[-empyre-] resources: race in online worlds

[Mendi Obadike <mendi@blacknetart.com>]

Wow you guys have been busy in here. I have a lot to catch up on.

Melinda, here are some resources for thinking on race in online worlds:

Anna Everett has an astute essay in Social Text (edited by Alondra
Nelson) called "The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and
the Digital Public Sphere." She also has a book coming out on SUNY
Press called Digital Diasporas: A Race for Cyberspace.

There's a new book called Domain Errors by Maria Fernandez, Faith
Wilding, and Michelle M. Wright which looks promising.
<http://www.autonomedia.org/domainerrors/> Here's the first chapter:
"I. Racism and Cyberfeminism in the Integrated Circuit Situating
Cyberfeminisms / Maria Fernandez and Faith Wilding Cyberfeminism,
Racism, Embodiment / Maria Fernandez Racism, Technology, and The Limits
of Western Knowledge / Michelle M. Wright Race in the Construct, or the
Construction of Race: New Media and Old Identities in "The Matrix" /
Lisa Nakamura Moscow: Fortress City / Irina Aristarkhova The Woman
Question: Addressing Women as Internet Users / Susanna Paasonen
©¯Analoging©? the Digital, Digitizing the Analog: Contemplations on
Communities of Production and Virtuality / Rhadika Gajjala and
Annapurna Mamidipudi"  

Drylongso's next issue ("Plain Brown Wrapper") will be dedicated to
exploring gender issues in black online cultures. 

Mimi Nguyen has been writing about what's wrong with the racial
politics of the riot grrrl scene of the early nineties in her online
journal: <http://www.worsethanqueer.com/> for many years now. 

Erika Muhammad curated the show "Race and Digital Space."
<http://cms.mit.edu/race/exhibition.html> I'm not sure whether that
show would be in line with your concerns, but it seems relevant. She's
definitely a resource, as is Art McGee. Lisa Nakamura, of course, has
already been mentioned.

Hope this helps,
Mendi

--- Melinda Rackham <melinda@subtle.net> wrote:

> 
> ive also been pretty interrested in  representations of gender and
> race on
> the net in 3d multiuser worlds and note that most are tall white and
> male,
> or women with impossible breasts..and wonder if anyone does reseacrh
> into
> race in online worlds.  i know edward castronova just did a study
> (which i
> habevent read all of)  which found women avatars (with identical
> skills )
> are worth 30 percent  less in $ terms than male avatars when sold ..
> i was
> wondering about african, japanese chinese, arab,  koori, sami, native
> american, maori, etc  avaTars ?
> 
> 
> Melinda Rackham
> net.artist
> http://www.subtle.net
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> empyre forum
> empyre@lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au
> http://www.subtle.net/empyre


=====
Mendi Lewis Obadike
http://blacknetart.com
http://Obadike.tripod.com/sweat.html