MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

This paper seeks to explicate the intersections of social dominance theory and cyberspace; particularly how computer-mediated technology supports and maintains white racial hegemony. Cyberspace has allowed for a social dominance discourse in a protected, yet public space, and these posts are often revelatory of a broader belief in the racial supremacy of whites (Simpson, 2008). Social networkers often feel safer to openly discuss racial feelings in affinity groups (Foster, 2009). While the concept of race in cyberspace has been shaped by the idea that online community is raceless or colorless, in fact, the literature suggests that white supremacy groups have begun to utilize this service for recruitment, announcements, and mobilization purposes (Levin, 2002; Beckles, 1997; Douglas, McGarty, Bliuc, & Lala, (2005).

For the uninitiated, race is simply about skin color. There is a need to explore the possibilities of raising awareness of the complexity of racial dynamics including the social actions and process that are affected by the category of race and including identity formation, racism, discrimination and development of racial ideology.

The foreground of race in cyberspace includes the various ways that digital media are shaping our conceptions of and experience of race in America. The concepts and questions to be explored include: • The digital representation of racial difference (Kretchmer & Carveth, 2001) • The role of the internet and the web in building and maintaining racial communities; (Wilson & Peterson, 2002) • The digital divide of access to media; (Jansen, 2010) and, • The roles of hate groups and community activism online.

Is the Internet post-racial space or does the Internet magnify ethnic and racial differences between people? Understanding cyberspace cultures must include applying sociological concepts (race, ethnicity, racism, identity, prejudice) to online behavior and online communities (Bush, 2011).