Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet

Nakamura is part of a movement that takes cybercultural studies past utopia and dystopia and describes how categories of race and identity work within this new ontological plane. Although the language is highly technical (accessable mainly to students of cultural studies and more specifically critical theory) the book can also be useful for those more adventurous readers who are willing to tough out an interesting book in order to learn a little bit more about the world they live in.Daniel Clausendaniel clausen dot com

Cyberspace makes fluid the identification process and can allow for anonymity and even a kind of liberation from race, age, and gender restrictions. Author Lisa Nakamura argues that racial stereotypes are hardwired even in online interactions, with web directories narrowing racial categories and anonymity associated with white. Cybertypes is a simply fascinating examination of how racial ideas changed in the online environment.