by Carmen Van Kerckhove
I know I’m a bit late with this, but I recently came across this video in my (looooooong) del.icio.us list of online videos I need to check out for Racialicious.
This guy made a music video all about young white women who flash gang signs in photos. What’s up with that? Is it sort of, ghetto party lite?
I think it’s poking fun at white people who try to be “ghetto”.
These girls are trying to associate themselves with whatever privilege is gained by being seen as a gang member, whether that is being “cool” or “hardcore” or “powerful” or whatever. They are evoking association with that group by displaying the privileged cultural knowledge typically reserved for members. They are probably poseurs, but not necessarily racists.
On the other hand,
Attendees at ghetto parties uncritically adopt imagery whose purpose has always been to mock and degrade black people. This associates them with the privilege gained by racist groups who also uncritically use racist propaganda.
Working with teen girls (in both a private, upper class school and a public, work poor class school) and having two teen sisters, I know that these girls probably have no idea what those symbols actual mean, but that they also try really hard to associate themselves with a “culture”. Many of the Euro-American girls I’ve spoke with about race have often stressed how bothersome it is that their cultures are either unknown to them or they feel they have no real cultural practices to perform.
It’d be interesting to look more into this topic.
The first point I’d like to make is that “white chicks” can be in gangs, and there certainly are “white chicks” in gangs. By focusing on “white chicks” throwing up gang signs, the video perpetuates the stereotype that ONLY blacks and latin@s are ever in gangs, and are therefore inherently more violent, less intelligent, etc.
BUT, that certainly is not meant to be a defense of “white chicks” (by the way, I’ve seen plenty of “white boys” do this too) throwing up gang signs in photos. What they are doing is mocking gang culture (and what they see as minority culture). I do not think they are trying to appropriate whatever “coolness” or whatever goes along with being in a gang. They do not really expect anyone to believe that they are gang members. They are mocking the culture, a culture they do not understand, largely because they do not understand it and the social conditions that lead to it (though that certainly is not to say that gang culture is ok, just that their view of it is far too simplistic).
I find myself drawn to and agreeing with Aaron & Cocolamala’s posts generally (re: “white chicks” being in gangs and the distinction between poseurs and ghetoo party aficionados). I’d additionally point out though, that just from watching this video, that maybe 30% (that’s not a scientific 30%) of the photos in this video (which I thought was hilarious by the way) are sorority-ish girls throwing sorority-ish hand signs — lots of these bastions of “white chicks” have dumb/fun little hand signs like that.
Also, to pick up on another point from Aaron’s post re: these “white chicks” mocking gang members - a point that to be honest, I’m still thinking about in the abstract and can’t decide whether I agree with or not - I would add that I think a lot of these girls are mocking themselves, i.e. they’re going for the silly photo/let’s look tough in this one. Moreover, while I probably agree with you Aaron that these WC (I can’t keep spelling out “white chicks”!) don’t understand gang culture and are, in some of these instances, mocking it, my reaction is sort of so what? I think that sometimes you can mock something without being fully knowledgable about it (although yes, that’s very dangerous terrain), and that personally the macho posturing of gang culture (including the macho posturing of girl gang culture) is, in my opinion, ripe for the mocking, regardless of the conditions that inspire it and regardless of whether one understands those conditions or not. The fact that it’s WC mocking something that’s traditionally percieved as black and Latino is, though, an unfortunate by-product, if you will, of their most likely ignorant posing.
Now, having said that, I could be wrong and if any of these pics are from ghetto parties or the like then aaaargh I totally regret posting.
I’d like to point out that it’s not just white girls from the suburbs who flash gang signs in pictures, but also white guys and asian teens and black and latin@ teens who have been raised in comfortable, privileged backgrounds. even people from lower middle class backgrounds who don’t live in high crime areas or who haven’t fallen into desperate poverty flash these gang signs in pictures. it’s more complicated than white people appropriating ‘black culture.’ it’s about how mainstream rap has become so popular and certain words/gestures/etc. have filtered down (er, up) to even the people who you would supposedly least expect it from.
Entertaining video.
I had no idea most of those were gang signs. Here I thought I was imitating the Japanese, but turns out I was imitating the Japanese imitating African-Americans. Ain’t cultural transmission wacky?
I think it’s unfair to compare these to the ghetto parties. These gestures, and a certain amount of ghetto/gang culture seems to have entered the US mainstream. Like hip-hop fashion and so much else, these things have become deracialized. Isn’t that, in principle at least, a good thing? Why isn’t it good that mainstream American culture is no longer by default 100% white?
The white chicks portrayed in the video are wannabes. It’s not that they are trying to necessarily coopt gang culture or black culture or whatever. They are trying to show that they are tough and street smart or whatever, and that aren’t the stereotype (paradoxically) boring ass white folk. They’re ridiculous and 99% of them would get their asses whooped on by a legitimate user of gang signs, but the same is true for any non-white person for whom the gang sign is an obvious wannabe move.
From a different perspective…I think those actually involved in gangs (i.e. blacks, latinos, asians, whites) would feel “rather complimented” that America’s most prized possession (i.e. white girls) are taking an interest in something (or someone) they were taught (either directly or indirectly) to fear. I am personally wondering…HOW DID THEY LEARN THESE “GANG SIGNS.” I mean…Where would I go if I want to learn “to flash gang signs?” Is it possible, these “white girls” do more than simply “flash gang signs?”
This is a possible answer to ObiWan’s post:
I have lived most of my life in a great big metropolis. One infested with street gangs (in certain areas). When ever they are in the News, it is either the “black gangs” or the “latino gangs”=0=but mostly, the “black gangs.”
However, recently=0=a street gang was in the News bcz the actual offender was the “son of a Police Officer.” To my shocking surpise=0=the kid was “white.” And better yet=0=the street gang was “white.” I had NO IDEA there were any WHITE STREET GANGS=0=at least 6-7 different ones I’ve come to learn.
Does the Media purposely keep them “out of the News so we only think other groups are involved in street gang activity? And I would imagine that “white street gangs” flash signs too.
It’s simple.
White people making fun of black people. Almost like a minstrel show. But less obscene, I’d say.
I agree with Christina about hos these kids search for a culture that doesn’t exist. That’s also why you have emos and goths — they’re all white kids, who have no culture, trying to create one.
The real meaning of “white” has nothing to do with skin color, but where your culture is. An Irish American who is knowledgeable and proud of their Irish heritage is not “white” but “Irish American.” What makes one “white” is when their culture has been erased or sublimated to the point where it has been blanked out. Thus “white” as in a blank, empty page.
White “chicks” are attracted to authority, (as they have been from day one,) and will associate with whatever element they percieve as being the most powerful. They routinely scoff off the dormant force of their own culture, but make no mistake, will attempt to repatriate themselves when caucasian manhood is forced to react to the growing brutality of the predator class undeniably mushrooming in the nation. Many of them, the same as manyof our politicians, may then be expected to answer charges of sedition. Be patient, things are in the pipeline.
As a student at an upper middle class, primarily white/asian high school, I see this a lot. However, the kids I know who do this do it in a sort of mocking “haha, look how gangsta this is” way. It’s just seen as a funny thing to do in pictures, and no one who does it tries to associate it with gang culture (most of the kids I know are quite privelaged, and feel no need to aspire to the gangster life).
I also have to agree with Christina, and Silent Android. I’m a “white chick” and what they said fits how I feel to a tee. I never feel like I “fit in” with white people because of the lack of culture and background. most of my friends are Black and Mexican, and my boyfriend id black. though some my call it self hate towards my own race, I don’t feel the need to have a lot of white friends because I rarely form a good friendship with them, although I’m not sure why. for one, there usually boring and up tight to me. all my friends (including the Black and Mexican ones) say that I should of been born black. but I don’t really act “ghetto” on a daily bases although I hate using that term because by doing so its saying that only black people are ghetto which isn’t true. it’s just the simple fact that I fit in better with the culture, and as one who has done some of these signs in photos before I by no means was mocking or making fun of gangs. I know how real that life is for some people and I don’t do it to offend them, like was stated before, it’s so mainstream now that me (and my friends of every race) just do it for laughs. we don’t act tough or “ghetto” to make fun of people because I have friends that live in the ghetto and they think it’s funny, although I find myself making fun of my own race the most and there’s pretty much nothing my friends could say about white people that would offend me, I know my limits of what I can and cannot say being white and I completely respect that because I would never what to hurt my friends.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of New Demographic, an anti-racism training company. She hosts the podcast Addicted to Race and blogs at Racialicious, Anti-Racist Parent, and Race in the Workplace.
Racialicious! is a production of New Demographic.
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