Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet by Lisa Nakamura offers what I believe to be an introduction into the problematic representation of race issues within online (and offline) communities.
To begin, chapter one titled, "Cybertyping and The Work of Race in The Age of Digital Reproduction" discusses the role of race in the digital workforce. This notion doesn't necessarily represent the online workforce but rather a population employed to enhance and maintain technology and digital spaces (engineers, computer scientist, laborers, etc.). As a precursor to chapter two, which deals with the different "head hunting" approaches to recruit a specific racially stereotyped Asian worker, chapter one aims to first explain and understand race in the online world. Lisa Nakamura has coined the term "cybertypes" as "the process by which computer/human interfaces, the dynamics and economics of access, and the means by which users are able to express themselves online interacts with the 'cultural layer' or ideologies regarding race that they bring with them into cyberspace" (3). This notion can be seen in the digital identity tourism that Nakamura discusses in chapter one. The notion of "going native" or viewing the native as a means through "identity tourism" presents several problems of racial representation online. According to Nakamura, "When natives stop acting like natives---that is to say, when they deviate from the stereotypes that have been set up to signify their identities--their 'aura' is lost: they are no longer 'authentic" (6). In turn, Nakamura goes on to argue that in the Internet, nothing is authentic because it is a copy of the offline world. However, in the online world race is something that can be concealed, or an identity that can be created or utilized which deviates from "real life" representation. The notion of access is a concept we were introduced to first by T.V. Reed and I was happy to see Nakamura touch on it as well in chapter one. With this notion of access, the idea of representation from racial minorities is (to be expected) much less then an Anglo European of white user. Nakamura also notes that studies are now indicating the number of racial minorities online has gone up, however she notes that when the number was so low to begin with, any increase at all would signify an overall increase. The notion of identity tourism is a huge issue throughout the book and I feel is one that is of crucial significance in today's society. As Nakamura notes, under this concept of identity tourism, individuals "rather than "honoring diversity, their performances online used race and gender as amusing prothesis to be donned and shed without 'real life' consequences" (13-14). Essentially, what happens is a more intensified "othering" of racial minorities and stereotypes, often depicting their online identities to fit into these stereotypes rather then transcend them (I noticed in the book Nakamura focused heavily on Asian avatars and stereotypes and was curious as to whether or not had she been perhaps African American or Hispanic if this emphasis would have shifted towards another minority). The rest of the chapter focuses on a Westernized "American" globalization to an online participation, where Nakamura notes that "rather than destroying authenticity, cybertyping wants to preserve it" (20).
Chapter two titled, "Head Hunting on The Internet: Identity Tourism, Avatars, and Racial Passing in Textual and Graphic Chat Spaces" discusses identity on the Internet and how the identities constructed actually play into racial stereotypes rather than aim to defeat them. According to Nakamura, avatars are the "embodiment in text and/or graphic images, of a user's online presence in social spaces" (31). These avatars also enable users to virtually be anyone they'd like in a digital chat room or video game. However, what's interesting to note is that aside from choosing to be white, Nakamura cites that the second highest identity is Asian, and specifically a female. This identity construct goes beyond the notion of merely choosing a sex and race, and begins to construct such an identity based on the racial out-dated stereotypes commonly associated with that group. Avatars presented as geisha's in kimonos and males with samurai swords speak to a population that has long been outdated, especially considering its place in the online community. Who are affiliating with these avatars? Nakamura notes that the majority of people operating under the female Asian identity are middle aged white men! (43). The psychoanalytical reasons for such choices could be their own book, however, the main focus is that Nakamura argues that this is part of the problem rather than the solution, and that constructing an identity based on their racial stereotypes sets up a preconceived notion of what Asian presence "should be" in an online space. As Nakamura notes, "Analyzing the ways that icons and avatars are raced in cyberspace allows us to lay bare the principles of ethnic image-building on the Net" (51). Looking at the ways in which racial identities are stereotyped online can teach us a lot about the beliefs and perceptions people hold about race offline.
Chapter three titled, "Race in the Construct and the Construction of Race: The 'Consensual Hallucination' of Multiculturalism in the Fictions of Cyberspace"discusses the genres of cyberpunk and the representations of race in the media. Most notably, Nakamura goes into an extensive discussion of the movie The Matrix and discusses the role of race and gender and how they relate to a power hierarchy within society. I thought the movie paired nicely with this whole notion of racial identity online specifically in the antagonistic view of the machines being the villain and race being the "resistance" to conforming to a monolithic society. What I found particularly interesting was how the main character and "the one" was in fact a Asian American. This notion that as Nakamura puts it supports that "race must continue to exist, especially in the terrain of cyberspace, where so many foundational notions of identity as anchored in a body have become contingent, problematic, and difficult" (67). Though this idea to me is a two-edged sword because Neo is in fact still partially white and as a result, is seen as the superior character over his female accomplice, Trinity, and his African American teacher, Morpheus. Both Morpheus and Trinity are consistently viewed in advertising promotional posters and trailers standing behind Neo, as to suggest that they cannot exist or have purpose without him. Nakamura's discussion of The Matrix and how it can serve to better help our understanding of society and the implications it has on race speaks to how we can view multimedia and cultural representations of this power struggle between technology and minorities is the second main point that stuck with me in the text. The best explanation I found that was represented by Nakamura states the following:
The Matrix constructs a new discourse of race in the Digital Age, one that plugs us in to our own dreamworlds about cyberutopians and cyberfutures. And like any dream, it is conflicted; it opens a window into our cultural anxieties, fears, fantasies, and desires about the Internet and the roles of blacks, whites, machines, and all combinations thereof. Like the Internet, the matrix looks the way we want it to look or have made it look: it is symptomatic of our vision of utopia. (79)
Visions of a digitized "utopia" is a good way to segue into Chapter four titled, "Where Do You Want To Go Today?: Cybernetic Tourism, The Internet, and Transnationality" talks about the idea of bridging gaps between cultures through the use of technology. Compaq specifically designed a series of posters and advertisements aimed at globalizing the use of technology as a means for people to "tour" other countries, cultures, and practices. I found this advertisement campaign to be a little disturbing, and felt as though the campaign was essentially arguing that through technology, one could gain complete insight into other cultures. As Nakamura argues, "If technology will indeed make everyone, everything, and every place the same, as "Anthem" claims in its ambivalent way, then where is there left to go? What is there left to see?" (93). So whats the agenda behind these advertisements? And what are they trying to achieve in these campaigns to promote exotic and native culture? As the text asserts, "these ads claim a world without boundaries, for us, the consumers and target audience, and by so doing they show us exactly where and what these boundaries are, and that is ethnic and racial. Rather than being effaced, these dividing lines are evoked repeatedly" (94). This whole concept of race and lines that are drawn is a continually explored throughout the text. It is an important question to consider. How are we globalizing our digital spaces? How are we "othering" those who don't fall into the white upper class? How do our representation of other minorities speak to the digital divide and the dividing line?
Chapter five titled, "Menu Driven Identities: Making Race Happen Online" discusses racial representations online, and specifically self-chosen representation. The notion of "checking the race box" is discussed at length, noting that at times, options available will force people to identify with just one race, rather than multiple. For example, There is no "Asian American" selection for some individuals and therefore they have to make a choice as to how they'd like to be represented. Portals are also another Web-based screening which directs you towards specific keywords or searches based on your initial prompt. Nakamura notes that "the structure of this menu works to close off the possibility of alternate or hybrid definitions of racial identity" (104). The notion of racial masquerading online is reintroduced and emphasizes how this notion future stereotypes the stigmas or perceptions commonly associated with a specific type of minority (does anyone else feel Nakamura has a tendency to be overly redundant?). About 2/3 of the way through the chapter, Nakamura introduces the "101 Ways to Tell if You're Japanese American". This is an incorporation that I could identify with, as we see many examples of such "lists" available through social media and email chains today. However, what I thought was important to note was the fact that many of the recipients of this email were not Japanese Americans but rather a person who knew someone and could relate, therefore establishing a sense of community (in sort of a racist backwards way). As Nakamura notes, "When they receive this list they are being interpolated into a racial identity search engine of sorts that accommodates--indeed, welcomes--their hybridity" (131). Lastly, Nakamura ends the chapter by stating, what I feel is representative towards an overall way to view race online, in that "race is under construction in cyberspace" (134).
The conclusion titled, "Keeping It (Virtually) Real: The Discourse Of Cyberspace As An Object Of Knowledge" discusses the role of race in academia. The Internets role in academia opens up many new arenas of study. However, as Nakamura notes, "What is missing, however, in the scholarship is attention to race as an important component of online identity and community" (138). Learning that many "new" professors are faced only with the possibility of teaching within their racial identity is troubling to me. To end, as Nakamura states " cyberspace is a place where racial identities are created, maintained, received, and performed, a user's position as raced offline counts for something" (143).
Lucy, The details in this summary are impressive. I am particularly interested in your targeting the issue of cybertourism as of crucial societal significance. I wanted to hear more about that because it interests me too.
ReplyDeleteIn specific, you make a comment about the strange online affinity of white men for Asian woman avatars, and touch on what is to me a fascinating subject-- the psychoanalytic/psycho-sexual dimensions of that trend. It made me think about what I would "on the fly" perhaps call a "reverse avatar" (for lack of a better word right now) or the potential re-entry into offline culture of someone else's constructed avatar into real space.
An example would be the "Bo Peeped" or "Holly Hobbied" Asian adult woman who you can see on the WSU campus (and in major cities in Japan) "dressed up" in what is clearly a baby doll outfit (except with garters) that seems to have some relationship to a sexualized cartoon reality (coming from my perspective as a 50-something person). I would imagine that it is only a matter of time before our avatars come out of cyberspace into offline world. This is what I see in the "comi-con" conventions at least (people dressed in the outfits of digitized personalities).
I really don't even know how to talk about this because it is so new, but I think it is, as you say, an important cultural phenomenon to keep an eye on. Thanks.