Call for civil inattention: “RaceFail ’09” and counterpublics on the internet

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scholarship of counterpublics has long illuminated the rhetorical dynamics whereby the dominant public excludes marginalized groups from the public sphere and labels them undeserving of coexistence. However, the hypertextual architecture of the internet upends this inside–outside distinction, inverting challenges to and opportunities for a counterpublic. As illustrated by the course of “RaceFail ’09,” a debate over cultural appropriation and racism in online science fiction and fantasy fandom, the internet’s architecture makes it easy for a counterpublic to enter and draw attention from the broad public but much more difficult to maintain separation and preserve its boundaries from unwanted encroachment. Here I reread the norms of inclusion and transparency as historically specific constructs of canonical public sphere theories, and propose a consideration of particular challenges that counterpublics encounter online, including imposed labor, difficulty of withdrawal, and unwanted attention. I end the article with a proposal for civil inattention as a potential ethic for coexistence of publics and counterpublics on the internet.