For this entry I will be analyzing the website Make Me Babies (www.makemebabies.com). The point of the website is for a user to upload photos of two different people, which the website then uses to generate what a child of those two people would look like, should they procreate. In society today, the internet is a large media and entertainment outlet for people, introducing a vast amount of knowledge and ideas to a wide population.
The first issue with this website is the fact that it makes racial mixing an entertainment outlet on the internet. By making a joke about “testing out” what your mixed race baby would look like, it may minimize the experiences of people who are mixed race. Additionally, it exoticizes the idea of biracial children and it encourages people to desire children that are different and “fashionable”.[1] As Shohat and Stam explain, even though someone may say something that is a compliment, it could still have racist undertones[2]. An example of how this may happen with “Make Me Babies” would be if someone were to say a certain combination of races is “weird but cute”, highlighting differences and non-normalcy.
Another problem with the website is that it makes broad generalizations about races. If a white person and a black person were to upload their photos to the website, the child that is generated is almost always visibly black. I tested this with other minorities and the same thing happened: each time there was a photo of a person with non-white skin, the generator created a baby that didn’t have white skin. Pictured is an example that I used with my picture and my friend Mike, who is half Asian. Though the baby in question would only be a quarter Asian, it created a baby that is visibly of Asian descent. By doing this, the site is utilizing a type of one-drop rule. The idea that if you have just one part of a race, automatically places you into the minority category is something that has been institutionalized and now is a cultural trend that you must fit into certain categories based on your DNA make up. The website’s one drop rule reinforces this trend and has the opportunity to strengthen this “one-drop common sense” about mixed race people.[3]
Finally, the idea that you can test out what your child will look like creates a situation where people end up somewhat “shopping” for their children. Much like the critics of transnational adoption, it makes people wonder what will make a “cute or not cute” baby and commodifies it.[4]
I realize that this website isn’t extremely well- circulated, and for some people it may just be a way to humor themselves about what their child will look like with a friend or significant other. I don’t see Make Me Babies having huge implications on race relations in our country, but that is not my point. Even if there aren’t huge consequences, I believe that it is very important to be aware of the way that certain media outlets can portray race, and it is essential to closely look at these portrayals to better our knowledge and race consciousness. Too often people disregard instances of racism or ignorance with regard to race. Scrutinizing a website such as MakeMeBabies.com is just one way to be more aware of race in the media, and hopefully other people will look at situations and examine them with a keener eye in the future.
Works Cited
[1]Alsultany, Evelyn. "Mixed Race and Popular Culture." Classroom, Ann Arbor. 17 Nov 2010. Lecture.
[2] Shohat, Ella, and Robert Stam. Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism in the Media. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.
[3] Lull, James. "Hegemony." Gender, Race, and Class in Media. Gail Dines. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2003. 63.
[4]Nelson, Kim Park. "Shopping for Children in the International Marketplace." Outsiders Within: Writing on Transnational Adoption. Ed. Jane Jeong Trenka. Cambridge: South End Press, 2006. Print.
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