Is it possible to be a “token white girl” in a setting or place of identity (church, college, etc.) where white people are the majority?
Initial Thoughts:
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Post-Research Thoughts:
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I would like to do a mixture of research. For one, I want to see what all data already exists regarding this. I know there is a significant amount of research into race relations, though I do not know how much of it deals with such colloquial terminology. I would also like to search instances of social media to see how often a “token” person is referred to by their race – and seeing if certain races are more often acknowledged as token. Finally, I’d like to take a survey at Emory or interview individuals to see what races they associate as being “tokens” in another group and if they believe white people can be tokens.
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After reviewing the information, I found that being a “token white person” is mentioned several times, but still plenty more references regard other races. Additionally, I found some debate as to whether it is possible for a white individual to truly be a token when the surrounding society is predominately white (even if an individual group within a society is more diverse). I think my data would provide more recent data from a group of students who would add something to the conversation – Emory students. I also think that by surveying social media, there could be a broader understanding of the opinions that exist, as well as the possibility of generating some quantitative data, as most information currently is qualitative and opinion.
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Helpful Research:
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This page was created for Marc Bousquet's English 363 at Emory University.