TY - JOUR AU - Golbeck, Jennifer AU - Ash, Summer AU - Cabrera, Nicole PY - 2017/09/01 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Hashtags as online communities with social support: A study of anti-sexism-in-science hashtag movements JF - First Monday JA - FM VL - 22 IS - 9 SE - DO - 10.5210/fm.v22i9.7572 UR - https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/7572 SP - AB - <p>In the face of many cases of sexism within the sciences, scientists have turned to Twitter with hashtags to address the issue. Popular hashtags include #distractinglySexy, #iLookLikeAnEngineer, and #girlsWithToys. In this study, we set out to investigate why people were reading and using these hashtags and what impact it had on them. We administered a survey, which contained multiple choice and free response questions, to 83 people who had read or used these hashtags. We found that the hashtags ended up serving as an <em>ad hoc</em> online community in which participants found a space of social support. Building an improved sense of awareness was also an important reason for and outcome of participation. We examine the role of hashtags as <em>ad hoc</em> online communities on Twitter and the affects that they have for participants.</p> ER -