UC Irvine

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Tao Po: Finding Filipinx-/American Twitter

by

Manuel Demetrio De Leon

Master of Arts in Asian American Studies

University of California, Irvine 2020

Professor Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, Chair

This project utilizes the online platform of Twitter to investigate the diasporic identity formation of 1.5 and 2nd generation Filipinx-/Americans. The socially constructed phenomena of “Filipino Twitter” serves as an abstracted stage where Filipinxs collaborate, (re)negotiate, and contest the varying interpretations of “Filipinxness.” Select tweets by and interviews with active contributors on Twitter reveal a collective conversation on the complexities of the Filipinx identity. Navigating through the overlapping uncertainties and anxieties around authenticity and belonging, these dialogues indicate a burgeoning consciousness distinct to this generation.