Are “white youths happier than others?” Yes, according to this new AP/MTV poll. What do these countless polls and science stats about race even MEAN, anyway?
As we continue with the balance of our interview with Carmen Van Kerckhove of Racialicious today, I find it ironic that her blog is featuring a roundup on race theory and ‘pseudo-science’ in this post by correspondent Wendi Muse. Gotta love the timing…
After all, it’s a bit of a no brainer that whites might be a bit more chipper given patterns of tolerance (or lack thereof) and stats about minority hate groups that scare the socks off of everyone. I can’t help but think that somewhere there’s a scientist gainfully employed, sending junior to college based on the constant churn of racial polls and need for evidentiary validity.
Wendi wryly affirms that for centuries humans have been trying to wrap our heads around the concept of differences attributing physical/genetic assertions, pontificating about nature vs. nurture behavioral nuances and dissecting intelligence, so that researchers can clump, condense (and sometimes mold) youth and race into tidy little soundbites and categories.
Ah, categories. Those ‘check this box’ delights of paper pushers everywhere and pigeon-holed parameters given to us by awkward bystanders that ask kids of (more than one) color ‘So hey…what ARE you, REALLY?’
Again, mixed race is no stranger to me, growing up in Hawaii where most of the islands are ‘hapa haole,’ but the way media skews these variables into stereotypes is fascinating to the point of surreal. Today, Carmen’s going to help us deconstruct some of the media nuances of multiracial ethnicity.
For even more, visit her multiple blogs and podcasts jam-packed with information, coping skills and polite zingers to use when kids don’t fall into a set ‘category.’ (not to mention her tips on ‘how to respond to a racist joke,’ relevant for any age, actually…from playground to party chatter)
Here’s Part Three of Shaping Youth’s Interview With Carmen Van Kerckhove
Shaping Youth Can you address the media depiction of ‘diluted bloodlines’ as in Obama, Mariah Carey, etc. not being ‘black enough’ or comedians like Margaret Cho lumped into one big ‘Asian’ melting pot sans cultural accuracy?
Carmen Van Kerckhove Mixed race people exist in a space where their legitimacy is constantly questioned. Also, it almost seems as if how a mixed person self-identifies is the least important factor in how she is perceived racially. Everybody else has their opinion and they think it counts for more. For example, Obama has repeatedly articulated that he self-identifies as a black man. Yet people ignore his words and continue to speculate on whether he’s “really” black.
I don’t think that calling Margaret Cho “Asian” is necessarily culturally inaccurate. Sure, she’s Korean-American. But also bear in mind that “Asian-American” has emerged as an important political identity. (editorial note: Again, in Hawaii, clumping cultural entities like Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Malay into ‘Asian’ is dicey, as is ‘classifying’ Tongan, Samoan, Filipino, native Hawaiian as Pacific Islander/Polynesian. ‘Melting pot’ perceptions aside, knowing who’s who from a self-identifying perspective is an integral part of cultural respect and island tradition–A.)
Shaping Youth What can producers, writers, and content creators do to represent multi-ethnic nuances and massive (hapa) melding without faltering into the ‘what ARE you?’ line of thinking/scripts where Hollywood is casting for ‘type?’
Carmen Van Kerckhove When writing a mixed race character, people should try and steer clear of the tragic mulatto stereotype. The movie “Imitation of Life” is the classic example: a story of a woman, not quite black, not quite white, caught between two worlds. There are countless stories like this, and somehow in all of these films, the tragic mulatta always ends up singing in a seedy club wearing a tattered bodice. Believe it or not, many mixed race people today are shockingly well-adjusted.
Shaping Youth What messages are kids receiving surrounding inter-racial dating cues, if any?
Carmen Van Kerckhove In the past, interracial couples existed as a plot point. They would only appear in a TV show or movie if the whole point of the plot was the opposition to their relationship. Nowadays, we’re seeing interracial couples show up as any other couple. On the one hand, I think it’s good that interracial couples are not only portrayed in a context of racial tension. But on the other hand, depictions like Grey’s Anatomy tend to pretend that racism doesn’t exist at all. So the message kids are receiving nowadays is that interracial relationships are no big deal, but I think that’s probably an overly rose-colored view of things.
Shaping Youth You teach a lot of workshops with some pretty pithy names, like the Oppression Olympics, or Geishas and Math Nerds/Challenging Stereotypes, or one of my favorites…“Cute But Confused: Myths and Realities of Mixed Race Identity“…what was one of your biggest lessons learned from one of your workshop students?
Carmen Van Kerckhove One of the people who attended my workshop “Not Just Fetishists and Race Traitors: Challenging the Ways We Look At Interracial Relationships” had this to say:
“I feel like I’ve been walking around with blinders on. The myths you presented really challenged me to be aware of these attitudes. Also, I feel challenged to pay attention to my own preconceptions about interracial couples.”
Shaping Youth What are your favorite media literacy sites for kids involving race issues? (e.g. I often use MyPopStudio, to deconstruct kids’ claims of multi-tasking media prowess, and I often give kids’ ‘homework’ to design a cereal box via PBS Kids Don’t Buy It or deconstruct Food Tricks to see how junk food is marketed to them for ‘aha’ moments)
Carmen Van Kerckhove I think tolerance.org is really good. I know I sound like a broken record by now, but I think the best way for kids to develop critical thinking skills is for parents to include them in frequent discussions about race and media. Next time you watch TV, point out racial stereotypes and ask your kids what they think.
Shaping Youth Finally, what do you see is the biggest misconception that needs debunked universally in the media/mktg. machine?
Carmen Van Kerckhove You don’t have to write race-specific characters to bring about diversity. Try and break out of the habit of associating white with being “normal.” If you’re writing a screenplay about a couple of regular guys, those guys can be Asian or Latino or Black or Native American.
Mini Bio/News Flash:
Shaping Youth is thrilled to announce that Carmen Van Kerckhove will join us on our National Advisory Board, so this is far from the last you’ll hear from her!
Carmen’s Racialicious blog has made headlines (most recently featured on the cover of the ‘race issue’ of popular youth mag TimeOut, New York) for venturing beyond ‘diversity speak’ and buzzwords to unearth some of the real issues behind race and racism. Carmen herself is repeatedly sought after in the mainstream press as a balanced analyst based on her thorough interpretations and insights into the complexity of race relations, media, and pop culture.
She rounds out Shaping Youth’s race/pop culture media pro panel by joining other experts like recording industry media maven and hip-hop/FCC policy pro Lisa Fager of Industry Ears. Together, I’m confident we’ll have surround sound (discerning eyes/keen listening/in-depth knowledge) of race and media’s impact on children’s self-worth and overall worldview.
A few other Racialicious resources/reminders:
Anti-Racist Parent (her multiple blogs are linked in our article here)
Addicted to Race podcasts about America’s obsession with race; a mashup of news, commentary, discussion, listener feedback and interviews with writers, activists, and academics.
Carmen’s racial round up of ‘top 10 trends’ postings w/info-jammed media samples, including:
2005 (DNA tests, hate crimes, celebrities talking about race, how can I be racist? I’m in an interracial relationship!, blackface is back, race still black and white only, more products for mixed people and families)
2006 (race-swapping undercover experiments, hipster racism, the continuing obsession with interracial relationships, the new minstrel show, racism on college campuses, fear of a Latino takeover, the return of the white man’s burden and more…)
2007 guesses? Anyone?
Next up…Nickelodeon’s big ticket cartoon series debut for 2007, Ni-Hao, Kai-Lan, voiced by ten-year old Jade-Lianna Peters. (dollars invested by Nick are said to pack a marketing punch the level of Spongebob; whoa!) I’m keeping fingers crossed she’ll be a much better role model than the undersea critter hawkin’ junk food though…chime in if anyone’s seen it yet?) Stay tuned…
I’m reprinting this Ad Age focus group comment from Laura Martinez (who blogs at: Mi Blog Es Tu Blog) since Ad Age
comments were closed and I couldn’t add my own and link for some reason. (can’t figure out why, since older articles still ALLOW comments? go figure)
Anyway, she speaks to the ‘not being Hispanic enough’ (Obama redux) about how stats/studies can skew accordingly.
Read more here:
An Inconvenient Mexican
For Some, I’m Not Hispanic Enough
Posted by Laura Martinez on 08.28.07 @ 05:30 PM
Growing up in Mexico City, I thought my family and friends were kind of an oddity because we didn’t look like the Scandinavian types dominating the airwaves and the outdoor advertisements. Happy blond, blue-eyed people were everywhere pitching sodas, insurance, airlines and cars. At night the 9 o’clock telenovela invariably brought us a story about a good, virginal maid who was also very light skinned and for some reason ended up in the arms of the rich home-owner (who by the way always sported a compound name such as Alberto Manuel or Roberto Alejandro). People in the ads did not look like the people we saw in our everyday lives simply because, as my creative director friend later explained to me, the point was to send a message that was “aspirational”; that is, to have people aspire to be more stylish, more wealthy, more … blond?
That was then — and there. But now after nine years in the U.S., exposed to Hispanic-targeted media and so-called “Hispanic-specific advertising,” I feel like an oddity again, because I don’t seem to fit the “type” of Hispanic people the media insists on portraying, and researchers insist on “researching.”
Take my recent brush with a focus-group recruiter who called to ask if I would be interested in participating in a focus group among Mexican women ages 31-50 living in the New York City area. “Sure!” I thought. After all, I had nothing much to do and was going to walk away $50 richer. Mind you, it was not only the 50 bucks that caught my attention. I was perfect for the gig. I am a Mexican who speaks Spanish (duh!), still between the ages of 31 and 50 and, most importantly, I live very near the place where the focus group was to take place. But then came the pre-screening process, an excruciating 10-minute phone interview, which I failed miserably (and it was in Spanish).
It went sort of like this:
–Which brand of facial cream do you use at night?
–None. I don’t wear night cream
–OK. Which is your cellphone provider?
–Verizon Wireless
–Oh … [long pause] … What about education? Did you finish elementary school?
–I have a BA in Journalism so I guess you can say I did
–Are you married?
–I’m divorced.
–I’m sorry chica, you just don’t qualify for our test, but we’ll keep you posted on our upcoming focus groups.
Although I’m still trying to figure out the connection between the cellphone and the night cream, I realized that having an education but not a husband was too much for these researchers to bear. I am sure someone out there perusing over the data figured I was simply not the type of Mexican they were looking for.
The whole incident was actually funny and gave me a story to blog about, but at the same time I could not help but wonder: Why can’t marketers and advertisers just acknowledge that Latin Americans (and everyone else for that matter) come in all sizes, shapes and colors? Why do they insist on giving us only Hispanic-looking dolls? (I grew up playing with Barbie and Ken, for God’s sake!) I guess marketers are right when they say I am simply not the target of their multicultural efforts, but one thing I’m pretty sure of: For matters concerning marketing and advertising, I am simply an inconvenient Mexican.
And once again, (see cyborg fembot appreciation from Steve Hall at Adrants) he ads this little language oops as a ‘ditty’ to our day…”Amusing”? Um…Again, sorry, Steve, poor word choice methinks:
http://www.adrants.com/2007/08/trekstor-beats-blacksthen-changes-product.php
“In an unfortunate and amusing product naming mishap, German company TrekStor had named one of its MP3 players i.beat blaxx. upon realizing the not so nice meaning of that product name, the company has since switched the name to a less culturally agitating and more simple blaxx. One wonders who looks at this stuff before it goes out?”
Indeed. There’s an agency in London called “World Writers” that prevents global gaffes like this…Blaxx clearly should’ve hired them.
I wrote an entire essay for a media magazine on international cultural faux pas in translations…(name generation and twisted slogans that get launched, do damage, then leave egg on the face of creators.) Sheesh, people, do your homework…or you’ll end up being like Chevy Nova translating to “it doesn’t go,” Nescafe in Portuguese meaning “it’s not coffee,” or the detergent Biz meaning “breast” in Syrian.
The Blaxx blunder would put it at sloppy branding rather than racism, tho I suppose that’s giving them the benefit of the doubt…these days it could’ve purposely been placed as an ‘oops’ to generate press. (and yes, this IS done, folks…it’s risky on the backlash front, but ‘guerilla marketing’ to some)
Either way, ‘amusing’ it is not.