Remember the posts about how whenever women take strong positions on their blogs they are harrassed and called out with sexually demeaning language? Guess what:
The Internet’s element of anonymity has allowed both relief from racism (people of color who shop and do business online don’t experience the racism they do offline) and, at the same time, emboldened racists hiding behind the mask of virtual reality. For bloggers of color who reveal their racial identity and whose blogs tackle race and cultural politics, this has meant contending with hate mail.
This really sucks big time. There is such a need for black (latino, asian, yadda) voices to be heard from the blogosphere but I think journalists aren’t realizing where/how to find these voices and also that they can turn to these bloggers when – oh my god – it isn’t an issue or angle strictly related to race. Nobody wants to be That One Black Blogger (he writes so well!) or That Gay Author (I never would have guessed!) or That Woman Doctor (she isn’t really that angry after all!) – that kind of qualifying language becomes an overlay and another filter between your reader, your language and your ideas.
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