Homophily and diversity: the use and effects of bonding versus bridging networks by Townsville Aboriginal activists

The principle of homophily states that people who share certain characteristics will interact more often and more closely than those who are dissimilar. In general, homophily is found to have a strong influence on the organisation of social networks. The categories which lead most directly to strong homophily are race and ethnicity. Many activist movements have been found to tend towards homophily, which can have profound limiting effects on their impacts and successes.\ud \ud This paper will examine the extent of homophily and networking within Aboriginal activism in Townsville, QLD. It will focus specifically on the daily demonstrations that were held outside the trial of Senior-Sergeant Chris Hurley. At this trial I acted as a participant-observer, attending daily and helping with organisation. What I witnessed was a concerted effort to avoid homophily. Personal invitations were extended by activists to non-Aboriginal academics, feminists, religious organisations, and even the police. This very deliberate attempt to diversify the demonstrations outside the courthouse happened at the expense of homophilic ties. While this has positive effects such as a broadening of support bases, a certain level of homophily is important for the creation of collective identity. What is needed is a balance between homogeneity and diversity