Reflections of a #Unsettledscholar

Abstract

This paper investigates the intersections of race, identity, feminism, and digital media through a reflexive blogging project on Tumblr. The blog, Unsettledscholar explores decolonial thought, white racial socialization (Frey et al. 2022), and algorithmic biases (Philips and Ng-A-Fook 2024), that mediate the digital representation of marginalized voices. Using Jennifer A. Moon’s reflective practice methodology, the project examines how whiteness and settler privilege shape perceptions of race and identity in digital contexts, particularly in relation to Indigenous sovereignty and feminist praxis, Tumblr’s affordances as a multimodal, dialogic space (Bourdaa 2018), that facilitate a non-linear reflection on how colonial and patriarchal structures are perpetuated or challenged in digital environments. By engaging with multimedia content—such as images, text, and GIFs—the blog connects theoretical frameworks like Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang’s critique of decolonization as a metaphor and intersectional feminist scholarship with lived experiences of digital activism and advocacy. The project highlights how algorithms, rooted in colonial and capitalist systems, invisibilize Indigenous and BIPOC voices while amplifying certain narratives that align with settler colonial ideologies. It also considers how feminist counterpublics (Hoch et al. 2020) on Tumblr foster solidarity and resistance, creating spaces for nuanced discussions of relationality, care, and identity affirmation.