29 January 2009
Blogging Identity
Talking about who we are online
Oakland, California — “Taking a year off” and “black music that black people don’t listen to anymore” are among the top posts on a blog called Stuff White People Like, a satirical look at white American culture. The popular blog has spawned a book, a calendar, and a host of spin-offs including the blogs Stuff Black People Love and Stuff Mexican People Like. Each of these Web sites satirically examines a particular cultural phenomenon from the perspective of one identity group.
Stuff White People Like and more serious and analytical endeavors like the blogs on the news Web site That Minority Thing are shaping the way people talk about race, view the role of race in their culture, and communicate about their identities.
Author and screenwriter John Ridley is the driving force behind That Minority Thing, an online community collecting blogs and news that cover all kinds of diversity issues, including race, sexual orientation, religion and physical ability. Launched in the spring of 2008, just as the presidential primaries were heating up, That Minority Thing balances news relating to minorities with blogs that expose readers to a diversity of opinions and analysis.
That Minority Thing took off in part because of the timing of its launch. “I think people have been waiting for the Internet to change the face of elections for a while now,” Ridley said.
Obama succeeded in leveraging the Internet for campaigning and fundraising. For bloggers, Ridley said, there was a bigger challenge: “One of the problems with Web culture is that you tend to preach to the converted. It’s hard to reach the middle — they’re not necessarily swayed by the punditry that goes to one side or the other.” In a digital environment where people may already be seeking out opinions that are like their own, That Minority Thing did not endorse a candidate. Ridley explains that editorial decision as one designed to drive conversation. “We wanted to have a lot of conversation. In terms of the election we wanted to be a little more open-minded and … open to ideas that don’t resonate with certain individuals.”
By soliciting different viewpoints, That Minority Thing engages its readers in an inclusive dialogue.
For Ridley, the Internet now is different than it was five years ago because of the participatory nature of blogs. “Type in a few words in any search engine and you can find how people really feel. People never thought they were being heard. Now people can talk back. They can write back. That’s a big part of their online presence, the talk-back. You’re starting the discussion,” he said.
But even a productive discussion may not always be comfortable. Renina Jarmon, a blogger in Brooklyn, New York, has written the blog Model Minority since 2004. Jarmon writes about hip hop, feminism, politics and current events from her perspective as a black woman. In the comments section, rather than engaging in respectful dialogue, she says people often hide ugliness behind the keyboard.
“We live in a culture where people are taught not to talk about race,” she said. Jarmon’s posts sometimes garner angry comments from readers and those comments can build off each other. Still, she doesn’t condemn these commenters. “I get the rage,” she said, “but I don’t co-sign on it.” Just as often, Jarmon said, her readers engage in positive conversation, coming to Model Minority to read her original voice and to be among people that want to talk in a tolerant environment.
Carmen Van Kerckhove, the founder of the blog Racialicious, has also had a mixed experience of people commenting on blogs. “The format of blogs offers nice opportunities for dialogue because it’s so participatory. There are pros and cons to that. Having that anonymity of people not knowing what you look like can be a good thing, and I think there is something very powerful about people coming together without those preconceptions,” she said.
“The number of blogs that deal with race directly or indirectly has exploded in the last couple of years. I’m glad that there’s this thriving community online that’s interested in examining these issues,” Van Kerckhove said. “They provide an outlet that people don’t have in their offline lives. When it comes to my offline life, I don’t necessarily have a lot of conversations [about race]. Those conversations don’t necessarily come about naturally — it’s not something that is easy to do in real life.”
Van Kerckhove, who was born in Hong Kong and has lived in Belgium and China as well as the United States, looks forward to the continued discussion of identity in the blogosphere. Her hope is to see more blogs taking an intersectional approach to identity, examining a combination of race and gender or race and disability. “I think it’s a more accurate reflection of how we move through the world. When I walk down the street people don’t just see me as an Asian. They see me as a woman and an able-bodied woman,” she said. As blogging evolves, the conversation of who we are and how we communicate with each other is sure to evolve as well.
Jessica Hilberman is a writer and editor who has published widely on the subjects of technology, health, popular culture and urban issues. She lives in Northern California. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State or any other office in the federal government.
