip-hop. Using methods of discourse analysis, I question the constructions of gangster femininity in rap lyrics as well as the absences of girlhood on Season 4 of HBO’s television drama The Wire. In doing so, I argue that the discursive construction of Black female subjectivity within gangsta hip-hop provides a hypervisibility that portrays Black women as violent while simultaneously erasing the broader social processes that impact the lives of Black women and girls. Hip-hop feminism allows the cultural formations of hip-hop to be read against the politics that structure the lives of women of color in order to provide a lens for analyzing how their criminality is constructed through media.

This dissertation examines how Black influencers navigate the highly competitive commercial terrain of influencing. Situated within literature about the commodification of the Black feminine body, neoliberal discourses about individualized digital labor, and the racialization of discourses about Black labor and success, I argue that celebrity status flattens and makes palatable political projects easily consumed by digital audiences. In particular, brands and digital media companies appropriate woke culture at the expense of Black communities, influencers, and people by propping up economic solutions to racial strife and diversifying their public facing images. By offering individualized, market-based solutions, brands and media outlets obscure the systemic forces that plague Black influencers who are precariously positioned within a mode of digital labor that lacks a supportive infrastructure and exacerbates their vulnerabilities. Contextualized by the George Floyd protests of 2020, I further argue that Black influencers do not internalize neoliberal logics or pursue aspirational labor in the same way as their white counterparts due to the material vulnerabilities and systemic pressures explicitly shaping Black women’s experiences on visually oriented platforms such as Instagram and YouTube. Rather, Black influencers challenge traditional definitions of influencing, traversing the line between ‘conventional’ and political work by actively addressing the way systemic issues permeate the sphere of digital labor. Although Black influencers adopt a hustle and grind mentality indicative of neoliberal governmentality, they also work to reclaim their bodies, voices, and individuality against a space fraught with the politics of representation. / Media & Communication

This study aims to acquire knowledge about the concept of drag storytimes in public libraries. It addresses research questions regarding their relation to the libraries' mission, as well as associated experiences with and perceptions of these events. The study adopts a qualitative approach, utilizing interviews with different stakeholders, alongside non-participatory observation, as well as media and social media analysis. The theoretical frameworks of agonistic pluralism and visibility are employed.  Findings show that drag storytimes promote accessibility, representation, and acceptance of diversity, aligning with libraries' democratic mission. They also bridge the gap between the art form drag and literature, serving as a means for libraries to encourage and facilitate children's reading. Findings also highlight misconceptions and misrepresentations of drag storytimes in media and public discourse. While libraries have encountered challenges and resistance when hosting drag storytimes, they have also received significant appreciation and support. Resistance is based on concerns about sexualization, indoctrination and unsuitability for children. These concerns are addressed with observations and interviews, which refute these notions.  This study finds that the purpose of drag storytimes lies in promoting reading and providing entertaining experiences for children, emphasizing their child-centric nature. Opinions and perceptions influenced by adults' perspectives, biases, and fears impact the power dynamics among libraries, the public, and politics. This study underscores the challenges faced by libraries in this dynamic and emphasizes their resilience. It underlines the importance of information dissemination, communication, and destigmatization of drag and drag storytimes. By engaging in open conversations, librarians can address misconceptions, confront prejudices, and broaden perspectives.