Bethany Lacina is an associate professor of political science at the University of Rochester and she took a dive into “Star Wars Twitter” to get a better understanding of fandom and why it’s so toxic. She looked at the vitriol surrounding Kelly Marie Tran and wrote “How common is such harassment? In my research, I have investigated this phenomenon on Twitter, where offensive language and hate speech have a modest but clear presence — not because of automated accounts (“bots”) but because of humans. People use degrading language more frequently when they talk about women and minorities and when they talk to female fans.”
There are a lot of fascinating numbers and takeaways from the study WHICH CAN BE FOUND HERE. This interview with Bethany was taped on September 7th and goes over the findings + her broader views on Star Wars fan culture.Contact Information: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
