Race and the Digital: Racial Formation and 21st Century Technologies

"Finding a Place in Cyberspace: Black Women, Technology, and Identity" by Ashley Martinez-Munoz

Media Summary:

I found two Ted Talk videos that I believed worked well with the topics discussed within the article. Below each video you will find a summary. It is beneficial for you to watch the full length of the videos. Enjoy.





1. 

Women in Technology: through the eyes of my daughter | Mark MacNaughton | TEDxColumbusWomen

Mark MacNaughton, is a man who has worked within the technology world for multiple years. He has three daughters who he briefly discusses within the video, all of which he describes as competent, ambitious, and other positive descriptors. He believes that all women are what he believes his daughters to be. One day, when his wife and him are making one of his daughter's school schedules, they came across a conflict when his daughter did not want to enroll in a Geometry honors class. As a concerned father, he met with the school academic counselor in order to view the class rosters for classes such as the Geometry honors class. It was then that MacNaughton really noticed how young women of his daughter's school are underrepresented in such classes such as Physics, Math, and Engineering. And it is not just within his daughter's school that this is an issue, it is in fact a national if not global issue. MacNaughton discusses further how he hopes his daughters, who are capable of being in such fields, are able to make such a choice if they choose later on in their lives without being biased. He in fact wishes this for all women who have the capabilities and ambition to be within STEM fields. He does not come up with such a conclusion, but instead leaves the topic for pondering within the audience/viewers. Although, his daughters are not of color, he still surfaces an issue that receives underrepresented attention, which is ultimately all women being underrepresented within the STEM fields.
2. 

Black Girls Code | Kimberly Bryant | TEDxKC

Kimberly Bryant is the founder of a non profit organization by the name of, Black Girls Code, which is a program that teaches young girls of color how to program and other aspects of the technology field. Bryant describes the upbringing and how "nerdy" she was by excelling in science and math. She explains how difficult it was to breakthrough the barriers that attempted to block her from succeeding in the technological world. She states that the Black Girls Code is revolutionary in allowing an open door for colored women to work within the technological fields. She discusses the benefits of her program and why it is important to teach these girls at such a young age, the skills necessary to benefit in the technological world and its fields. She mentions that the jobs within the technological world are the fastest growing. Kimberly Bryant is a major contributor to the movement of bringing colored women to the front of the technology world and its fields. Kimberly Bryant is making those girls who are a part of her program, defeat the "impossible" and becoming an "exception" to the statistics.

Reading Summary:


Michelle M. Wright (2005) discusses various topics within her article Finding a Place in Cyberspace: Black Women, Technology, and Identity, all of which are controversial issues in today's society. The main topic of the article, as we have discussed before within this class, is Black women who work in the technology field and the lack thereof. Along with that, is the topic of race and gender on the Web or cyberspace as we like to call it. Many people unfortunately view cyberspace as raceless, genderless, and sexuality-free, but as many of us know this is not the case. Wright (2005) states an issue that we have all learned within this class, which is that the technology world within the West is predominantly ran by white males. This leaves the colored people, especially colored women, out in the cold trying to merge their way in, in order to create a space of their own not only in the real world but also in the cyberspace world. The digital divide has created racist beliefs within some of the Web's users about race and technology, something that does not seem to be going away anytime soon but is instead blindly encouraged. However, Wright (2005) states that such a divide is now rapidly closing hence the fact that data shows "...Latinos and African-Americans occupying the number one and number two slots of fastest-growing groups of Internet use..." and since we are now informed of what each group uses the Internet for. Besides the fact of the under-representation of colored women, or of any colored people, within the technological fields, African-American's Internet and computer users are increasing due to the decrease in such hardware prices.

Wright (2005) was able to interview three women of color that have worked in the technology field for multiple years. The women came to a consensus that  it was not curiosity or enthusiasm that lacked in not enabling people of color to be in the field of technology, but rather the lack of resources, especially in poorer areas or areas where older generations predominantly live/occupy. Beyond that, Wright (2005) discusses that women since the time of the Civil Rights movement have been fighting for equal representation, but still the marginalization of Black women still continues as is exemplified by the lack of black women in the technology fields. As time has shown, even Black men under represent Black women. Such an event that demonstrates this is within websites that feature Black achievements and timelines, which are dominated by Black males. Interestingly Wright (2005) states that even the term "black" is misused, in connotation to mean "African-Americans" when it in fact should represent more people of color such as the Caribbeans, black French, etc. Wright (2005) notes that the majority of Internet user's problem is that they do not properly recognize the African diaspora, and instead make such topics on it an exception instead of a rule. The majority of us contribute to the divide of colored women [people] and technology.

Source: Wright, Michelle M. "Finding a Place in Cyberspace: Black Women, Technology, and Identity." Froniters: A Journal of Women Studies, 26:1. (2005): pp. 48-59.

Analysis:

Although, the media does not show an equal representation of all the issues discussed in Wright's (2005) article, I believe it represented the main topic well being the lack of [colored] women within the IT fields. The medias provided were ultimately optimistic views of what the future could hold for not just colored women with the IT fields, but women overall. The first Ted talk video provided, demonstrated that people that are not of color, still recognize the misrepresentation of women within the technology fields. The issue is not completely blinded from everyone, bringing hope to minimizing such a controversial issue. No solutions were provided by the Ted talker, however, it still is a representation of how this issue is not just applied to women of color but overall the population of women. He recognizes the strengths and capabilities of all women and wants others to recognize as well. The second Ted talk discusses a colored woman's own experience within the technology world and struggling to succeed within it. She shows a picture of herself when she was little and how her identity was almost changed in order to fit the norms of society. She states that she wished her hair was in a natural afro instead of pressed down and that she was wearing more comfortable clothing, rather than the dressy clothes shown within the picture. Kimberly Bryant perfectly demonstrates how her program is viewed of colored girls that are an exception instead of women who are just viewed as successful within the technology world. Being a woman, let alone, any individual within the real world is difficult and it should not be hardened just because a woman wants to surround herself within a world that is primarily made of numbers and engineering equations. One day, the majority of us hope that women who are Mathematicians or Engineers are seen as a norm and not an exception that is degraded instead of uplifted.

Discussion Questions:





 
  1. As Wright (2005) claimed within the article, the “divide is now rapidly closing, we are now informed, with Latinos and African Americans occupying the number-one and number-two slots of fastest-growing groups of Internet users…” Do you agree or disagree with the author that the digital divide is rapidly closing? Why or why not?
  2. Do you believe that programs meant for colored women, such as Black Girls Code, that teach them about Engineering/Math skills are actually beneficial, due to the fact that they are the least represented in such fields? Do you think such programs actually make a difference?
  3.  As stated by the women that Wright (2005) interviewed, do you believe that it is actually the lack of resources and not the lack of enthusiasm or curiosity that creates a illiteracy situation between the different races? 

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  1. I really enjoyed your inclusion of the Ted talks, which they themselves are an interesting use and engagement of the internet (but that’s a different conversation). Addressing your first question, I do actually think that the access divide is closing. Note, there are several components to the divide overall, and even though the access divide is closing it is still more difficult for some than others. Additionally, I think it’s worth mentioning that just because more people of color are engaging in internet use, that does not mean that they are more interested in the technology field. I would consider myself pretty tech and internet savvy, however, that does not mean that I could go into an IT field or anything of the sort. I think there is a long way to go between bridging technology use with technology-related careers. In terms of the second question: on if I believe that programs geared towards increasing women of color in certain fields as being effective, I would say yes. Even though women are still underrepresented, their numbers are increasing. One of the biggest obstacles for women (and men) of color is the lack of resources. Programs that aim to increase their presence (which can have different components like mentorship, informative workshops, etc.) are a set of resources that can include powerful things like a new network. At the very least, I don’t think that these programs hurt people. Even something as simple as exposure, is one more gateway to the proposed field that students didn’t have before.
  2. Perhaps the digital divide may be rapidly closing for people of color/white women (who I think may belong to the middle and upper classes of society); however this has not occurred for people of color in the lower classes. Decreasing prices of computers, cell phones, etc. definitely helps those lacking technological resources to purchase the devices; but what of the companies that they must pay to connect the devices to cyberspace? I find it rather ironic that Wright mentioned right in the start of her article that "[R]ace and gender...resemble their 'real time' counterparts..." (Wright 2016: 48), but then (as you mention) says that the divide is rapidly closing. Maybe it is progressing, but I disagree and refuse to say that it is rapidly closing. I did not know about the digital divide before taking this class, and really did not think about how many are affected by it. I like that this is yet another paper that expands on the issue of the digital divide, but I feel that we (the people aware about the divide and/or fighting to end this situation), we must move on past the "victimization" stage. I am not suggesting that individuals affected in the digital divide play the victim card; they are experiencing unjust treatment. However, people know that the digital divide is up and running. It is my opinion, society as a whole must move on from this and go forth to change what is making our experience unjust. It will take time and a lot of effort, but it is time to go out onto the field and not simply write about it. The least people can do is be aware of situations, and the first action to delete it is to educate the masses about it. Wright briefly mentions toward the end that people may sometimes feel the need to conform (when stating that a practical reason that explains why black nationalism remains attractive is because it offers a reassuring homogeneity). Society must not conform that the digital divide is supposedly closing rapidly; nothing will be done to completely destroy it if it is improving. Society must not conform to know that the digital divide still exists. We must conform only when we do not have to speak of a digital divide any longer. I enjoyed reading your blog, and very interesting TED presentations you chose to share with us.
  3. In addressing your first question on Wright’s statement that the digital divide is “rapidly closing,” Ebony brings up an excellent point. While surely many more individuals have progressively obtained greater access to the Internet than in the past, too many rural, low income, minority, and/or non-English speaking populations have continued to remain disconnected. Moreover, the digital divide goes beyond just access to the Internet. What about the participation divide? There continues to be wide disparities in who is actually posting, uploading, sharing, and creating content online. In regards to your second question, I am a zealous supporter of social programs like Black Code, which bring knowledge and skills into the realm of underprivileged communities. To put the question of whether or not programs like Black Code are beneficial, I must ask: How can students become interested in something they know little to nothing about? For many underprivileged individuals, the field of engineering is unexplored, remote, and foreign and I believe that programs like Black Code help discount some of these feelings and actualities. In the case with engineering, once students become familiar with the field, some (not all) will become interested in engineering and eventually pursue a career in that field. Great Blog!
  4. I believe that STEM programs that target children, girls, of color are infact beneficial to them. I had an internship with LA's Promise, a non-profit organization that works with students from low income neighborhoods as a support system to lead them to a succesful life. La's promise created a kind of program that is called iChicas that exposes young middle school girls to tenchonolgy based fields etc. From what I noticed, the girls were very enthusiastic about the program. I remember speaking to a girl and she told me that because of the program she was going to work hard in school to become a doctor. It made me happy to see young girls grt excited and interested in fields that we are told at a young age that are meant for boys. After this exposure to iChicas, i believe that girls are not as interested in stem fields because of the lack of resources. Children are eager to learn, and iChicas proves this. Girls want to be included and feel accepted when pursuing STeM fields.
  5. First of all, I wanted to comment on a what a good job you did on your blog. It was very informative and very interesting. As for your first question, I believe that there was been progress on closing the gap of the digital divide but there are still discrepancies to reasons why certain ethnicities use the digital world. The creation of programs such as Girls Code is awesome in that it does help close that gap but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.
  6. First of all, your blog was well done and informative. Good job! To answer your third question, I believe that one of the reasons for the lack of women/women of color has to do with the lack of resources. A school in Beverly Hills is definitely going to have more resources than a school in Inglewood. I do not fall for the argument that women and women of color are not curious about STEM. If they do not know about these type of programs or they lack them in their high school, how are they going to be interested in STEM?
  7. I think that these programs aimed at increasing women access and availability to these technological fields is important and actually working. Although I dont think that the change can be noted within one or two generations, I think this technological gap is closing because there are more initiatives every year. I don't think that the gap is however closing at a rapid enough speed. I think that by the time minorities gain similar access and ability to use the internet, as whites do now there will be some new technology that they will still lack access to. I liked the second video that you put it, I think that the more we are able to visualize and place a reference to the things we read, the more understandable and digestable they become. I think that your blog did a great job of highlighting the hierarchy that still exists within the technological field. I think that money and resources are one of the biggest issues that needs to be address. Once the upper class can humanize and empathize with the needs to the marginalized communities, then we can really work to bridge the gaps; until that moment progress is very slow.
  8. I do agree with the idea that there is a lack of resources. If we refer back to the media link I used in my blog post they were teaching kids how to code. This was a program created in a community that was suffering from the digital divide. I think resources honestly would there is widespread illiteracy. In my school only like the top 60 of 1000 were actually pushed to do STEM because we were the top of our class. I think they should be more open to underprivileged areas.

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