#LadiesWeGotYou: Stances of moral–political alignment in the formation of group Identity on Facebook

Abstract

AbstractIn this article I focus on how leaders of a progressive activist group in Houston, Texas interacted with each other on Facebook, collaboratively formulating a group identity exemplified through a set of stances that I call moral political stances. Through microlevel examination of two postcomment sequences, I examine exactly how these participants wrote themselves into being as a singular and unified group of politically and morally motivated actors. As the group collectively relied upon and supported each other's assumptions of moral political stances, they actively constructed their own group identity, in front‐ and backstage spaces, as the leaders and organizers of the structure and moral political framework of their activist organization. This collaborative construction, I argue, was further meant to influence and set the moral guidelines for the larger group identities of their organization and to portray this identity to groups of their Facebook Friends beyond these circles.