georginna-shnani

[georginna-shnani]

Week 13 - Short Answer Quiz #3

1. Determine what kind of social media site you are creating. Then answer the following questions, explaining your decisions. (Remember the key here is to create an ethical algorithm model).

 The social media site I would create is a platform such as Twitter but a more modified version that is inclusive and prevents racist, sexist or any form of vulgar tweets. Businesses and people that want to use it just for personal reasons to express an opinion or share their interests or what not are able to use it.

2. What will you measure? (ex: likes, hashtags, how long someone stays on a page, etc) Be sure to explain all your decisions.

 What I will measure when I create this other form of “Twitter” is the tweets put out there and determine if they flag the sites guidelines of what is acceptable to tweet or not. I will also measure hashtags to see what kind of hashtags are being put out there and if they are appropriate or not. These measures would keep the site fun but also safe and accepting.

 3. How will you weigh these factors? (rank factors from most important to least important)

 I would weigh these factors by allowing users to pick and choose what they want to see on their feed by giving them the option to take a survey of what they want to see. I feel as if this would be beneficial for people’s mental health as well if they do not want to see anything that triggers their trauma or what not. This would definitely be important to add because it would benefit a lot of people’s mental health.

 4. What factors will not be measured? (what will not be measured in your algorithm and why)

 The factors that will not be measured on this site is gender, sexual identity, race, etc. The reason I would not include these factors is because I would not want anyone to be discriminated against because of these factors and I think it would be more beneficial for people to have these factors private.

5. How will the model learn or adapt to new information? (this can include changes in language, etc)

 The model will learn to adapt to new information because of the built in algorithm that will always update the site when new information needs to be added or what not. The algorithm will continuously update any changes that need to be modified and always keep up with new information to update it. 

 6. What biases will be built into the model? How will this change the algorithm’s outcome?

 The biases that will be built into this site is that there will be a no hate tolerance whatsoever. Everytime someone posts something that is even slightly hateful, it will be taken down immediately and that person can never make another account on this site ever again. Doing this would change the algorithm’s outcome because a lot of people can be safer and not feel scared to use the site.

 7. How will the model live out the (un)ethical practices we have discussed?

The way that this site will enforce the unethical practices that we discussed in this course is that there will be no room allowed for any sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic or any other discrimination allowed on this site that will minimize someone and make them feel left out or less than from other people. This will also be a site where it holds people accountable for their actions and also make it extremely impossible for someone to create an account again if they are participating in any form of hate.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST 320: Week 12 Blog Post November 11, 2020.

1. Why do white people steal black culture and get away with it?

In the chapter, (Re)Constructing the Body through Social Media by Latoya Lee, it is stated that “In October of 2013, a Missouri woman, Ashley Davis, was told that she either cut her locs or risked losing her job from a finance company. The company stated, “a professional appearance is necessary for the success of the company” (Lee, 2015). This made me think about how companies and just people in general shame black women and men for their hairstyles yet white people are praised for the hairstyle they steal from black people and their culture. Not only with hair, but black people are labeled as “ghetto” or another vulgar term when they are dressed how their culture dresses but then when a white person does it, it is classified as “different” and acceptable. White people continuously steal black culture and face no backlash for it and run with it as if they created it but then black people are shamed for embracing their own culture.

2. How do white people culturally appropriate black culture? 

In the chapter, (Re)Constructing the Body through Social Media by Latoya Lee, it is stated that “In April of 2014, the U.S. Army instated an update to regulation 670–1. Regulation 670–1, which regulated a soldier’s appearance, banned “unkempt” and “matted” hair, which includes cornrows, 8 locs, braids, and twists” (Lee, 2015). I believe that white people, especially white women, always culturally appropriate black culture by stealing black people’s hairstyles. They are constantly wearing cornrows or dreadlocks and get no backlash for it but then black women and men are losing their jobs for wearing these hairstyles and are also discriminated against for having these hairstyles. It is also racist to wear another culture’s hairstyle like that, especially when you are white because you are getting away with something a person is facing discrimination and racism against. 

3. How did the video game Animal crossing relate to work during the early lockdown? 

In the article, The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing by Ian Bogost, it is stated that “For americans playing the game as coronavirus lockdowns produce historic spikes in unemployment, the idea that any activity might be seen as viable work is a comfort, and perhaps an aspiration” (Bogost, 2020). I believe that this game related to work and gave many people a sense of comfort during the lockdown because as a society, we place our value by how productive we are being and many people lost themselves during the lockdown because they thought they had no more value anymore since we are taught our value is based off how productive we are being. Thus, many people were driven to play animal crossing since it has qualities that relate to work and gave people a sense of comfort to keep their minds going and to stay busy.

4. How does harassment happen in the gaming community? 

In the article, What is Gamergate and why? An explainer for the Non-geeks by Jay Hathaway, it is stated that there was harassment against a girl named Quinn by her ex boyfriend Eron Gjoni, who wrote a series of blog posts alleging that Quinn had cheated on him with five other men (Hathaway, 2014). This led to many gamers harassing her and immediately believing it. Her address and phone number also got leaked as well. I believe there are also a lot of misogynistic men in the gaming community, since it is mostly male dominated. If a man were to do this, he would most likely not face criticism for these actions. Regardless of what she did or did not do, she should not face harassment like such, as it can lead to suicide or self harm. They were also putting her life at risk by releasing her address and phone number like that. There should definitely be safer guidelines placed into the gaming communities, as there is a lot of harassment that occurs. 

Hathaway, J. (2014). What is gamer gate and why? An explainer for non-geeks. Gawker.

Lee, L. (2015). Virtual homeplace: (Re)constructing the body through social media. 91-111.

Bogost, I. (2020). The Quiet Revolution of Animal Crossing.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST 320: Week 11. Nov 4th, 2020.

1. How do news media outlets misrepresent black people? 

In the paper, Black Twitter: A response to Bias in Mainstream Media by Latoya A. Lee, she explains throughout the paper how people of color use social media to dispute racial biases. One particular part in the paper that captured my attention was when it was stated how “days following the deaths of Garner and Brown, news reports of the incidents characterized Brown as a thug, gang member, and lawbreaker. Garner was characterized as a repeat offender with news reports discussing his criminal history. News reports also made reference to the height and body size of both Brown and Garner, using fear-mongering labels such as giant and huge to make Brown and Garner seem super-human” (Lee, 2017). This is something that we all see after police brutally murder black people. They are always misrepresented in the media, and always made to seem as if they were “evil” or try to dig up dirt on their past to misrepresent and enforce the idea that they somewhat even “deserved” to be a victim of police brutality and murder. It’s extremely disgusting and so heartbreaking to see media outlets try and paint the victims from police brutality as the bad ones and try to paint the police officer as the innocent ones. It's completely misleading, racist and also leads to more cops abusing their power because they see that other police have gotten away with this abuse and corruption. 

2. How does Twitter create a safe place for Black people to voice their hurt and anger? 

In the paper, Black Twitter: A response to Bias in Mainstream Media by Latoya A. Lee, it is stated in the paper that “Meredith Clark, a scholar researching black Twitter, and Kimberly Elise, author of The Bombastic Brilliance of Black Twitter, argue that black Twitter can be a space for jokes, for social viewing of a television series, and as a space where people can voice anger and frustration. According to Elise, black Twitter is one of the most largely interconnected and tightly interwoven subcultures, more so than any other subculture on Twitter. She argues that black Twitter’s power comes from its participatory democratic nature—the idea that users, through the creation of ironic, yet cutting-edge hashtags, create a space to address social issues of racial bias and discrimination” (Lee, 2017). I truly do believe that Twitter would not be what it is today without the black community. I also believe that Twitter is a great place to learn about the hardships that black people go through because we are hearing actual stories from black people and not media outlets that twist the truth and try to paint black people in a negative light. I would not have found out so much information if I did not see it on Twitter and I find it more informative for people to actually read about the hardships that black people face when they voice their hurt and anger on Twitter because it is the most accurate way to find out the truth and their side of the stories rather than it getting twisted in the media. 

3. What are the ways social media sites provide online activism? 

In the article titled Classifying Forms of Online Activism by Sandor Vegh, it is stated that “the traditional information channels may well be controlled by those whose interest is counter to that of the activists, the Internet may serve as an alternative news and information source” (Vegh, 2003). This is true because many different news outlets twist the truth and show a blurred vision of it. However, on social media sites, there are many areas of online activism. Many individuals share so much information about what is truly going on in the world and shed a light on it as well. There are links that are shared to donate, spread awareness and sources to help those in need. These forms of online activism are incredibly beneficial because it helps those in need and actually makes a difference because more people are aware of a problem that a news outlet probably would have not covered.

4. How is the internet capable of starting a movement? 

People on the internet are capable of starting a movement because the internet is “used for mobilization in three different ways” (Vegh, 2003). The internet is capable of starting a movement because it can be used to spread information and also it helps to cause action offline, by someone spreading awareness about something going on, like where a protest will be at. It can also help to find information online about congressional representatives and email them about a cause, which we saw a lot of this happening during the black lives matter movement. The internet is super capable of starting a movement because of the amount of information spread and the capability of bringing awareness to issues that need to be touched upon. 

Lee, L. (2017). Black Twitter: A Response to Bias in Mainstream Media. Social Sciences, 6(1), 26. doi:10.3390/socsci6010026

Vegh, S. (2003). Classifying Forms of Online Activism The Case of Cyberprotests against the World Bank.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST 320 Week 10: Oct 28th, 2020.

1. Is there truly a way we can prevent trolls on the internet? 

In the article by Phillips, The Origins of Trolling, it is stated that a troll is defined as someone “whose real intention(s) is/are to cause disruption and/or to trigger or exacerbate conflict for the purposes of their own amusement.” Throughout the article, Phillips goes into detail about the effects of trolling and how it can cause paranoia in others. I personally do not believe it will be possible to completely eliminate trolls, since it is extremely easy for someone to make a fake page at any given minute, get it banned, and reported again, just to repeat the same process once more. However, there should be boundaries put into place, such as having the ability to track someone who consistently makes troll accounts just to harass people and completely ban them from having access to that app entirely.

2. What effects do trolls cause to people?

As Phillips goes into detail about trolls in the article The Origins of Trolling, it made me observe how people can truly get affected by trolls. Trolls can be really creepy, especially after it was stated in the article that “the possibility that you might be talking to a troll can therefore be likened to the often repeated joke/reassurance/warning on the internet, and people are pretending to be something else entirely.” These troll accounts can really affect someone because they can get tricked into talking to someone who makes themself seem like someone they are really not and these effects can cause a person to gain paranoia within them and start to have a lot of trust issues. It is very easy to represent yourself as someone completely fake and different online, which is why a lot of people are very cautious about who they interact with on the internet. 

3. What guidelines should be implemented on Twitter?

After reading the article, A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse, I was completely disgusted and saddened to see what she went through. In one of her tweets, Leslie states that Twitter has free speech but that there should be some guidelines in terms of how far this false information can be spread. If you are familiar with Twitter, it is very easy to harass someone on Twitter and that harassment can go viral with one simple tweet, leading to hundreds in fact millions of people joining in, laughing and contributing to the harassment. It is important for social media apps to allow those who use these apps to have free speech, but there is a difference between free speech and just complete hate speech and borderline harassment. This type of harassment can really get to someone's head, especially if private nude pictures are being leaked just like what happened to Leslie and can potentially destroy someone's life. I do believe that if Twitter spots harassment like that, the account and the tweet needs to be taken down immediately. There should be certain guidelines of what is allowed to say or not on Twitter, because these actions can really hurt someone's life. 

4. How are women of color usually the most targeted on social media apps, especially Twitter?

After reading the article of Leslie Jones’s online abuse, it made me realize there is a pattern that is consistent here, especially on Twitter. I usually always see women of color, especially black women, getting abused and harassed viciously online. They are always put down or made fun of and are always compared to other women. I truly believe that a lot of people are really racist and try to pass off their racism on twitter by saying a “joke” about a black woman and then it goes viral. The harassment and abuse towards black women online truly needs to stop and I believe that these social media apps, especially Twitter, should immediately take down a post or a tweet that is putting down someone, especially if the “joke” is obviously not a joke and just a complete racist remark. I do believe these social media apps need to completely rearrange the way they handle this harassment and abuse, because it really can destroy someone's life.

Phillips, W. (2015), “Defining Terms: The Origins and Evolution of Subcultural Trolling”. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture. pp.55-57.

Silman, A. (2016). A Timeline of Leslie Jones’s Horrific Online Abuse.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST WEEK 7: 10/7

1. How do racist comments shape one’s view and identity?

As much as good comments can help to uplift and make one confident, there are also negative and racist comments that can detrimentally affect one’s view and identity of themselves. According to the article it is stated that, “We derive our sense of identity from how we respond to the ways in which others implicitly categorize us through public speech and gestures each day. Although we can experience interpellation positively. But it is explained that we might experience non-interpellation, in which we feel ignored or non-existent. We may experience negative interpellation, where we feel uncomfortably noticed and made visible.” Racist comments and actions can purposely make minorities feel left out, and make them feel as if they do not belong. Someone making a minority generate such feelings can lead to them having negative self-esteem issues, low confidence and them feeling as if they do not have a place in this society. I truly do believe that we as a society need to continuously talk about what minorities go through, their stories, their experiences and to learn more from them because if we do not, we will continue to live in a society that is racist and continue to live in a world where there is constantly white invisibility happening before our eyes. It is important to continue and have these conversations that make people, especially white people, aware of their racist actions and comments to further prevent future generations from spreading these false values and morals to their kids one day. 

2. How is white invisibility dangerous to minorities? 

“White invisibility does not mean that there are no white people in movies, literature, art and so on, but white invisibility means that white people are reminded less of their skin color because white people have white privilege and this white invisibility has “offered distinct advantages for whites.” White people classify themselves as raceless and the more that they define themselves as such, they deny the advantages that their whiteness brings which is dangerous to minorities because they continue to act like their privilege does not exist and it erases what harm their privilege brings to minorities since white people refuse to act like it does not exist and do not want to take accountability for it. It also makes minorities feel as if they do not have a voice, and continues to disadvantage them because white people will continue to strip and steal opportunities from minorities if they continue to act as if their privilege does not exist and continue to make minorities feel out of place. It is important to implement teachings about white privilege and white invisibility into the education system from an early age, and for it to be taught by teachers of color.

3. How has Social media brought more inclusivity for minorities? 

I believe that social media has brought a lot more inclusivity for minorities. According to the article it is stated that, “Social network use by people of color is now higher than that of whites: in 2010, 70 percent of African Americans and English-speaking Latinos reported using social networks (higher than whites at 60 percent), with half of Black users saying they logged into social networking sites at least once a day compared to 30 percent of white users. People of color have gathered in online communities from the internet’s earliest days. They could be found on the mailing lists like the South Asian Women’s Network, on websites like MiGente.com, Asian-Avenue.com, and BlackPlanet.com” Sadly, I know there is still a lot of racism and ignorance spewed out on the internet, but I do believe that social media can be an expressive and inclusive outlet, especially for minorities. In a white dominated world, especially America being white dominated, it is helpful and encouraging to have inclusive and expressive outlets for minorities to have their voices and stories heard. It is also beneficial because they have the ability to network with others of their race and find more people to relate to as well.

4. How has the black community influenced Twitter and made it the app it is today?

“The phrase black twitter refers to a pew study that found 25 percent of online blacks use twitter, as opposed to 9 percent of online whites. It refers to the popular belief that black users dominate Twitter's trending topics feature by generating multiple back and forth responses via hashtags.” I found this part in the article particularly interesting because I definitely believe the black community has played a huge role in making twitter as funny and as informative as it is today. I quite enjoy seeing it being dominated by the black community because I believe it is an expressive outlet for them, they can talk about their experiences as a black man or woman, share their stories and also bring a lot of comedy to it as well. I do think they play a huge part in how Twitter is today and I do believe that Twitter would not be the same if it was not influenced by the black community as much as it is now. I also believe that a lot more people were able to learn more about the experiences that black people go through because of Twitter since there are many black individuals that can give their perspective and stories from their own point of view, and not it being told from a news outlet that is controlled by white media/white people. 

Senft, T., Noble, U. N. (2014). Race and Social Media. The Social Media Handbook, 107-125.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST: 9/30

1. What is Cyber racism and how is it connected to White Supremacists?

In the book, Cyber Racism White Supremacy Online and the New Attack on Civil Rights by Jessie Daniels, it states that Cyber Racism is defined as, “Cyber racism, a term coined by Les Back and chosen as the title of this book, refers to a range of white supremacist movements in Europe and North America and to the new horizons the Internet and digital media have opened for expression of whiteness across national boundaries.” It is connected to white supremacists because the internet gives a space for these white supremacists to spew out hate and impose their ignorant beliefs and values on the internet. As stated in the book, it challenges cultural values such as a racial equality.

2. What can the acts of white supremacists online lead to in real life?

It is no surprise that the internet can be a scary place and people can find out a lot of information about you. There are a lot of racist people on the internet and the racist acts of white supremacists online can lead to hate towards minorities and in worst cases, death. It is stated in the book that “White supremacy online sometimes leads to violence, harassment, intimidation, and racial terror, transcending the virtual world to damage real, live human beings. In August 1999 Buford Furrow armed himself and walked into a Jewish daycare center in Los Angeles and opened fire, wounding five people, including three small children. Furrow told authorities that the shooting was “a wake-up call to America to kill Jews” This is actually very scary and really heartbreaking as well because a lot of racist actions online can take place in person as well. 

3. How is racism found in certain video games?

In the article, Race in cyberspace by Beth E. Kolko, Lisa Nakamura and Gilbert B. Rodman, it is stated that “The digitized yellow facing of the Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator gamer as an actor is both subtle and overt. The digital body with which one can interface and become is that of Lo Wang, a racist and misogynist Yellowfaced Cyborg Terminator, on his solitary quest to rape, pillage, and claim the Asian continent, leaving nothing but carnage.” I honestly believe that is completely ignorant and actually really disgusting to present Asian people as such and casts them in a negative light. This also gives people from other races to use this character and perform racist and stereotypical acts towards the asian community because they are getting a false misrepresentation of them. I do find it disrespectful to the Asian community and I believe it is wrong to have games that present this negative view of them. 

4. How can we enforce protective barriers online to prevent racist acts?

After reading these articles, I believe that a lot of protective barriers should be enforced online to prevent white supremacists from spewing out their racist and ignorant beliefs and it would also help prevent an act of terror happening to minorities in real life. Specifically, I believe that racist statements and threats made online should be highly investigated immediately and hold that person accountable and there should even be a law put in place that would result in going to prison for announcing such racist and ignorant statements online. These articles are highly informative and I do hope for a better future, especially for the internet to become safer.

Daniels, J. (2009). White supremacy in the digital era. Cyber racism: White supremacy online and the new attack on civil rights. Rowman & Littlefield, 3-16.

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (2000). Race in cyberspace: An introduction. Race in Cyberspace, 1-13. Routledge.

Ow, J. A. (2000). The revenge of the yellow faced cyborg terminator: The rape of digital geishas and the colonization of cyber-coolies in 3D realms’ shadow warrior. Race in Cyberspace, 51-68. Routledge.  

[georginna-shnani]

Week 4: WGST 320 9/16

1. How is Algorithmic oppression detrimental to women of color? 

Algorithmic oppression is detrimental to women of color for many reasons. It primarily negatively affects women of color because it hyper sexualizes them. For example, in the book Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble, she explains how “google fails to provide reliable or credible information about women and people of color” (Noble, 2018). This is very true because when you google search about women of color, a lot of hyper-sexualized and pornographic links pop up. And the scary idea behind this is that these algorithmic devices are created and designed by humans. The author searched and typed in black girls on the google search tab and a vulgar pornographic site popped up when she did it and it was the first link as well. Two years after she did this, she found similar results once again. Google updated their algorithm but not only were vulgar sites popping up when the results for black girls were typed in, but other girls and women of color, such as Latinas and Asians, were pornified and hypersexualized as well. It’s very disgusting and detrimental to women of color because then they are seen and classified as an object and are over hypersexualized. 

2. What are some steps that Google can take to get rid of misogynistic and vulgar links against women? 

 I believe that Google’s algorithmic device needs complete change and a rewrite. In the book Algorithms of Oppression, Noble states how “Google could completely fail when it came to providing reliable or credible information about women and people of color yet experience seemingly no repercussions whatsoever” (Noble, 2018). Google does not provide credible information and actually provides links to women of color that can lead to them being overly hypersexualized. These algorithmic devices are created by humans, and of course some of these humans have clearly implemented their misogynistic values in google's algorithm because how else are these links accessible to people? I believe that there should be massive change and that everything needs to be checked completely before it being released to the public because this is toxic against women and provides a negative outlook on them as well. 

3. How does racially coding names prevent POC from gaining less opportunities?

According to the article, Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code by Ruha Benjamin, mentioned that “white sounding names received 50% more callbacks from employers than job seekers with Black-sounding names” (Benjamin, 2019). People of color face a lot of racial discrimination because of their names and are faced with less opportunities because of assumptions that employers make about their backgrounds. This prevents people of color from gaining more job opportunities and are faced with 10x more challenges than people with white sounding names. Benjamin also mentions in the article that people with names that come from ethnic backgrounds receive a lot of racism and backlash because of the way their names sound. After 9/11 happened, it was a hard time for many middle eastern people. My uncle’s name is Osama, and after 9/11, he received a lot of hate crimes and death threats because racist white people were assuming my uncle was a terrorist. He faced so much backlash and threats that he eventually changed his name to Sammy and still up until this day hates being called Osama. 

4. What is the Black Press and how can we see it in today’s age of technology?

In the article, The Revolution Will Be Digitized: Afrocentricity and the Digital Public Sphere by Anna Everett, mentions that in 1827 the founding of Freedom’s Journal, which was the first African American owned and controlled newspaper, was a reliable register of African American struggle and progress in the United States. This was very important to have back then and still especially today because we can never understand the struggle of what a black person goes through or what discrimination they face/have faced if it is told from someone that is not black. I believe that we can see and learn about what black people face in America and what they truly go through from the songs, poems, movies that are released by black people and written by them as well. It’s important to have this inclusion and to have more black people voicing their opinions and their stories because this is the only way people can truly understand what they endure. 

Benjamin, R. (2019). Race after technology: Abolitionist tools for the new jim code. Cambridge: Polity.

Everett, A. (2002). The revolution will be digitalized: Afrocentricity and the digital public sphere. Social Text, 125-146.

Noble, S. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press.

[georginna-shnani]

WGST Discussion: 9/9

1. How is technology negatively affecting marginalized family groups? 

Technology has been incredibly beneficial to us in many ways. It’s made a lot of systems quicker and more efficient for us to access and use, but there is also a negative downfall to technology. In the book, Automating inequality by Virginia Eubanks, she states that “in 2014, Maine Republican governor Paul LePage attacked families in his state receiving meager cash benefits from Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). These benefits are loaded onto electronic benefits transfer (EBT) cards that leave a digital record of when and where cash is withdrawn. LePage’s administration mined data collected by federal and state agencies to compile a list of 3,650 transactions in which TANF recipients withdrew cash from ATMS in smoke shops, liquor stores and out-of-state locations” (Eubanks, 2018). Furthermore, after they data mined this information, LePage released a bill that required TANF families to report all cash receipts for 12 months to facilitate state audits of their spending. To me, this is incredibly violating and heartbreaking. LePage created this bill even though he had no idea what the money was being spent on in these smoke shops and liquor stores but still enforced a bill to control these families and what they spend their own money on. I find it incredibly violating and it shows how technology can get out of hand because we are constantly being watched and targeted. LePage doing this affects marginalized family groups a lot because they have to be cautious of how and where they spend their money in fear that it will be taken away from them. 

2. How does not having any knowledge about healthcare fraud mostly affect marginalized groups? 

Eubanks walks us through the steps of healthcare fraud in her book and explains to us that she was quick to find out that her insurance provider thought she was committing healthcare fraud because of her partner’s medical bills. But something that Eubanks points out and which is very true is that she was able to quickly know that her providers thought she was committing healthcare fraud but a lot of people aren’t aware about this and can suffer greatly. Eubanks states that “some families don’t have the material resources and community support we enjoyed. Many don’t know that they are being targeted or don’t have the energy or expertise to push back when they are. People of color, migrants, unpopular religious groups, sexual minorities, the poor and other oppressed and exploited populations bear a much higher burden of monitoring and tracking than advantaged groups. Marginalized groups face higher levels of data collection when they access public benefits, walk through highly policed neighborhoods , enter the healthcare system or cross national borders” (Eubanks, 2018). If a family has a lack of access to this information, especially those who are marginalized, they can suffer from health care fraud due to a lack of information and resources. If they ever have any health complications and go to the hospital and have high medical bills afterwards, and unknowingly commit healthcare fraud because of the algorithm’s fault, they won’t even know what they have done and can suffer in a lot of debt. 

3. How are certain websites helpful that are created for specific races on Cyberspace? 

In the article, Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s) by Jessie Daniels, it explains and goes over many aspects of cyberfeminism and cyberspace. One aspect that I thoroughly enjoyed was that Daniels explains how online communities on cyberspace are incredibly positive and uplifting for certain groups. In the article it is stated that, “Michelle Wright notes the cyberfeminist practice of online communities designed specifically by and for Black women, such as SistahSpace (http://www.Sistahspace.com). Wright exhorts other women of color to engage with the Internet beyond Web surfing and checking email. The kinds of cyberfeminist practices suggested by Gajjala, Everett, and Wright are more overtly political than other cyberfeminist practices and are part of what Sandoval (2000) refers to as an oppositional technology of power. Many women in and out of global feminist political organizations view Internet technology as a crucial medium for movement toward gender equality” (Daniels, 2009). I believe that it is incredibly beneficial and helpful for Black women and WOC to create positive and uplifting communities designed and created by them to help empower and uplift one another, especially if they don’t have that many positive communities or support systems in real life.

4. Why is the digital divide a negative impact on women of color? 

According to the article, Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s), it is stated that “In the United States, the empirical research indicates that most of the apparent “digital divide” in computer ownership and Internet access, has been the effect of class (or socioeconomic status) more than of gender and race (Norris 2001). In the United States, the rate of Internet access has converged for men and women who are white. Discourse of “the digital divide” that configures “women” or “Blacks and Hispanics” or “the poor” living in the global South as information “have-nots” is a disabling rhetoric that fails to recognize the agency and technological contributions of African Americans, Asians, Chicanos, Latinos and working-class whites” (Daniels, 2009). This information shows that women of color over white women are affected negatively because of the digital divide and they have lower socioeconomic status from men already but women of color are divided even further. Women of color are affected more when they have lower socioeconomic statuses compared to white women because they are unable to access higher technology and it leaves them with a lack of access to information they can learn online.

Eubanks, Virginia. 2018. Automating Inequality: Introduction

Daniels, Jessie. 2009. Rethinking cyberfeminism(s): race, gender, and embodiment. Women’s Studies Quarterly. 37, 101-124. doi: 10.1353/wsq.0.0158

[georginna-shnani]

WGST 320: Discussion (9/2)

1. How did these media outlets, such as news broadcasts, have such little representation of minorities in the media and continued the stereotype of portraying minorities as threats? 

Even in todays time, there is still a lack of representation of minorities in the media, especially a representation of minorities in a positive way. Many news, movies, tv shows have a lot of stereotypical representations, if not little to no representation at all of minorities in the media. The way that these media outlets continued to oppress and represent minorities as a threat to society is that "news reporters routinely represented non-white minorities as threats to society" (Gonzalez and Torres 2012). Since these news outlets were primarily white dominated, it was very hard for minorities to represent themselves in a positive way in the media since they had no one from their background being able to speak up and talk about their struggles and hardships that they face. 

2. How are these media outlets still white dominated and continue to oppress and shame minorities and place them in a negative light?

Unfortunately, minorities are still casted as a threat to society in the media, especially the black community. Just recently as the Black Lives Matter movement became the biggest it ever was, there were was so much racism and ignorance being spewed out about it on social media. There was so much hate and bigotry plastered all over Twitter and so many news outlets were only showing the looting and the destroying of buildings during the protests on the news whereas on Twitter, they were showing the peaceful part and how police kept attacking innocent protesters for their right to protest. I know that the media was twisting it and making it seem as a threat, as if the Black Lives Matter movement was a dangerous and threatening movement because I went to a lot of protests and they were ALL peaceful until the cops got involved and started to hit, shove and arrest protesters for no reason. In the article, "News For all The People," it is stated that "the job of a journalist is to witness events happening in the world and then report back and convey the meaning of these events to the rest of us as quickly as possible. But these reports from these journalists are fraught with weaknesses to each reporters own perception of reality--- the subjectivity that so often springs from upbringing, education, class, race, religion and gender. The less a journalist knows about an event or the subject at hand, the more likely they are to produce a crude or blurred representation of it" (Gonzalez, 2012). This statement is incredibly important and very true up until this day because I saw a lot of false news that journalists kept reporting based on what they wanted people to hear and believe, not about what actually happened in these protests. While I am grateful that there is way more representation of minorities in media outlets, there still needs to be A LOT more representation because it is still severely white dominated and these false news reports represented by white people are incredibly dangerous and could be potentially life threatening for minorities because they are being casted as threats in the media still. 

3. How is slacktivism still apparent in 2020 and why does it not help whatsoever? 

The term slacktivism is defined as, "feel-good online activism that has zero political or social impact. It gives those who participate in "slacktivist" campaigns an illusion of having a meaningful impact on the world without demanding anything more than joining a Facebook group" (Fuchs 2017). I like the fact that Fuchs talks about slacktivism because during the Black Lives Matter movement, a lot of peoples lack of activism and compassion REALLY showed. On instagram, a lot of people did not even post a single link to sign a petition, to donate, didn't post informational posts to learn more about the movement and how to be an ally for the black community but instead they stayed silent throughout the whole movement and the only thing they posted was the black square on blackout tuesday and called themselves "an activist" for that. That is an apparent form of slacktivism because you are not helping whatsoever and posting a black square is an excuse to pretend like you participated in the movement when in reality, you did nothing to contribute to the movement at all. A true activist is being an ally for the black community, especially if you are white and white passing, you need to use your privilege and speak up for those who are clearly still being stereotyped and are facing discrimination on a daily basis. Real activism is actually getting involved and trying your hardest to contribute to the movement as much as you can and not posting something that has no substance and is no help to the movement at all. 

4. How does being apart of social media provide a sense of community and resources? 

Being apart of these different social media platforms definitely has its pros and cons. According to Social Media A Critical Introduction by Christian Fuchs, it is stated that "Communication turns this form of the social into community. A certain share of the communications on Facebook is part of communities of personal friends, political activists, hobby or fan groups" (Fuchs 2017). I believe that there are so many different communities on every social media platform, especially Instagram and Twitter because a lot of people meet through social media and have the same interests and beliefs and form a small community. They receive support, love, communication and help that a lot of people aren't fortunate to receive from the people they actually know in real life. I believe that the more actively you are involved in different communities on social media, the more that you learn and have a place that you feel like you belong to and can contribute to you and your growth as a person. 

Gonzalez, J., & Torres, J. (2012). News for all the people: the epic story of race and the American media 

Fuchs, Christian. 2017. Social media: A Critical Introduction. 2nd Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

#WGST320

[georginna-shnani]

Hey everyone! :)

So a time that technology failed me was actually on Tuesday morning! I woke up super early to log into my 8 am zoom class and zoom was NOT working for me lol. I was so frustrated because it was not letting me into the class at all and kept kicking me out every chance it got. Eventually I gave up and started to cry LOL because I was so upset! And I was missing campus even more at that moment.. But I contacted my professor and he completely understood and eventually it worked Thursday morning. This whole process has been frustrating but it feels more comforting that we all can understand how this makes someone feel because we’re all going through it right now