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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To say it's mainly a 'white voice' on this forum?

243 replies

Wonderingg · 17/12/2013 15:13

I have been on the site for a few weeks now. I have noticed that it is possibly dominated by white women. If I am wrong please let me know, however I personally do not hear any black or asian voices. Or anything relating to those communities whether it be food, culture, clothing, traditions or issues specifically found in those communities.

OP posts:
musicismylife · 18/12/2013 14:50

well said, creighton.

I think absent fathers, drugs and violence are a problem in ALL communities.

FrankSpenser · 18/12/2013 14:56

Girrrrl frien'. Ain't choo heard? OP ain't evah cummin' back.

I'm Black. Can you tell?

musicismylife · 18/12/2013 15:01

frankspenser Grin

complexnumber · 18/12/2013 15:54

If we make quite a few fairly broad assumptions

i.e.
20% of UK is non-white (Same for male/female)(also over estimating)

Use of MN is independent of skin colour, age and possibly gender. (Not a realistic assumption)

If a random sample of 1000 mn users were taken, the probability that more than half of them were non-white would be about 3%.

So I think that, despite the assumptions made, there is a 'mainly white' voice on this forum.

And the consequence is....?

TheSporkforeatingkyriarchy · 18/12/2013 16:50

The consequence is when media outlets and companies use this place as a guidance to what mothers and women think, and rarely put into consideration the differences in being a parent and woman that is not White. I can't recall the last survey in here that asked about my ethnicity and far too often I hear my ethnicity is not as important as other parts of my identity which is great when your ethnicity is rendered socially invisible by the current systems, but for many of us it is important to who we are in all facets of ourselves, not something that could be stripped off as is often requested.

The treatment of White as a universal perspective within the current systems where White is considered the normal position, rather than the reality of just being the most frequent within the UK (obviously not globally), has the consequence that everyone else's point of view is othered and seen as not real motherhood and not real perspectives as women as well as the frequent issue of White posters refusing to believe posters of other races because they do not experience the same issues. The issue is also expanded to campaigns - for example, the campaign about sexualization of girls focused on media and clothes, ignoring the fetishization that many girls experience is purely because of their race, have different rape rates because of their race.

It isn't just about demographics, it's about representation, philosophy, and actions. Recognising the issue means that these things can be considered - it likely wouldn't change a great deal for most but many little things could have taken consideration of - like when discussing the pay gap the statistics for different ethnicities could be included - maybe alongside many other gaps that are often ignored (disabilities, sexuality, and so much more). In discussing the overseas sex trade, it is often reduced to men as the problem when the vast majority are White men and in many areas White women as well but in very different ways (White men tend to do one night stands on holidays, White women tend to house underage youths in apartments). In discussions of violent acts, if done by a White person their race will basically never be seen as a considering factor while it pretty much always will when it done by anyone else. These things are noticed and could be noted as part of the general discussion.

No, we can't see the races of other people posting on the board, but we can see who gets represented, and whose perspectives are given the most time, whose race gets called up and whose are ignored and whose issues are and are not included. Hand waving it off simply means supporting a system where the White perspective is still held up as the standard to hold others up to rather than just the most frequent within the UK alongside other equals.

babybarrister · 18/12/2013 17:00

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 18/12/2013 20:06

TheSpork
My sons are white British Muslims with Arabic names. Are you really suggesting that they will be regarded and treated identically to my DB's children who are also white British but Christian with English names? You only have to look at some of the goady posts / threads that pop up from time to time to know that isn't the case.

Pendeen · 19/12/2013 23:00

"20% of UK is non-white"

Where did you get that figure from?

I thought it was more like 12%

MrsTerrysChocolateOrange · 19/12/2013 23:34

Please do not tell me that white Irish, jews, poles, Roma, Romanians and Spanish all have the same experiences of 'majority' privilege to which you refer ... That is an interesting one though. Because I have Polish heritage and although I hear a lot of shit stuff that I don't like, the prejudice isn't transferred to me directly because I have no accent and my last name is indistinguishable. That is not true of immigrants who either are of colour or whose name is identifying.

babybarrister · 20/12/2013 08:19

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

babybarrister · 20/12/2013 08:35

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Preciousbane · 20/12/2013 10:11

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Preciousbane · 20/12/2013 10:14

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34DD · 20/12/2013 11:59

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LightsPlease · 20/12/2013 12:24

34dd regarding your jamaican heritage:have you embraced any of it as you said you were raised by white parents?

minifingers · 20/12/2013 12:41

"where the White perspective is still held up as the standard"

What exactly is the 'white perspective'?

In terms of our world view, social identity, politics and moral code, I share more in common with my DH, who is not white, than I do with my white friends.

IME class and education are the great dividers in the UK, vastly more so than race. Education in particular.

2rebecca · 20/12/2013 14:25

You get who you get with open fora. Your point is?
Should we be racist and chain black people to chairs and make them log in to meet your quota?
No idea what the race mix of mumsnet is but if some people have better things to do with their time I don't see why that's a problem.

snowed · 20/12/2013 14:27
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