Cassidy P., Kailey V., Adèle G., and Allie L. sent in a gift guide put together by the New York Times specifically for people “Of Color” (center bottom):
The guide lumps together all non-white groups, suggests that they are interested in race- and culture-specific products and implies that white people would NOT be interested in these things. Some examples:
The guide illustrates something we’ve discussed several times on this blog: the fact that there “needs” to be a guide specifically for people of color reveals that all the other products and guides, ostensibly for “people,” are really for white people. Things that are marketed to non-white people are, supposedly, inherently uninteresting or irrelevant to white people.
Ultimately, this reinforces the idea that people of color are always outsiders in a white world.
Lisa Wade is a professor of sociology at Occidental College and the co-author of Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
