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In class on Monday we talked about the concept of digital blackface, particularly via animated reaction Gifs. Recently, I read a similar article discussing white people using dark-skinned emojis. She merely poses the question and tries to get a specturm of answers which I thought was pretty cool. For example, Leslie Miley, a pretty outspoken and well-known advocate for diversity and inclusion in tech said absolutely not, adding “my blackness is not for your entertainment.” Others clarified they will only use emojis of a race other than their own when speaking the third person.
The author’s own mother had a different interpretation, saying that as a black woman she feels okay with it because it shows solidarity. A similar take was that it feels weird to use symbols like a white fist when texting specifically about civil rights topics because of that symbol’s association with white supremacy. The author also took a poll which I thought was pretty neat.
Is it
for white people to use darker skin-tone emoji?
— Megan Rose Dickey (@meganrosedickey) September 29, 2017
Overall I thought the article was a little bias towards once side, but ultimately offered up the idea of discussion, which was great. So naturally I was pretty disgusted when I saw the replies to the articles on Twitter, some thoughtful engagement, but the large majority misogynists with responses like “Oh another SJW finding something to complain about” and “This is a stupid article” and people talking about how this was just another attempt to create divisiveness in America blah blah blah.
Here’s a tip for you, if your response to a call for discussion about to topic is to resort to attacks and unconstructive criticism, YOU are the actual engine of divisiveness. I think it’s unfortunate so many people refuse to engage in the discussions because I think they are incredibly important discussions to have at the intersections of race and technology. We cannot just ignore these things.