So, things I take for granted, that seem perfectly natural and assume to be “givens” aren’t necessarily a given to someone else, and vice versa. What you think is universal is actually cultural sometimes.

So, while you are blogging from your perspective, whether you like it or not it is the perspective of someone from your demographic and its not necessarily neutral at all.

It doens’t mean you need to quantify each and every post with a listing, but its something to be aware of and explore at times.

Things are better now, at least, now that there are more different kinds of voices. There were times, back then, when I was THE girl and had to represent all womanhood. Ick.

As for where do you stop, it depends on the conversation. I know my religious history affects how I view comics (especially when Superman’s fighting demons, for example). It’s all part of your context that informs your opinions.

I’m glad to see you’re understanding a bit more of what others are saying. That’s cool.

Your last paragraph is basically the point I was trying to make, but you said it much better than I could. That’s why I don’t consider myself a writer, I just point out interesting things on the web.

When I first started to wander around the comics internet, I could often tell who was and wasn’t white, and the times when I was surprised to be wrong — ie: Ed Cunard — it was usually because “white culture” is so pervasive, especially in comics, that the slightest deviation from that realm of experience sticks out like Yao Ming at a Hobbit convention and I assume “other”.

It’s not just blogs, either, but the bigger web sites like Newsarama, CBR, et al, too, that have a very “white” feel to them. It’s the main reason I gravitated towards PopCultureShock because there was a much more diverse feel to its content and contributors, and it was largely because the people running it are a diverse lot.

As for Ragnell’s musings on white ethnicity, there’s a very distinct difference between, say, Ed Cunard and Kevin Church, or Ragnell and Johanna Draper Carlson. Just like there are a variety of black, gay and female voices out there — and guess what, a lot of them don’t agree with each other! — white people are similarly diverse and no one should be (nor should want to be) summarily lumped together under a generic “ethnic” label.

I believe there is such a thing as white culture. What I want to know is when do you stop listing what defines “you”? Do I need to list my marital status? Do I need to list my income? Do I need to list where I live? What about the area of town? When do you stop? You can’t list all these things. Being “white” or “male” isn’t the most important thing about me. They are big parts of me, but not the most important.

I’ll admit I’ve been suprised in the past, but mostly it’s been the other way around. More like “You’re not female?” Especially with some indy creators.

Btw, Thanks Ed. I’ll check out the link.

http://www.uwm.edu/~gjay/Whiteness/introwhite.htm

Just out of curiosity, have you ever been surprised to find out a certain creator was non-white? What about a user on a forum or listserv? “Oh my goodness, you’re a woman?!”

If so, that’s what Johanna is talking about. White male (or 18-35 White Male) is generally considered the default. It’s not that that is a bad thing, per se, it’s just what we’ve been trained by our society/culture to perceive. It isn’t a conscious thing, either.

I’d also argue that “there’s no such thing as white culture” (though you didn’t post it) is symptomatic of what Johanna referred to, as well. (I hope I’m not putting words in her mouth or misrepresenting her here.) There is a lot of white culture out there, it’s just that it’s viewed as the default culture, so it isn’t seen as special or remarkable sometimes. It’s just there and taken for granted.

It’s an interesting topic, and I’d honestly rather see the debate continue here, Shane, rather than in email. This is Blog@, we’re the good side of Newsarama, aren’t we?

There’s so much to say regarding this, but I don’t want to co-opt “Meanwhile” with a long dissertation on critical whiteness studies, or anything like that.

I look at Dwayne McDuffie as a good example. I wouldn’t know his race by just looking at his New Fantastic Four work would I? Writers CAN use their background to influence what they write, but they don’t have to let it control their work. Labeling everything you write as coming from a “white male perspective” would do that.

That’s what I’m getting at. I’m not saying to ignore race, nationality, sex, etc. but the internet is one of the few places where those factors aren’t as obvious as they are when your discussing something in person. That’s why I see it as a silly argument.

There’s no need for a firestorm either. I don’t see why things can’t be discussed rationally, but then I’m an optimist.

At the same time, the idea behind “black, brown, or yellow ethnic blogs” (quoted from the article) is downright insulting.

But what would I know? My mom’s “white” and my father’s “brown” so I guess I’m only looking at this from my blanched-almond cultural perspective.

Let the firestorm commence.