Assuming ethnicity on MN

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Not a TAAT but definitely inspired by a post on the thread To assume all MNers are UK based?

Totallypearshaped posted

I find it interesting that no one assumes that a poster is black, Asian or mixed race either.

It seems little Britain is alive and well

Neither white, Christian or in the uk here.

And it occurred to me that I tend to do exactly that. I do tend to assume that every other poster (especially those I agree with) are just like me - white British, 30s, professional, mum of 2. But now I think about it, my own assumptions are making me feel very uncomfortable.

Why do I do that? Is it a bad thing or is it just that I don't actually 'see' colour or ethnicity in writing? Am I actually simply seeing myself in other posters rather than seeing other posters as myself? In real life I firmly believe that if you don't pull others up on racism then you are inherently condoning it which makes you racist yourself thus I do pull up family, friends, associates when I see racism, sexism, homophobia and other similar things/unkindness.

(Hoping I'm not offending anyone by posting this pondering)

I'm not white and live in london. BUT i assume most posters are white because it's the UK.

Question

do people assume (majority) gender and ethnicity because of inbuilt white privilege OR because after years on MN they can detect a certain white voice on this site? I see the RL as being far more diverse ethnically than MN

Stop Where I live the vast majority of people are white. There are probably less than 2% mixed heritage kids in DS's village primary school and I work from home so don't meet people who aren't white at work. (I do have a couple of friends who are not white, and my DCs, who are mostly older and at Uni, have friends and share flats with people with all sorts of heritage).

But on a day to day basis, my world is really white. I know this is not the case everywhere in Britain, having lived in various other places including a few years in London. I think it easy to forget that for many people in Britain, on a day to day basis, most people they interact with, or see around, will be white.

I assume that posters are either British or living in the UK unless stated otherwise, mainly because its a uk site. I guess I dont really think aboit ethnicity. I suppose thats my white priviledge speaking.

I am kind of the opposite as live and work in a fairly mixed area, which is party how I can tell what the MN voice (predominant voice) is often like- as its quite different to what I encounter in RL, if that makes sense?

and when people post on here with a different voice, they often get pasted. FACT

so we don't hear an FGM voice, we don't hear an Asian voice and we don't really hear an immigrant voice on here do we? I cant see a refugee Mum, recently housed here getting straight onto MN

in many ways its a shame as the wisdom and courage on here (sometimes!!) would benefit many women

The collective Mumsnet is also liberal and often quite affluent too. And I agree it is different to what I hear in real life (not where I live: that's Mumsnet central but where my parents live).

It's interesting that you feel other voices are not heard or shouted down. My own experience of challenging disablist language on Mumsnet, as a disabled person, was of being shouted down and told I was being ridiculously precious and professionally offended.

astoria speak for yourself!

I'm a 40 something woman brought up in SE London educated at both private and non private schools and I can certainly tell the difference between different races even down to mixed races... Yes I know a few.

I have quite rightly had conversations with a few black friends re discrimination etc and my last workplace was a Jamaican/British workplace with mixed race, white and black and Asian workers. We all got along fine.

I assume some but not all of MN are white UK based.

Tinkly I don't think we are all affluent though, I can think of but won't name a few posters who I'd class (by the nature of their posts) as certainly not affluent.

Not that that's here or there anyway really.

stop my area is certainly more ethnically diverse both workplaces and living. But then that comes of living in London area.

So glad to have inspired someone!

One of the best things about MN is that it is colour blind.

No we are not all affluent and (struggling to say this without sounding incredibly patronising) I have found posts from people who are struggling financially extremely helpful in giving me some small understanding of how society is failing many people.

So yes, I think it is important and useful to hear as wide a range of voices as we can.

I agree with you Tinkly. Great to hear a wide range of voices.

I don't have much experience with people on benefits not because I'm a certain class etc but just because I'm not in touch with them anymore... But I get a great insight here into them and how hard it is to juggle them along with childcare costs etc.

Then there's another post with MNers earning in the hundreds of thousands so it seems!

I think there's a much wider mix of people from different walks of life on MN nowadays, which makes the whole site a lot more interesting.

It's also why it really pisses me off when people talk about how MN has been 'dumbed down' in recent years, and when people leap on others for their grammar and spelling.

Mumsnet is for everyone, not just for those who see themselves as more affluent and better educated.

I first joined MN when I was pregnant, and managed to meet up with a bunch of local pregnant women. I kind of assumed that they would represent the area, so about 1/3 each sort of black, white, Asian. Was surprised they were all white, which clued me in that MN wasn't representative of the population.

olderthanyouthink JKRowling made clear that certain characters were black, but didn't actually say explicitly, so many Americans were surprised Dean Thomas and Angelina were black in the films (Angelina's braids get referred to, which white Americans interpreted as two plaits, and the fact that a kid from east London is called Dean and supports West Ham didn't suggest being black to them).

The assumption that all posters are the same ethnicity as you is obviously wrong, but a good one to have. It shows that you do not have conscious or unconscious racial prejudices against other posters. If you read someone's message and thought, "They must be black, writing that" then that would be the point you should have your racist alarm bells ringing.

The fact you assume everyone is the same can be a good thing, because it means that you basically think people are the same regardless of their race, which most people would argue is a good principle to have.

I don't imagine posters as white, but I assume they are British, unless the poster uses non-British terms like 'mom' and $'. I would say it's a bit weird to assume they are white though, but I'm a city dweller (London).

I do think it's sad that you assume posters you agree with are white. I think there's something strange going on there and you need to re-assess why you think that.

I didn't think of it like that Bar. Interesting.

It's interesting that you feel other voices are not heard or shouted down

I have noticed that if someone posts using a more street/youth vernacular, they are frequently patronised- or told to fuck off to NM

Likewise if someone is young, and maybe less mature and worldly wise, also patronised. Its very easy for a 50 year old twice divorcee to be wise about men, less so for a 21 year old

and we all know about the spelling and grammar

so it does suggest a certain education level and style (not race) are comfortable here

I think sadly, it also suggests some people want to keep a certain education level off of Mumsnet, despite the fact they may need the support here just as much as anyone else.

Sorry for the delay in coming back to the thread - children at an overnight sporting event.

It's been really interesting to read all the replies. I do identify with what barinatxe said and lots to think about about in terms of addressing my own inherent privilege. I value everyone and their opinions IRL so I can see that imagining me at the other end of the computer is actually me just seeing words and that that doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Thinking about this, it is not so much that I assume posters are white/British/female etc, it's just that my generic MNer template is me. I then make adjustments as and when I notice differences. For the most part it really doesn't matter what race/sex/sexual orientation/whatever a poster is and it is quite refreshing not to know.

There are all sorts of assumptions made on MN though. Ethnicity is one. Lazy thinking makes us fill in the gaps with familiar objects or what we perceive as the norm.
I assume most posters are women. No problem with men posting here but unless it's referred to I'd assume female.
People assume posters live in a town or city with facilities. 'Pop to the supermarket!' isn't a 5 minute trip for everyone. 'Go and buy...' isn't happening if you're broke. 'Let the dc play in the garden' is tricky in a third floor flat etc.
It's all over the place.

I think an insular nature is inherent in all people, regardless of heritage. You may of course be sympathetic to others experience, but ultimately you only have what you know and feel yourself as indisputable fact. I think this is why actors who are schooled predominantly in the Stanislavsky method are so predominantly left-wing, they are taught the ability to truly wear the skin of another person, to 'be' someone else ('act' is a misnomer for the method) and so actively suppress that insular nature.

Everyone is preset to think it's all about them, that's how the human race survives.

I think the privilege would come out when someone makes a statement about an issue that they have no understanding about.

Such as 'there's no racism anymore'.

It's highly likely the typical MNer is white and female and UK based. That's the demographics of MN.

But there are a lot of different views and experiences on MN. The great thing about MN is that people with different experiences can share them on here and hopefully not be dismissed by others.

People assume posters live in a town or city with facilities. 'Pop to the supermarket!' isn't a 5 minute trip for everyone. 'Go and buy...' isn't happening if you're broke. 'Let the dc play in the garden' is tricky in a third floor flat etc

This...

And the great thing about MN is that people become aware of these issues.