BlogHer 2008: Who We Are: Race and Gender: What are the lessons of 2008

Written on July 18, 2008 by Susan Payton

I am live blogging at BlogHer in San Francisco! Today’s topic is Race and Gender: What are the lessons of 2008? Here’s the agenda description:

No, this actually isn’t a re-hash of the Obama vs. Hillary debate. But certainly Election 2008 has made us all look at our own (and society’s, and the media’s etc. etc. ) attitudes about race and gender. BlogHers proved that you can indeed discuss these incredibly sensitive topics without it descending into anarchy or hate speech, but it’s tough. Please join Maria Niles, Jill Miller Zimon, Cynematic, Adele Nieves and Caille Millner as we discuss what we’ve learned about ourselves…and about others so far in 2008.

Here goes…

Adele Nieves, the moderator, opened the session by introducing the panel (see above). She explained that the purpose of the panel was not to rehash the Obama/Clinton campaign, but to explore how the campaign has opened new frontiers in the dialogue surrounding race and gender.

The floor was opened to attendees, who requested topics to be discussed:

• when are we going to far in talking about race and gender?
• How do internet trolls affect the discussion?
• how are people from news organizations missing communities that need to participate in the race/gender discussion?
• where is the question of gender in the election?

Adele asked the panel to discuss the way gender and race have been portrayed in the Presidential election, as well as offer personal perspective: how does the panel feel it’s been represented?

Caille:Mainstream media lumps “masses of people” into race and then women. They’re opposing forces. With regards to her personal perspective: “I abandoned looking for myself in the media a long time ago.”

Because she works in media, Caille spends a lot of time talking to her colleagues about these issues. She hasn’t been impressed by the way the media has covered the Presidential race. She said that people were spoiling for a fight. The easiest way to start a fight is to take the two factions, race and gender and pit them against one another.

Maria: Maria said that the current election is a throwback to when we didn’t talk about intersectionality (race AND color). On the gender side, there has been a lot of conversation about Obama’s collaborative style, which was called feminine. Feminine qualities are seen as soft, weak; not for the presidency.

Hillary has been called a bitch, said to have cohones, is consider masculine. “She had no choice. She had to be tough…otherwise no one would vote for her for the Presidency.” Maria said that she thinks there is the possibility she could have run without that masculine role. With McCain, the focus has been on hypermasculinity, of him being a larger than life tough guy.

Jill: Jill said that there are 2 conversations going on. Blogs, and online discussions vs. television and newspaper. She encouraged the audience to challenge what is presented by the mainstream media. “Mainstream pushes what they say the conversation is.”

Cynthia: Cynthia stated that mainstream media is “conflict-driven, drama-driven.” Identity politics is an engine of social change and social justice. Collectively as a group [through the election] you can make gains as women, as an African-American. “metaphor fatigue.” She suggested that we need better metaphors, and compared intersectionality with a Rubik’s cube. We have multiple colored squares, which correspond to race, gender, beliefs, etc.

Adele: What is your impression of the New Yorker’s cover of the Obama cartoon on cover?

Cynthia: “I didn’t find it very funny. When satire misses the point it reproduces the very thing it was meant to criticize.”

Jill: “Everything needs to be called out. ” When there was an image of Michelle Obama being lynched,not a lot of bloggers wrote about it. “I dont think we can tolerate that kind of image.”

Audience: One audience member stated that people don’t understand the power of images.

Another member of the audience suggested that in order to make a change, we need to reach out to people who have written positive stories. Offer them info on other issues that need to be brought up. Present yourself as an expert.

Caille: Caille stated that not a lot of women send in OpEds because women don’t tend to consider themselves experts, but they should speak up.

Audience: One audience member said that there is a deep seated cultural feelings about race and gender, and images like the New Yorker’s cover tap into this negativity.

Adele: Why is McCain’s whiteness not an issue?

Caille: Caille said that she would say it is an issue. McCain has been called a “full blooded American.” This says being white is being American. White is considered the “default.”

Maria: White, male, Christian, straight is identified as the norm and anything else is “other.” We don’t talk about McCain’s whiteness because it just “is.” We don’t talk about a white identity because it’s hard to do so and not be called racist or supremist. To talk about it you have to acknowledge privilege. Getting to that discussion is difficult.

Audience: One audience member said that it’s time to start discussing white identity. We need to talk about ourselves to one another to find common ground and understand race and gender. Another audience member shared information on a conference called the White Privilege conference that addresses these issues. Another conference, called Blogging While Brown, was recommended.

Another audience member asked how can we help white men feel comfortable in their own skin enough to not be angry in their point of view about race and gender.

Jill: Realize that these issues do affect your everyday life, and find ways to engage.

Cynthia: Seeing so many young people getting involved in the Obama campaign has been inspiring. For white people to see the resistance among racial smears has been good for them to understand the racism exists, and to see what we’re up against.

Adele: Ronald Reagan once said that the scariest 9 words in the English “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” What can we do beyond government policy? Please share tactics and strategies to instill change. What are you doing in your communities and workplaces? What has worked and what hasn’t?

Cynthia: On the small level, I’ve struggled to convince my Chinese immigrant parents to vote for Obama. I’ve worked in my community of Asian Pacific-Americans to grapple the racism against people of color. The campaign has been a galvanizing method of awareness, so hopefully that will manifest some change.

Jill: Take risks. Don’t be afraid to say something stupid. If you’re white, don’t let yourself be overwhelmed by any guilt. This is about opening up conversation and dialogue. Do not be afraid of what’s different.

Maria: Educate yourself. There are so many ways we are privileged beyond race and gender. It’s useful to be aware of that. It’s not a person of color’s job to educate you on race, so put it on yourself to educate yourself. Don’t be afraid to speak out.

Caille: You can’t wait for government policy to make changes. We need to find a different way to talk about these issues so that people don’t get defensive. Watch how you talk to and about people. Ask yourself if you talk to someone who looks different from you differently than you would someone you are more like.

Adele: Women of color are seen as angry. We have to be aware of our emotions when discussing these issues but keep the dialogue open so that we can move forward.

Audience: An audience member offered a resource called “A Woman’s Guide to Talking About War and Peace,” which will be available free next month at AllianceForPeaceBuilding.org, or by contacting LoreleiKelly@gmail.com.

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