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Blog Post #7

 How did trolling originate?

Many people think trolling started on a forum similar to Reddit titled 4chan, but it's hard to say exactly when it began since everyone has a different idea of what trolling is. Nonetheless, years before the creation of 4chan, where trolling became an identity, when the internet was still fresh, it was full of people causing mischief by messing with those new to the internet, often with shocking images for amusement or “lulz”. The ambiguity the internet provided made it easy for people to create multiple profiles, mess with people, and move on to another account without any punishment. With the evolution of ambiguity and accessibility of the internet, this almost harmless joking quickly turned into something of great concern.  

Does a troll need to know it is a troll in order for it to be a troll?

This question is brought up by Kelly Begstrom by using the case of Reddit vs. Grandpa Wiggley. Granda Wiggly popped up on Reddit identifying as an old man with a love of condiments and cats, and quickly became a beloved user. However, when it was revealed that he was not real but a creation of another user named Wordsauce, users felt betrayed and became very aggressive towards Wordsauce, calling him a troll and releasing his personal information. Begstrom argues that Grandpa Wiggley was not a troll and that the term troll was being used too loosely in his case. While people who followed him felt betrayed, the creator did not create the personality in order to tease or fool people from the evidence Begstrom could gather. In Begstrom's eyes, and mine, a troll does need to know it is a troll in order to be one. Focusing on the intent of the user. 

What are the dangers of cyber harassment? 

 Danielle Citron illustrates numerous cases and dangers of cyber harassment in her book, Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, by sharing how, in extreme cases, victims can suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, and more when the hate online leaks to their offline life. With the increased use of technology in the job field and dating life, your online profile can be viewed to get an interview or confirm a romantic date. When your online image is tainted by trolls, this can result in the loss of job interests or possible romantic relationships. When you can not get an interview or a date, many people see the possibility of going on living as daunting. The biggest danger of cyber harassment is in the teenage demographic, with many cases of teenagers committing suicide due to the harassment. Ending their lives too young out of fear of never being able to get a job, and a feeling of the world coming after them all because their social media is being flooded by trolls. In addition, these dangers have reached offline as cases of ex-boyfriends and husbands posting their wives on SA forums, inviting people to go to their houses and assault them. 

How can we tackle cyber harassment?

While the internet might not seem new, it is in the eyes of the government. Citron advocates that civil rights laws for stalking and harassment need to be implemented, no matter where the threat was made. Many people do not see online harassment as severe or serious, but as we have seen with these cases, it very much is real; there are still people behind those screens with severe motives, and the ability to track down addresses. Civil laws are meant to protect victims, and the fear of starting a storm by punishing people for online harassment should not prevent them from doing so. Employers should be forced to allow victims to explain their online hate and should not refuse them an interview to explain the lies spread about them online. 

Refrences

Bergstrom, K. (2011). “Don’t feed the troll”: Shutting down debate about community expectations on Reddit.com. 

Citron, D. K. (2014). Hate crimes in cyberspace. Harvard University Press. 

Phillips, W. (2015). Defining Terms: The Origins and Evolution of Subcultural Trolling. (pp.    62–75).

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Blog #6

Are humans cyborgs?

According to Donna J. Haraway, we are cyborgs. Haraway argues that as humans, we are shaped/created by society and the environment against our will. They believe that the line between human and machine is becoming impossible to distinguish. They believe that our world is becoming so consumed by technology that it is slowly consuming us, becoming one. We base our knowledge and human connection on the algorithm fed to us by technology. We go to work for corporate giants as if we have been programmed to do so, the feared 9 to 5 of it all. It is as if our bodies and our humanity do not matter to those capitalist corporations. Regarding the physical aspect of cyborgs, modern technology has gotten so advanced that it has become invisible, undetected, and everywhere we turn. 

Can we live in a world without gender?

Haraway argues that we can live in a world without gender. Cyborgs do not categorize themselves by gender but rather by their capabilities. They write, “ It is not clear what is mind and what body in machines that resolve into coding practices” (p. 357).  Cyborgs do not separate themselves by physical appearances and are not held back by their gender. As technology advances, we see the line between gender start to disappear. Technology allows for ambiguity and the transience of gender norms. 

What role do women play in White supremacist groups? 

The role women play in the white supremacist space is overlooked. The space happens to be so large that ladies-only forums have been created. There is also the false belief that these women only have these beliefs due to their husbands and that they are uneducated. The opposite is true, however, as Daniels highlights a study by Kathleen Blee that found that most women in her sample were educated, employed, did not come from abusive homes, or were poor. Lastly, only some of them followed their husbands, while others joined in the same way men do, by meeting people in the organization. In the organization, women chose screen names based in beauty while men chose names depicting them as strong and heroic. When these women went on to explain their screen names, they doubled down and said their names were boring while the men were praised for their names and shared it proudly. Even in white supremacist groups, there is a male dominance.They discuss conservative beliefs on things such as marriage, children, and beauty.

What do White supremacists feel about homosexuality today?

White supremacist groups, while not outwardly supporting same sex relationships, are not so much against it as you might assume and even accepting of gay white men to their cause. They go as far as to support same sex relationships from becoming criminalized since homosexual individuals have found to contribute to their cause. In the digital space, they include “prowhite homosexuals”, however, ignore lesbian relationships.  

References: 

Haraway, D. J. (1985). A cyborg manifesto: Science, technology, and socialist-feminism in the late twentieth century.

Daniels, J. (1997). White Lies: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality in White Supremacist Discourse.

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Blog #5

What is wrong with the phrase “I don’t see race”?

Claiming not to see one's race is a privilege afforded to white people. What they are unknowingly doing when claiming not to see the color of minority groups is ignoring the privilege that their white skin brings them. In addition, you are ignoring that these minority groups have fewer resources available to them through prejudiced laws and policies. That their not being able to get a job or house is due to their “laziness” and not their skin color. You are ignorantly ignoring the fact that White failure is seen as a failure in the system while failure for people of color is seen as their fault and failure. You are ignoring and invalidating minority struggles. You are ignoring their culture and rich heritage. 

Why can’t race be used as a punchline?

Online, race is often used in order to get a laugh. Sometimes it is at the fault of those within the race. With the rise of social media, every day a new trend is born by someone wanting the fame given by creating a trend. A recent trend brought up by Social Media Handbook is the viral 2012 video “Sh*t Girls Say”, which cultivated a trend of people believing it was okay to post videos demeaning minority groups based on hurtful stereotypes. Covering it up by claiming it to “be a joke”, ignoring the fact that many people find these stereotypes to be true, and reinforcing them. This is confirmed by people in the comments who say “My girlfriend does that”. People of color are not all the same and do not behave all the same. As the handbook highlights by Ramsey's comments, “...you’re giving racists justification to continue seeing us as one entity rather than individuals” (2012).

Why is multiculturalism an issue and how do large companies exploit race?

All large corporations are constantly attempting every day to reach a new audience and make more money. With the rise of multiculturalism, companies have found a new way to make money. With these growing algorithms, anything is possible and as Benjamin addressed in Race After Technology, Netflix has found that they can tell the race of their subscriber by tracking what films they are interested in. For example, if they see someone constantly watching films with Black actors and films of the Black American experience, they will start advertising and recommend them with similar films, leading that subscriber to think that they are more progressive and inclusive than they are; deceiving them. Leading them to continue to support them. 

How does race impact the making of technology? 

 Coded inequality is real. Whether it be video games or social media platforms, their coding is biased. They are coded to attract White supremacist groups and generate online traffic from people who oppose these views. Problematic material is what brings the most attention. Attention of opposing and supporting groups. As in the last post, Yellowface Cyborg was designed, and programmed, on the exploitation of the Asian race and culture for the benefit of white cis men.

References:

Senft & Noble, Race & Social media Benjamin, Race After Technology

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WGST - Blog #4

Why is it difficult to not bring up race in cyberspace? 

According to Beth Kolko and colleagues, race is an idea shaped by culture rather than biological. One countries way of defining a group of people may have a different definition in another country. For example, what “black” means in the United States is not the same as it does in South Africa. These different definions of race make for differering opinions on race and in turn, puts race up for conversation. In addition, while the internet provides the opportunity to adopt a different race as a way to escape reality, it is nearly impossible to change the way our race has already affected us offline. The set understandings and assumptions of race offline carry on with us online, shaping our interactions with others within and or outside our race group. Lastly, we do not want to silence the topic of race in order to avoid arguments as silence does not fuel change. It is difficult and destructive to not speak on race online as cyberspace reflects our conversations in the real world. 

Does allowing white supremacist groups online affect anyone? 

 Yes, white supermacist groups are not only hurtful but can also spread false information to the most vulnerable of people. Many people, especially children go online to gather information, for school projects and overall research, and when they do, they are at risk of stumbling across disguised white supermacist groups that lie to further their agendas. This undoubtably can be very harmful as it can rewrite history for those who are our future. When it comes to those seeking out white supremacist content and reassureance, these sites have already proven to be very dangerous. As Daniel shares, criminals and murderes drew inspiration and reassurance from white supremacist groups to go out in public to places where margionlized groups gather and open fire in hopes of killing and doing harm. Overall, these groups have proven to only affect but harm not only margonized groups but also our future.   

How can video games be sexist, racist, and depict colonization?

  Jeffrey Ow does well to call out video games and video game designers on their games being rooted in colonization ideals and for using race and sexuality as a way to appeal to their target audiences. The example he gives is the 1998 computer action game Shadow Warrior. Which depicts a mixed asian cyborg named Lo Wang that feds into the 70s kungfu stereotypes as he teleports around asia conolozing, killing, and raping civilans. The women of the game are shown in little to no cloting and made to act and say provocative things. The cyborg destroys culturally significant objects such as buddhist statues and Pachinko machies while also taking advance of the culture such as bathhouses and train systems. The creators of this game and others reply to criticism by stating that those offended should just not interact with their game,igoring the harm their game does and further feeding harmful rederact to their white male audience as a way to feed their obsession with Asia and their mail order brides and vulnerable women. 

 How can we protect oursleves online? 

With the growing advancements to technology come those in high power who want to control and abuse it. How we can protect ourselves from these people is to know who owns what and ask: Who is in charge of the new sites you seek? Are they biased and manipulative? What do they have to gain from your attention? Become aware of data collection or “cookies” and what information they are collecting off of you. Allow them to only gather the necessary information to view the sites. Look out for websites with httpS at the top and only go on sites with that S at the end, and do not give sites without it that do not say gov your personal information. Be aware of Apple intelligence and what your settings are on your iPhone. Do not use facial recognition. And lastly, use a VPN.

References

Kolko, B. E., Nakamura, L., & Rodman, G. B. (Eds.). (2000). Race in cyberspace. Routledge.

Ow, J. A. (2000). The revenge of the yellow-faced cyborg terminator.

Daniels, J. (2009). White Supremacy in the Digital Era.

Lee, L. (2025). Digital Literacy.

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Support the Department of Gender and Sexuality at Cal State Fullerton!

At CSUF today, the once named Department of Women and Gender Studies and Queer Studies (WGST/QS) celebrated their new name Gender and Sexuality Studies (GSS)! Gender and Sexuality Studies teaches us to become critical thinkers and question everything in order to prevent the exploitation of marginalized communities. It is crucial that we stay educated and aware of social structures that oppose and target minority groups; as seen from our past and our history books. It is important that we provide support for this department and what it stands for/teaches us now more than ever in a time of fear!

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WGST - Blog Post #3

How have black Americans contributed to and utilized technology?

Anna Everett details the Million Woman March in Philadelphia on October 25th, 1997, and how black women utilized technology to spread awareness and draw attention to their cause. Those in the organization who worked office jobs with computers downloaded and printed all the information the Million Woman Mach website had so they could disperse it to those who did not have such access. Historically, African Americans worked to innovate media technologies, including the radio, printing press, cinema, and many more. Today, they utilize the internet every day for their growing small businesses. In 1991, a  Nigerian network came to light as a Nigerian Dartmouth student sent news of his home country to his friends back home through email. Today, “Naijanet has spun off at least six related online networks.” The first African American-owned and operated newspaper, the Freedom’s Journal, was founded in 1827 

How are marginalized communities depicted online?

Marginalized communities are not even free of racism on the internet. In fact, according to Noble, the algorithm promotes it. Noble sheds to light not only Google's values as a company but also their algorithm that plasters pornography of women of color on the front pages of their search results. Not only are women paid less at Google, but their employees also endorsed James Damores's “anti-diversity” manifesto that claimed that women are less capable than men in software engineering. As Noble puts it, “Some of the very people who are developing search algorithms and architecture are willing to promote sexist and racist attitudes openly and beyond, while we are supposed to believe that these same employees are developing “neutral” or “objective” decision-making tools.” The President of the United States was not free of racism as Google search and maps displayed photos of his wife Michelle when the word apes was searched, including photoshopped images of her on an ape's body. The White House was referred to by a black slur in response to Obama’s presidency. 

Why is it so difficult to bring awareness and fight back against racist technology?

It is difficult for journalists to report on technological news as the tech world changes rapidly every day. Issues can be resolved and covered up in a blink of an eye. Then, when issues are brought up, companies claim that it is not their fault, it's the algorithm's fault, the algorithm they fostered and built. Google Search labels itself as an advertising company, not a place of reliable information, to protect itself against claims of inaccurate and potentially harmful spread of information.

Why should we be worried about racist algorithms?  

Racist algorithms can do more harm than we expect. Not only is it furthering the fetishization of women of color, but it also harms those of lower socioeconomic status and innocent people who are labeled otherwise due to their names. “Technological redlining” (Noble), racial profiling is apparent in real estate and banking as their algorithms push people of color, mostly in low-income neighborhoods, to pay higher interest rates. Algorithms affect the job markets as “job seekers with White-sounding first names received 50 percent more callbacks from employers than job seekers with Black-sounding names” (Benjamin, pg.22). In addition, “in a recent audit of California’s gang database, not only do Blacks and Latinx constitute 87 percent of those listed, but many of the named turned out to be babies under the age of 1, some of whom were supposedly ‘self-described gang members’” (pg. 24). Racial coded technology is affecting the lives of marginalized communities offline, in the job market and law enforcement. All of these are crucial for living in a society and can be even detrimental.  

References

Anna Everett; The Revolution Will Be Digitized: AFROCENTRICITY AND THE DIGITAL PUBLIC SPHERE. Social Text 1 June 2002; 20 (2 (71)): 125–146.  

Benjamin, R. (2020). Race after technology: Abolitionist Tools for the new jim code. Polity. 

Noble, S. U. (2018). Algorithms of oppression: How search engines reinforce racism. New York University Press. 

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Blog #2 - WGST 320

In what ways does cyberfeminism depict women's bodies on the Internet? 

There are many opinions on how people on the internet discuss women's bodies online; conversations are often brought up by other women. According to Jesse Daniels (2009), women either go online to seek an escape from gender oppression in their everyday lives or to reaffirm it. Daniels uses two great examples for both spectrums; the pro-ana community and the transgender community. The pro-ana or “pro-anorexia” community, often consisting of young women, provides emotional support for those suffering so they can feel in control. Still, the Internet can promote unhealthy habits and uplift unhealthy societal standards for those suffering as the Internet is full of women promoting diets and body comparisons. The transgender community, on the other hand, is a guiding post for those repressed by society. Offering them advice on surgery and transitioning, emotional support, and the opportunity to be themselves by other queer women online when they are unable to find such offline.    

How does the rise of surveillance technology mimic the values of society today?

According to Eubanks, since the Great Recession, economic insecurity has been at an all-time high. In response, public services started consolidating technological advances in their systems to detect high-risk candidates. These systems target marginalized groups when they apply for benefits and intense surveillance. The poor are so highly monitored by the government in terms of their location and personal information that it becomes invasive. Their purchases being tracked; mimic society's belief that they are criminals that can not be trusted. That they are poor at no one's fault but their own, that it is not at the fault of the government and society that claims to protect them. In addition, these harsh strategies put off those in need of these services. 

With the increase in AI, how does this growing technology affect marginalized communities?

AI systems self-build and gather their data by use of the Internet. The Internet however shows a strong bias against marginalized communities since the Internet reflects the views of society. When you search “criminal” photos of Black people show up. When you search “immigrants” Mexicans come up. The tech industry is overpowered and run by the most privileged, white men. So what happens when the police start using this biased AI? Innocent people are arrested and targeted. Kashmir Hill supports this idea by discussing the recent arrest and jailing of Nijeer Parks, a black man from New York who was accused of shoplifting and trying to hit a police officer with his car. Nijeer was taken in after AI matched him to the fake ID of the offender despite him looking nothing like the culprit. Hill also cites a 2019 study that failed to recognize 100 faces of Black and Asian people.

How do protests bring awareness and shape our country?

This week “A Day Without Immigrants” had stores shutting down, and marginalized communities protesting, and boycotting. The protests, mostly done by the Mexican community, took to the streets after feeling valuable and targeted by their government. They closed down the freeway and drew the attention of the media and lawmakers. Showing them and their community that they will not give up fighting for the rights of those who can not fight.

References:

Daniels, J. (2009). Rethinking Cyberfeminism(s): Race, Gender, and Embodiment. 

Eubanks, V. (2019). Automating inequality: How high-tech tools profile, police, and punish the poor. Picador, St. Martin’s Press.

Hill, K. (2020, December 29). Another arrest, and jail time, due to a bad facial recognition match. The New York Times, pp. 1–5.

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SOS

January 21st, 2025, the first day back of spring semester 2025 at Cal State Fullerton, my brain was consumed with numerous class times and room numbers swimming in my head and the anxious feeling of walking into the wrong class or looking lost. My brain is so clouded that I fail to think of checking the campus wifi on my devices the moment I step on campus or checking if I need to download lecture slides the night before. With 10 minutes to spare, I find my class. I quickly walked in and hustled to find the perfect seat that would unofficially serve as my seat for the rest of the semester. Once I find my seat, rather than preparing my tablet, I go on my phone and read a little of my current book. A few minutes later, my professor comes in and quickly starts lecturing without missing a beat. I fumble to pull out my tablet to write notes, what I am met with when I turn it on however is a huge blaring SOS at the top right corner. I panic. Anxiously, I scramble to settings, and I attempt the school wifi putting in my username and password. Unfortunately for me, I am flashed by the word “unavailable”. I tried it again, knowing I had entered the correct password. “Unavailable” again. Trying to stay composed, knowing in the back of my head that the wifi isn’t working since I am in a classroom with no service. Desperately, I pulled out my laptop in the hopes that it would work better. It does not. I pull out my phone to try to use my hotspot. This attempt is a shortcoming however since again, there is no service in this room. Now I have not only my laptop on my lap but also my tablet and iPhone trying to scramble between each praying with everything inside me that one of them connects before my professor is done talking so I can catch up on what feels like rapid-fire notes. I am shaking my head in disbelief, my body is shaking with nervousness, fear, and embarrassment. Hoping that my fellow students will not judge me with the first impression that I am an unprepared failure who does not deserve to be among them. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, my hotspot for my tablet decided to work and my canvas started loading as if an angel felt my desperation and came down to help. My thumbs work the quickest they have ever worked to download the class slides. My heart stops and my palms are sweaty as the loading system displays. Thankfully, my vision clears as lord and behold my tablet takes me to Goodnotes where I can write notes without needing service. All is alright again and I can sit in my seat comfortably.