This study explores the meanings that Black women associate with long-distance running and how these meanings informed their digital practice, specifically the content they distributed through #blackgirlsrun on Instagram. Drawing from 12 semi-structured phone interviews and participant observation data, this project exemplifies how Black women in the United States utilize social media to create knowledges and cultivate communities that center their health and well-being. The participants regarded long-distance running as an anchor practice, or an activity that simultaneously enriches multiple dimensions of one’s well-being and prompts additional healthy behaviors. The thematic analysis revealed that the participants distributed posts through #blackgirlsrun on Instagram to: (a) invite Black women Instagram users to identify as runners; (b) disrupt running stereotypes; and (c) facilitate generational well-being. The significance of these findings as they relate to Black women’s well-being and digital practice are also discussed.
Plain language summary
Black Women Runners, Well-being, and #blackgirlsrun on Instagram
A lot of existing research about Black women’s health focuses on their experiences with disease. This research takes a different perspective and looks at how Black women millenials use Instagram to show other Black women that they can also be runners and prioritize their health. The research found that the participants used long-distance running to improve multiple areas of their health at the same time.
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