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"Non-trivial" is a term used by programmers to describe a system malfunction or software glitch that will require considerable time and energy to rectify, a problem whose solution is not immediately obvious. In the domain of all things digital, representation is non-trivial. Knowledge of computers is increasingly becoming the key contingency which controls access to jobs, information, and power. The refusal or (to give the benefit of the doubt) inability of software producers and the media to recognize and acknowledge a user base more diverse than a single white male reinforces the marginalization of those already on the periphery of power.
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The invisibility of gender and ethnicity in representations of technology, the assumption that the default term "computer user" refers to a white man unless otherwise modified, reinforces the cultural bias that women and people of color make no contribution to computing, lack role models in the industry, aren't a sufficient consumer market to warrant attention.
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Before the collective defensive reflex of the developers and designers in the audience kicks in, understand that I'm not making accusations of direct racist and misogynist intent. After working in design, I have a hunch concerning some of the circumstances that produce this remarkably redundant idea of the computer user. The modus operandi of many in-house design departments and independent design studios is determined by the abundance or scarcity of resources, time and talent. The typical design project is almost always under a tight, inflexible deadline, the design "concept" must meet the multiple agendas of a clueless client or misinformed management and the hefty cost of professional photography and illustration sends many designers straight to scanning stills from stock photo books.
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The representation of esoteric concepts like "internet" and "collaboration" is a challenging task regardless of financial or time constraints. Once a standard has been established -- an image of the earth infused with a blue glow, and small networked computers surrounding the periphery suggests internet, for example, or the two strong hands clasped evokes collaboration -- then the path of least resistence, that of repetition and imitation, defines the visual vocabulary for the concept. In tracing the origin of the problem, sheer lack of imagination is a likely suspect. With respect to ethnic diversity of representation, few firms seem prepared or willing to engage in the production of images with multiracial identities. Our cultural climate is one which is wary of any discourse concerning race, firms shy from dealing with race as such, sticking with the so-called neutral ground that is supposedly void of ethnic tension -- white.
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