Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Mapping Latine Inequalities – Reading Responses

Author: Jenny Xie

  • Jenny Wk 13 Response

    Queer Nightlife is a collection of essays that catalog queer interviewees’ and writers’ individual experiences of going to queer spaces at night. Through first-person narratives and scholarly analyses of place-making, the authors explore how queer nightlife in bars and clubs creates important spaces for queer individuals in terms of self-discovery and community-building.

    To capture the complexity of queer nightlife experiences, the writers introduces the necessity of queer nightlife: “For LGBTQI+ people whose desires, pleasures, bodies, and/or existences are invalidated in the propriety of daytime, the night does often offer an alternative set of rules with which we can know ourselves and one another.”

    With this idea of how nightlife is carried out, the essays are sorted into four sections: Before, Inside, Show, and After. The Before section catalogs the anticipation and anxiety surrounding the possibilities the night holds after days of desire; Inside captures the pleasure of the utopic queer nightlife experience; Show spotlights drag shows and how these performances create a pedagogical structure for visitors to be present; while After explores how nightclubs influence queer life on a daily basis.

    The overall narrative in the introduction is very utopic—this queer space is a utopian possibility created by queer individuals, offering an alternative life distinct from their daily reality.

    Towards the end of the introduction, the authors summarize the sections: “Before, inside, show, and after frame the spatiotemporal coordinates of a traveled phenomena reliant on political economies of global circulation (of goods, people, data) but grounded in the embodied microsociologies of the senses.” This observation of temporal-spatial occupation situates queer nightlife within broader spaces of global circulation. It reveals the necessity of queer place-making—even if temporal, it remains deeply meaningful for those who occupy these spaces.

  • Jenny Wk 12 Response

    In Safe Space, Hanhardt provides an overview of San Francisco and New York City as case studies of contradictions between ethnic groups and gay communities—San Francisco experienced tensions between the Mission District and the Castro, while New York City saw conflicts among different ethnic groups. Hanhardt grounds the discussion in the impact of Reagan’s presidency and how his policies affected these areas, providing examples of organizations that stood up to address these contradictions. Hanhardt’s essay highlights how racial divisions surfaced in queer spaces and how different racial and ethnic groups have competed for resources and space.

    In That’s My Place!, Horacio Roque Ramirez introduces GALA in San Francisco as a case study—a pioneering organization that sought to challenge both the white-dominated gay community and Latino spaces. Although the founders imagined a space where gender, racial, and sexual identities could coexist, conflicts soon arose as the white gay community moved into and further gentrified the Mission District, where GALA’s members socialized. Additionally, tensions emerged between lesbian members and the broader gay community within GALA, as many lesbians did not feel welcomed. Although GALA was founded with the intention of uniting intersecting identities, it eventually dissolved due to both external pressures from the white gay community and internal tensions, including those with lesbian members.

    Across the two readings, themes of the white gay community moving into and gentrifying neighborhoods are silimar and both authors have revealed the challenges of building a community that supports both one’s sexual and ethnic identities. The question remains: since previous efforts have struggled to build communities that meet both needs, how can we move forward in supporting people’s ethnic and sexual identities simultaneously? Where can we learn from these failures, and how can we truly build inclusive spaces that support diverse communities? And where can we locate these community?

  • Jenny Wk 10 Response

    In Digital Nomads and Settler Desires: Racial Fantasies of Silicon Valley Imperialism, McElroy compares how digital nomadism intersects with settlers’ behaviors and contributes to new forms of exploitation and gentrification.

    Before I read this article, I was surprised by how the seemingly distant terms came together, as digital nomadism is the polished incentive for tech industry workers, where workers can explore the world while working online. Yet, McElroy goes on to show that digital nomadism is rooted in 19th-century Orientalist and Gypsy narratives, appropriating another culture without really understanding it and dispossessing local homes through racialized fantasies. Additionally, as the author references in Thomas Sutherland’s argument, “the fetishization of digital nomadic identity is concerning,” as real nomads in need are overshadowed by the romanticized notion of “digital nomads.”

    Digital nomadism has not only contributed to the displacement and gentrification of homes in other countries as digital nomads travel the world but has also exacerbated homelessness in San Francisco. As digital nomads work both at home and abroad, they intensify a cycle in which poor people become poorer as rent prices rise globally and locally.

    It was interesting how Airbnb entered the discussion. Airbnb serves as a platform where digital nomads settle in other countries and “create a global community.” However, as McElroy notes, Airbnb and its users “have circulated the corporation’s multicultural colonial aspirations.” Digital nomads living in these spaces exist within a bubble of privilege, consuming a filtered version of the local culture without engaging in meaningful interactions.

    McElroy’s discussion challenged my understanding of platforms like Airbnb. I used to believe that staying in an Airbnb could benefit the local community by giving homeowners an opportunity to earn money through temporary stays. However, McElroy illustrates how Airbnb can instead be “Airdnd”—death and displacement—intensifying gentrification by forcing poorer residents out of their homes due to rising rent prices.

    Ultimately, this reading really pushed me to critically engage in what I believe was a good thing as a traveler. It made me wonder: How should I travel in the future? Should I use Airbnb? How can I really engage with the locals as I am traveling?

  • Jenny Wk 6 Response

    In How To Kill a City San Francisco, Moskowitz introduced the term gentrification and how it persists in the city of San Francisco and people’s minds. Gentrification is the process where long-standing residents are displaced due to an affordability crisis. In San Francisco, there is a drastic displacement of working-class communities, especially Black, Latino, and Asian populations, because of the booming tech industry and increase in tech workers, which leads to soaring housing prices. This book also introduces The Last Black Man in San Francisco, which is a film that illustrates the protagonist Jimmy’s fight against gentrification. How To Kill a City San Francisco thus illustrates how gentrification persists as a systemic inequality in San Francisco, inviting larger discussions on capitalism and the real estate industry. It asks audiences a question: Where should housing policy go? Should there be stronger rent control laws, housing subsidies, or taxes?  How should the state react to gentrification?

    In A Lighter Shade of Brown, Huante further illustrates how gentrification is intertwined with racial dynamics in Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles, with Boyle Heights being the specific case study. Huante examines how the concept of “honorary white” refers to Mexican-Americans adopting the gentrification values and were granted to occupy spaces that were close to white people. This racial positioning of “honorary white” Boyle Heights reinforces the existing racial hierarchy that increases racial, political, and economic inequality. Huante refers to this racial system as “gente-fication,” which means “the return of educated and upwardly mobile Mexican Americans to working-class barrios” and those where Latinos are removing Latinos. It was surprising to me that people abandon their community as they climb the social hierarchy. This raises questions such as: How can we prevent such “gente-fication” from happening? How can we avoid becoming “honorary white” and instead maintain our identity?

  • Jenny Week 8 Response

    We Do This Till We Free Us by Mariame Kaba introduces the political vision of abolitionism, which focuses on abandoning the current system of oppression, such as police brutality, and reorganizing it into a community-based structure of care and accountability.

    One of Kaba’s main arguments lies in the distinction between punishment and accountability. She critiques the use of punishment and urges communities to engage in accountability. Punishment is more closely tied to the legal system, involving jails and prisons where individuals face incarceration and legal consequences, whereas accountability arises from the responsibility of citizens.

    While Kaba’s vision and argument are valid, I find them somewhat utopian. The idea of abolishing the legal system entirely and replacing it with community-led accountability groups raises concerns about feasibility and equity. Personally, I find it difficult to imagine a world without a legal system, relying solely on accountability. Her vision seems more plausible in highly educated and affluent communities. In societies with systemic economic disparities, it is difficult to envision a world without theft or conflict, where everyone behaves exactly as others expect.Hence, I do find Kaba’s argument compelling though it is very idealistic in the current society where extreme disparities still perpetuates.

    At the Ready is a documentary that follows Latino high schoolers preparing for a career in law enforcement. Mariame Kaba lays the groundwork for questioning whether policing is necessary, a debate that also arises in law enforcement classes. I was particularly intrigued by the classroom discussion on deploying the military to the border. Kassy remarked, “I wasn’t participating in the debate because they weren’t discussing them as people; they were discussing them as pests.” I think her point is valid—such classroom discussions might dehumanize the subjects and frame them as “others,” thereby reducing the empathy students should have for their own communities.

  • Jenny Wk 5 Response

    In this article, James discussed how democracy is dysfunctional for African Americans. She starts the article by analyzing segregated communities, showing how segregation exists in gated communities and prisons. These segregations disproportionately affect individuals’ access to resources and economic opportunities. This reminds me of “ghettos,” a term that describes urban neighborhoods high in crime and poverty. My roommate, who lived in a poorer community, shared with me that she saw a gun every other week. The deepest reason for ghettos to exist, as James pointed out, is the legacy of racial segregation, but they continue to exist because of the continued disparity in economic resources for minorities. As we see in the photobook, there is a huge racial diversity within these communities on Buford Highway. As James has noted, these segregated communities led to a disappearance of diversity: “while universities are becoming increasingly white, prisons black or brown.”

    Then, James talked about how this class and racial inequality led to a disproportionate number of Black individuals in prison. This reminded me of the book The Hate U Give, which shows the systemic racism toward Black people. The main character, Starr, witnessed her only friend being shot by a white police officer because of a suspicion that he had a gun. This story is based on real-life events, showing how systemic racism and discrimination still perpetuate. In the narration that follows, Starr shows how the communities suffer from cycles of drugs and gangs—Black individuals in poorer communities are uneducated and have limited opportunities, so the only choice they have is to participate in the drug business. This has reinforced cycles of poverty and crime, which in turn perpetuate negative stereotypes about Black communities.

    In conclusion, James’ analysis of segregation, and racial and economic disparity in communities, shows how democracy is sometimes dysfunctional for Black individuals. Her analysis allows us to critically examine the current structure and think about ways to push further to challenge this dysfunctional structure.

  • Jenny Wk 4 Response

    Still Falling Through the Cracks is a comprehensive report that examines persistent problems in the education pipeline for Latinx students through K-12, community college, four-year college, and graduate education. Through a comparative race study, this report clearly illustrates the systemic inequality Latinx students face, which persists even after policy changes in California.

    One of the main challenges highlighted is the lack of attention toward Latinx students in academic support, resource allocation, and sufficient guidance at every level of education. Reflecting on curriculum design in high school, especially in humanities and social sciences courses like history, literature, and sociology, I can see the need for educational reform to include more cultural studies. Such reforms would shift the predominantly Western-oriented curriculum toward recognizing the cultural diversity of this country and the world.

    It was also intriguing that this report included comparative ethnic studies to provide a clear comparison of how different groups succeed in education. It made me reflect on my own educational journey. As an Asian student, I experienced pressure to study from my family, school, and society. This is because higher education in Asia is often perceived as a guarantee of a good career and a good life, leading parents to push students very hard and adopt a grade-oriented approach to raising their children. Although I recognize the issues associated with this demanding attitude, such as fostering an unhealthy climate of competition and intense psychological pressure, I failed to acknowledge how we sometimes take the importance of education for granted. This pressure drives students to strive for academic excellence, potentially opening doors to promising opportunities in societies with large populations and high levels of competition. This realization made me reflect on the complexity of education, which serves not only individual students but also families and entire ethnic communities.

    Hence, I agree with the authors’ recommendations on how we can promote the importance of higher education for Latinx students, as it is critical to their success. However, the educational system is highly complex and requires collaboration among multiple ethnic groups to recognize each other’s differences and work together to create a more equitable and culturally inclusive environment.

  • Jenny Wk 3 Response

    Harrison began introducing Whiteness as Property by telling her grandmother’s story, which “illustrates the valorization of whiteness as treasured property in a society structured on racial caste” (1713). The way that Harrison names this racial inequality as “Racial Caste” made me think of the casta system in colonial Latin America, where people were organized into a system based on race that controlled every aspect of their lives and socio-economic status. In this system, Black people and Indigenous Peoples were considered lower than White People, and the myth of blood purity arose as racial mixing occurred. I can see many parallels between contemporary racial differences and the colonial caste system, showing the lasting effects of white supremacy ideologies and colonization.

    She then illustrates how the concept of whiteness as property originated from slavery, and how Black people were treated as economic assets, as seen in Jefferson’s story and the Johnson v. Butler case. After introducing how slavery began as a relationship between owners and property, she further defines the concept by showing the legal definition of property: “Property is thus said to be a right, not a thing, characterized as metaphysical, not physical” (1725). These rights are enjoyed by white people, and exclusively by white people. These exclusive rights manifest in the racial segregation phenomenon in the Plessy and Brown cases. Through these legal cases, along with anecdotes and personal stories, Harrison has effectively illustrated the effects of whiteness as property in many areas. In this context, although Brown’s case led to the end of tangible racial segregation, Harrison then demonstrates how racial inequalities still manifests in many present-day areas.

    Affirmative action is one contemporary example that highlights the lasting phenomenon of racial inequalities. Harrison argues that affirmative action is a principle of equality and challenges the pre-existing privileges that were exclusive to white people. Affirmative action remains a widely discussed topic in higher education, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against racial classification in college admissions. A range of responses were enacted by different colleges—some supported the Supreme Court decision, while a vast majority did not. This leaves room for future legal discussions.