Feelin' Racy?

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Who knew a post about the annoying charming Southern drawl could get so many hot and sexy, yet clearly uncomfortable panties in a wad?

Well, I suppose you are right. There are way more things to pick on the South about, so why not leave the drawl alone and go for the things that are really annoying -- like how gay folks can't adopt children in Mississippi or how many Southern high schools still allow segregated proms.

Yeah. The drawl thing was way funnier.

But it's all quite appropo, since this topic of race, ethnicity, and culture as it relates to blogging has been circling the blogosphere for the last few weeks. The thoughtful posts* have discussed not only the obvious imbalance in numbers between blogs written by folks of color and those written by white-identified folks, but also how the PR/Marketing contingency has overlooked this subset of bloggers.

I'll be speaking with Jason from Daddy in a Strange Land and Rice Daddies, and Glennia from Silent I and Kimchi Mamas about their experiences as bloggers of color, and the issues surrounding their perception of inclusion/exclusion in the blogosphere. I'll also be joined by Kelly from Mocha Momma, who will also be sharing her experiences, most significantly regarding the PR/Marketing debacle.

I'd love to hear your comments and questions as they relate to this topic:

Are you a blogger of color and if so, do you think this affects your readership (who reads you and who you read), as well as other aspects of the blogging community (including PR pitches for fantastic products like blueberry juice and granola bars)? Are you a white-identified blogger and if so, how do you feel about the imbalance of bloggers of minority culture?

Feel free to call in during the live show tonight**: 9-10pm EST (646) 915-8634 and/or download the show via iTunes at any time (Motherhood Uncensored). Get updates by subscribing to my feed. And if you prefer, leave a comment/question here or via email.

*Roxana linked up all the posts, so I'm just linking here. I encourage you to visit and read through the posts. You know, when you have an extra 14,000 minutes. But truly, they are excellent reads.

**It's my first show from the new house. The new house where I have no babysitter or husband, and where the movers will have probably just finished up leaving all my wordly belongings all over my house.

Comments

[dancing dragon]

Which prom is a person who is neither black nor white supposed to go to? There must be some Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans in the small town South...

Interestingly, I never even thought about the fact that I am a blogger of color until I saw your BlogTalk Radio topic and this post. I just thought of myself as a person who blogs. I didn't see race as affecting my blogging experience any more or less than the real life race relations.

There were plenty of Asians who blogged, even pre-blog tool days, so I didn't even consider the idea that blogging is white-dominated. I actually only thought about the white female numbers recently when I started reading this circle of mommy blogs.

Like in real life, the diversity is there, but depends who we seek to read and who is interested in reading ours. As an example, my college had great diversity, but through all the years, most of my interactions were with white and Asian people. The campus as a whole wasn't racially imbalanced, but many people's individual experience were somewhat racially segregated.

[Cynthia]

Loved the show.

[Jennifer James]

I listened to your radio show today and loved it. I believe months ago when I wrote for ClubMom (I used to blog at Joyride Through Insanity) you even talked about black mom bloggers because someone asked if we even existed. Thanks for keeping the discussion going!

[angie]

I'm a black mommy blogger, and I think it's a stereotype to say that other black mothers don't blog because they don't have computers. I have found several in the blogsphere, and I taught a summer computer class to a bunch of black children, ALL of which had computers at home. My husband grew up very poor, in a single parent household, and yet still had a computer, as did everyone else in his family.

The issue could be that we are actually a minority--ie., we are smaller in number than whites, and that's why you see fewer blogs.

[river]

I'm always astonished when racism rears its ugly head. People are people, looks, colour, nationality mean nothing to me.

[Diatribal]

I too, drawl my ass off. I'm originally from Arkansas (where they still have "Deer Days" instead of recognizing Martin Luther King Day), but I'm moving to Michigan. I'm looking forward to the change, but I will always love the south!

Thanks for exploring this topic more in depth. There is certainly a deep divide in the blogging community, and I would be interested to know the root cause.

[meg]

I seem to come at this from the opposite perspective. My blog is about living in China, so on the local blogosphere, whites (btw, what's up with that? from now on I am identifying as "peach") are far outnumbered by Chinese writers. Even among expat writers, women are far outnumbered by men. So although I'm a white girl blogger, I feel like in my side of the blogland, I'm a tiny minority.

[Kristen]

Canape.

LMAO.

[Bethiclaus]

I'm a white-identified mommyblogger who has a child of color (and another on the way) and I wish there were more resources from non-white parents out there. It's easy to say that the blogs offer us the opportunity to work out our questions with the help of other real parents, but what if the other parents aren't dealing with the same issues? I will definitely listen to the show.

[imstell]

Man, I am so out of touch. I didn't even realize the blogosphere was IN color. And you can segregate a prom? I can't even segregate socks!

[Mrs Mogul]

I'm just catching up and whoa you're now in ATLANTA?! Very soon we will be driving (with or without our worldly possessions from storage) up to NJ/NY. Also your husband is a PILOT? SO IS MINE!! Weird!

[canape]

I drawl. Usually. Unless I'm nervous.

How about this one for your list? I graduated in 1991, and schools could still choose whether they were taking a holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or for Robert E. Lee Day.

This is also known as reason #487 why I don't live in Mississippi anymore.

[Vicky]

Oooh as soon as I read that line about the drawl I knew that would come back. As a native New Englander who went to school below the mason-dixon line I've been called a swamp yankee, a damn yankee all with that sweet drawl. Funny it was only the drawl that bothered me.

Now people ask me if I'm from Virginia. Guess I've stayed too long.

[Anne Glamore]

My boys learned how to say "milk" with 2 syllables. "Mee-ulk." Yep. That's when I realized I better get a handle on this accent.

Maybe MetroDad can comment on whether it's really bad or not.

AND my son just named his new parakeet Texas Ranger, but that could be considered culturally hip, not overtly Southern, right?

Here's hoping a sofa comes your way. Remember not to keep it on the front porch!

[Kristen]

I think a bunch of issues come into play -- class for one, as well as other factors.

I'll discuss them tonight -- that's a WHOLE long comment :)

[MetroDad]

I'm a blogger of color and it definitely does affect my readership.

On the plus side, I have a large core of solidly loyal Asian readers from all over the world. Many of them aren't even parents but I guess they enjoy hearing the random babbling of an Asian-American dad writing about parenting.

On the other hand, I probably don't attract readers who are racist against Asians. I couldn't care less about them.

I think, as a whole, the entire issue is a little overblown. What does inclusion/exclusion in the blogosphere really mean anyway? If you're looking for your blog and its popularity to validate who you are, you might want to reconsider that perspective.

So PR people don't target bloggers of color? Who cares? Why should the internet be any different from other forms of media? Do you think minorities are targeted or portrayed acurately on film or television?

And is there really an imbalance of minority bloggers? Or are we looking at it from our narrow perspective of being "parenting" bloggers? The internet is a big place. I see a lot of minority bloggers out there. A lot of them just aren't writing about being a parent.

Let's face it. The vast majority of people who blog about parenting are white women. Why? Because they can afford computers and they have a lot of free time on their hands. That's why so many of them blog about cats! (Just kidding, people. Relax. The above paragraph was a joke.)

Anyway, sorry for babbling, K. I can't wait to hear the podcast with you interviewing Jason, Glennia, and Kelly. It's like having four of my favorite people all in the same room. Awesome!

[Mrs. Chicken]

This East Coast girl is still reading the words "segregated prom" - they don't make sense because they are SO WRONG.

[christina]

as a woman of color (latina specifically) blog author, this topic runs through my mind every once and a while. i'm aghast at how few latina blog authors there are. is it a class issue?

[Chris]

You are one brave chica to do a radio show from home with no sitter. I'm going to listen, this time. I always forget.
Loved the one you did at Navy Pier.

[christina]

as a woman of color (latina specifically) blog author, this topic runs through my mind every once and a while. i'm aghast at how few latina blog authors there are. is it a class issue?

[David Wescott]

Wow. I'll be on a plane during the live broadcast and can't listen live - but I'd love to know what your guests would say to PR flacks like me on how we can be respectful and relevant.

Of course, these are issues that go well beyond PR, but I'd love to learn more about the perspectives and experiences you'll share. I am definitely looking forward to the podcast.

and again, Kristen, you're showing some tremendous leadership here. too cool.

[LawyerMama]

I'll be listening!

And for the record from a Southern girl with no discernible drawl (unless I'm drunk), I wasn't insulted. I pretty much assume everything you say is tongue-in-cheek. And my dad's name is Jimmy Lee. Seriously. Thankfully our last name sounds nothing like a first name.