Cybertypes

In Lisa Nakamura’s article on the identity of an individual online is called “Cyber types”. She discusses way race is discussed online due to the anonymity of the Internet. She shows how some people believed that the Internet would be a “utopia” because there would be no physical evidence of race or gender. Responding to this she says that we can never get rid of gender and race despite the Internet’s anonymity. She shows how race is shown online through advertisements. These advertisements are put on sites according to the target audience. These audiences are then advertised to by attracting them due to the individual’s race, gender, and ethnicity.
These advertisements embody different characteristics based on the stereotypes of a certain group. These stereotypes promote race in every facet of or life, and not being able to see an individual did not stop race, gender, and ethnicity from crossing over to the Internet. Media has a large part of stereotypes that are embodied in television, advertising, and motion pictures and can now be seen in the Internet. On sites that display rap albums or music have advertisements are shown directed towards an African-American audience due to stereotypes that mainly blacks listen to rap. This is done likewise on other sites.
Corporations will always advertise their products in a medium that their target audience will likely view. This is something that corporations will use stereotypes to accomplish. At this point there will never be a day we live with out race affecting us, and to think that this would not involve the Internet is absurd. Until we eliminate racism, sexism, and other means of discrimination from our society we will never be able to erase race from our culture. While this is present we will always see stereotypes in our means of communication.
So is advertising the only way race is present online? Anonymity creates a situation in which the user conveys who they are through themselves. Race can be inferred however through talking to someone online. As long as the individual is not out to deceive others you can pick up clues about the person through a variety of ways. These ways include the screen name of an individual or the way the type. The words used can show the ethnicity, race, or gender of an individual through certain dialect and dialogue.

Why Everyone Should Hate Abercrombie and Fitch

In the article “Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch” Dwight McBride discusses why the store Abercrombie and Fitch markets to white homosexual men. He does this by first by examining the history of the company. The store began as an outdoor clothing company focused towards white males in higher classes. The outdoor lifestyle was one that mainly upper class white men could afford to partake in. This lead to today’s age’s attitude held by Abercrombie and Fitch and can be seen in their “Look Book” in which only two African-Americans are pictured. Furthermore, Abercrombie and Fitch advertise to homosexual white males through their hiring and employment opportunities.
Like the models, employees are almost entirely white and display what McBride calls the “A&F Look”. This look consists of a good-looking male, clean-shaven, and white, which the company is now pending lawsuits because of. This style of looking perfect accented by Abercrombie and Fitch clothing and demonstrates white privilege. This has become adapted by white homosexual men, who wish to classify themselves in this privilege group, in order to avoid being seen underprivileged. Being homosexual classifies these men in a category that makes some people view them in an in superior view.
Abercrombie and Fitch’s requirements for employment are wrong and unjustified. When an individual goes to apply for a position at a business they should be given the same opportunity to acquire the job. It does not surprise me that these actions have brought on lawsuits. What does surprise me is that these actions have not been called out long ago. I have often noticed the similarities between employees at Abercrombie and Fitch but didn’t know why the problem was there. Abercrombie and Fitch deliberately hires those according to the gender, race, and how attractive an individual is.
So why do homosexual men feel the need to attach themselves to an organization that discriminates against other races, if someone is attractive, and what gender someone is? The reason homosexual men cling to this mentality in order to avoid being underprivileged themselves. Being gay in America is hard and comes with many prejudices from those considering themselves privileged in our society. Homosexuals use the label of Abercrombie and Fitch in order to cancel out their underprivileged. This is a hypocritical action because they are using discrimination to make people forget about the discrimination they themselves encounter. Though discriminating against homosexuals is wrong, when they do the same to others it is just as wrong. This is an inappropriate action on these individuals and the company that exploits them.

Erasing Race

Beth E. Kolko’s chapter entitled “Erasing @race: Going White in the (Inter) Face" discusses the effect the Internet is having on race and identity. When online an individual is given something that doesn’t occur in regular society, complete anonymity. The only information others online have on you is what you give them. Many sites allow a user to pick a screen name along with filling out some information about them. Rarely however, do these sites ask an individual to enter their race. These sites request information on your age, hobbies, interests, and gender but the topic of race is not asked.
Race is something society puts a great of emphasis on and is a touchy subject, which may be why these sites leave the question out. This essay points out that leaving race out of the online community is a negative thing. Race is a part of our identity and is something an individual should acknowledge and be proud of, not ignored. There are online ventures that include race such as some role playing games in which a user picks a character to use. These characters have different abilities and talents and if someone wishes to be their race they must use those characteristics.
A person’s race is part of their culture and heritage and is not something that should be ignored. It should embrace no matter what background an individual comes from. Some online users use their anonymity to harm other races in prejudice websites but the solution is not to ignore the fact that we have differences, but to accept each other’s cultures and each other. The subject of race is touchy and people are often overly careful not to offend each other when we should be acknowledging but respecting differences.
So why do sites leave out the question of race? Race can be seen immediately in the real world upon meeting someone, so why not online? Makers of sites who ask questions, which should include race, may not include the question so not to offend others. The subject of race has become such a touchy subject that many people claim ‘not to see race”. Ignoring the differences between us is not right. We are different and those differences are what make us unique. Our individuality separates us from the crowd and people who ridicule others for their race creates a problem in society that can be corrected with acceptance.

Neo-Confederates

In Tara McPherson’s chapter entitled I’ll Take My Stand in Dixie-Net: White Guys, the South, and Cyberspace she discusses a specific online group called Neo-Confederates. Neo-Confederates are a group of people who still cling to the vision of the South before the rebels where defeated in the civil war. They believe the South should succeed from the United States and that the white man should be superior to minorities, particularly blacks. These communities are decorated with Confederate flags and have manifesto statements about what the group wishes to accomplish. These people believe white Southerners should form their own country where they can live amongst only whites.
Neo-Confederates believe in bringing back and preserving Southern heritage. Web pages talk about how these Southerners can reclaim their history. Neo-Confederates pride themselves on being white, masculine males that resemble old Southern leaders like Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. These men where heroes to Southern men during the Civil War, and in many cases are still heroes to the South. Many of these communities separate themselves from the racism involved with Southern Confederates by putting anti-Klan logos on their web pages. Though many of these groups put this appearance on their web page, their all white members often believe in the separation of races.
I think it is a disgrace that people in this country feel the need to cling to a time period where racism and slavery started a war amongst a country. To think that people in this day in age are still bitter about the freedom of human beings hundreds of years ago. Sites like this set out to gain members and intimidate those of different color that may come across their website. They may post anti-Klan logos on their sites, but their focus on an all white male membership clearly shows the presence of racism, something that should have been stopped long ago.
So, are Neo-Confederates racist or just focused on keeping their Southern Heritage? The answer is both. In keeping their Southern Heritage they are keeping the racism and oppression that started the Civil War so long ago. This is a group of people that idolizes men that waged war on our country to oppress African Americans. This is a group of people that is made up entirely white members who are male. This is a group of people who believe that they are the dominant race and that they should be separated from the others. If all this is true how can this group possibly considered being without racism.

Takaki chapter 12

In Takaki’s chapter 12 entitled El Notre: The Borderland of Chicano America he tackles the migration to America from yet another ethnicity, Mexicans. Crossing the Mexican-American border was extremely easy, border officials only requested your name, place of birth, and where you were headed. Not to mention the many people who skipped the officials and crossed the Rio Grande. In Mexico workers were streaming into urban areas seeking work but so many did so that unemployment became huge. Workers were forced to become tenant farmers or sharecroppers which left them without money or food. The owners of these farms took the entire crop creating starvation through much of Mexico.
This starvation created hostility and lead to The Mexican Revolution, in which Francisco Madero took control in 1911. Soon after however he was over thrown by General Victoriano Huerta until he was pushed into exile. This left the Mexican government in chaos and left many citizens dead. Many Mexicans decided to wait out the brutal revolution in America, but it went on for an extremely long time. Though these citizens wished to eventually return to their homeland but to return would mean to chance being able to find land and the factories and mines in Mexico where shut down.
Like the Irish, many Mexicans came to America to escape starvation. However, unlike the Irish potatoes famine, the starvation in Mexico came from tenant farmers working for nothing and the revolution that came from it. Mexicans were forced to escape the war in order to ensure their safety, and what better place than the melting pot just north. The close proximity and the ease of entry to the United States resulted in large numbers of immigration to the US from Mexico. Since America is so close to Mexico and so easy to enter that Mexicans would come to America temporarily but became trapped when their land as no longer available.
So why didn’t citizens focus on changing their own government instead of escaping to the north? The answer is that the citizens did try to change the country, which is why the revolution started. The oppressed Mexican citizens rose up and took power attempting to change the starvation that hit the nation. However, their leader Francisco Madero was quickly over thrown unable to make changes. What happened actually created more problems adding the blood shed of war to the negative aspects of living in Mexico on top of the starvation and unemployment already occurring.

Takaki ch 6

In Takaki’s chapter entitled Emigrants from Erin: Ethnicity and Class within White America he discusses the hardships the Irish endured. In Ireland there was a deadly disease for potatoes that took Ireland’s cash crop out of existent. In order to stay alive the Irish were forced to immigrate. At the beginning of 1855 around one million people had died from the famine due to lack of food and disease. The “Market Revolution” in America attracted these Irishmen to come join the work force in the states.
The Irish were regarded in America as a great working class group of people. They were compared to Chinese and were put into competition against them in order to increase production. The Chinese were set as role models for the Irish community but the Irish did much more than hard laborers. The Irish were responsible for building one of the most important waterways in New York’s Erie Canal. The Irish were used by those in power to work on many of the needed industrial era. Much like the Chinese and other immigrating ethnicities.
When the Irish were forced out of their homeland, which was plagued with a potatoes famine, they entered America as another ethnicity that would strive to be successful in America. Like the other incoming races, religions, and ethnicities America had seen in this era, the Irish were taken advantage of by the privilege whites. During this time the Chinese was being used to complete railroads, which whites had them doing through putting Chinese into competition with other races and countries such as Japan, Korea, and Puerto Rico? When The Irish entered American they were pinned against the Chinese, who were whites wished them to see as a role model. This resulted in the hard work of a group of people and gave the privilege what they wanted, whites as upper class and minorities working for them.
So why did whites use their privilege to make groups like he Irish into a working class. They did this in order to keep their status as "privileged" and keep any threatening races working for them. Whites were able to make money on the hard work of the Irish just like they did with the Chinese. When whites used their privilege to make the Chinese work for them they had great success, explaining why they chose to repeat this action. By taking advantage of minorities, privilege whites became richer and gained more power, and each time a new minority entered Americas working force whites had another chance to do just that. By putting different minorities against each other whites were able to keep their privilege, which still exists to this day.

Brodkin Jewish

Karen Brodkin’s article titled “How Jews Became White Folks: and What That Says about Race in America” tells the story of how people of Jewish decent went from living in an anti-Semitism America in the 1920’s and 1930’s to now when Jewish people are considered white. Back in the! 920’s and 30’s people like Madison Grant published books like his “The Passing of the Great Race”, which described Jews and other races inferior to whites. However, members of the Jewish community were continually taking prestigious positions in the community but where limited and confined to just a few middle class occupations.
Eventually Jews became more and more prominent until they where associated with being white. After World War II there were countless jobs available enabling the Jewish community to climb the social ladder and accomplish a feat that many minority groups strive to do? That is social mobility or changing social class. Jewish people are a community that pride themselves on hard work and showed this work in their ability to reach a higher social class. As Jews became a higher class they slipped into the white category.
It is wrong for people of other races to be treated so horribly in this country that believes in equality and freedom. To live in a country where there were constant bombardments of against your race, gender, or in this case religion is something that shouldn’t happen. Books were constantly being published to keep other minority groups down and keep whites privileged but the Jewish community rose up and beat the system. They turned their social status around and became prominent leaders in May communities.
Why did whites feel the need to label Jews as a group unworthy of their presence and lesser of a person? During this time many immigrants were coming in from Europe and were all looking to fit into society and make money. It’s the American dream right? But when these people reached America they faced racial and religious hatred by a group of privileged individuals that felt threatened by the new company. That is why once Jews made their mark they became accepted in America’s society.