These two readings dealt with how people present their genders and racial identities in an online context. I found Huffaker and Calvert’s research on gender differences in online communication extremely interesting. They found that women tended to talk about themselves more openly and they were generally more polite than men. I actually find this to be true, especially in regards to the online classes I am taking this semester. Although names, and in some cases pictures, are associated with the discussion boards and blogs I participate in, I think I would still be able to correctly identify the gender of the poster, even without any external information. Women tend to use real life experiences, such as events with friends or families, more freely than men, while male posts seem to be more focused on examples solely from the text. Also, in one class in particular, I have noticed that men are quicker to post something aggressive or impolite. My professor actually had to step in to break up a “fight” between three male classmates on one extremely sensitive topic. Interestingly enough, even though the majority of the class is female, no woman responded to the discussion once it started to break societal norms. I found Huffaker and Calvert’s findings on gender to be very true.
I will say that I do not ever question the racial identities of my online classmates. However, I found Grasmuck, Martin and Zhao’s findings on “colorblindness” to be intriguing. They describe colorblindness as the issue that “race continues to affect social inequality, but cannot be acknowledged in interactions.” That is an interesting thought, because it makes me wonder if the lack of racial indicators in online communication is a good thing or a symptom of something awful. I think we would like to believe that the internet really is a utopian environment in which race and gender do not matter, but obviously it does. Grasmuck, Martin and Zhao found that minorities are “less inclined to highly invest in performances of their racial identities” in online settings, which means that offline racism is permeating online environments. I would like to read more on this particular issue.
8 thoughts on “Gender and Racial Identity”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
That’s interesting that you actually witnessed an online war of words in another class. I’m sure those who use Facebook have either witnessed or been a part of a contentious back-and-forth over political, religious or other sensitive issues. I personally haven’t noticed a difference in the level of involvement of men vs. women in these “debates”. But I do think that most people are more likely to engage in such a debate online than they would be offline. Physiological responses offline are much more inhibiting. People don’t like others to see them get mad and flustered.
Wow – I am feeling very fortunate that I have never had a fight break out in an online class, although I have seen people get a bit heated in conversations in face-to-face classes on occasion.
Regarding race – critical cyberstudies scholar Lisa Nakamura (who identifies herself as multiracial) had argued that part of the problem with “not seeing race” online is that actually what that means is that there is a default “whiteness” – that people are presumed to be white unless they specifically make a point of discussing their racial identities. I am curious how you (and others) would react to that statement.
That’s interesting, I wonder how often I assume a default identity for an anonymous writer. Do I impose my own voice and cultural understanding to what I read?
I think there is a default whiteness in the same way English is the default language. I wonder if this idea will still be prevalent or if it will shift as more multicultural users come online.
The reader also interprets based on their own understanding. If you assume the world around you reflects your reality, then you might interpret it to be similar. Also, your experience forms your expectations and stereotypes. I think racial identities don’t have to be explicitly stated, as they are folded into other parts of our identity. However, we might not pick up or pay any attention to a difference without directed reason.
I know gender can sometimes be ambiguous. Even in this class blog, people look at the last name and write about the authors as if they are men, because that is the default expectation. Though they are often women with clearly stated women’s names and often stories relating to their gender.
It amazing that you state people are presumed white. The words people use and their style of writing sometimes give the impression that they are not white. Not saying that white people write or talk in a certain way. Many different race talk the way they communication and it is more noticeable.
I am in an early American literature class, and the professor asked a series of (fairly heavy) religion questions. I can forgive him, as he is from Boston and did not expect it to turn into the situation it turned into! However, two people from class went a bit too far. It was not pretty. But it made many readings for this class very interesting!
Wow I never witness an online war in a class but I have seen it by email and on social sites. I feel people have to learn to agree to disagree but I don’t thing everyone has reached that point yet. I also thought Grasmuck, Martin and Zhao’s findings on “colorblindness” was intriguing.
I have to admit that before this assignment, I did not know there were that many differences between races while they were online. Like you stated, I thought race and gender didn’t matter that much on web-sites, especially since people can easily change their identities on online sites. Apparently, I was way off since racist fights occur online as well as offline. I hate to sound like a repeat of a lesson from several weeks ago, but from what I’ve seen, the method of making friends online is a slowly dying practice. It looks as though it’s being replaced by everyone constantly wanting to get even with whoever does them wrong. In that respect, “online relationships” are really becoming more and more like so many “offline” ones are.
I would have never thought you could get into a heated discussion in an online class but I guess if it can happen face to face it can happen virtually as well. I have seen numerous of arguments and disagreements in classrooms about gender and race as well as other topics. An online heated discussion is very different I’m assuming seeing as that you cannot see the other person unless you choose to use Skype or other forms of live chat sessions. Gender and race are always sensitive topics to discuss whether it is online or in person.