Shantel G . Buggs | Florida State University (original) (raw)

Conference Presentations by Shantel G . Buggs

This paper explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic wo... more This paper explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic women online daters in Texas utilize to explain their own responses to social justice movements around race and racism in the United States. These women utilize stances on the issues that movements such as Black Lives Matter address as a means articulating their own political views, as well as to vet potential dating partners. The language around, and produced by, contemporary social movements in terms of mainstream media coverage and social media campaigns influence the ways in which these women discuss race, gender, and racism. The goal of this paper is to shed light on how mixed-race women are navigating racial politics on an interpersonal level during a time where U.S. media and popular culture is especially focused on issues of racism and state-sanctioned violence.

Papers by Shantel G . Buggs

Sociology of race & ethnicity, Jul 1, 2020

We are outraged at the police brutality that allows the state-sanctioned murder of Black people i... more We are outraged at the police brutality that allows the state-sanctioned murder of Black people in the United States. Time and again we have seen Black lives cut short by the police. In addition to the actions of the police, we have repeatedly seen innocent Black people harassed or killed by their White neighbors simply because they were suspicious, were nervous, or gave in to their collective paranoia. This violence and the systemic anti-Black racism that fuels it must be dismantled. George Floyd's slow, drawn-out murder under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, while other officers looked on, is a national disgrace. The fact that his murder was precipitated by a store owner following standard procedure to report counterfeit money, which does not require arrest or physical abuse to get answers about where the counterfeit currency comes from, illustrates that even seemingly innocent "standard procedure" can result in Black people's deaths. The fact that he survived the coronavirus only to be murdered a month later illustrates the many intersections of vulnerability Black people experience. This disgrace is repeated over and over. Like Eric Garner, Black people are murdered in police custody on suspicion of minor infractions, using tactics that have already been banned. Like Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, and Botham Jean, Black people are murdered by police in their homes. Like Tony McDade and Kayla Moore, Black transgender people are murdered, misgendered by police and the media, and even blamed for their own deaths. Like Tamir Rice, they are murdered for appearing to be "adults." Like Rekia Boyd, they are murdered even when police are "off duty." And police are not the only ones who view Black lives as expendable. Like Ahmaud Arbery, Black people are murdered by their White neighbors for jogging. Like Trayvon Martin, they are murdered by selfappointed neighborhood watches for simply walking around. Like Renisha McBride, they are murdered for seeking help after a car accident. These patterns continue because anti-Black racism is systemic in the United States, a society whose founding and economic success was based on the institution of Black slavery. Developing a view of Black people as less than human helped 941019S REXXX10.

American Journal of Sociology, Mar 1, 2023

Routledge eBooks, Apr 27, 2022

Teaching Sociology, Jul 1, 2021

Just over a decade ago, Waskul and Plante (2010) called upon sociologists to recognize the myriad... more Just over a decade ago, Waskul and Plante (2010) called upon sociologists to recognize the myriad of ways sex and sexualities shape and find voice within every social context, structure, and interaction. Rather than a singular or niche subject limited to specific portions of social life, they echoed prior theorizing within and beyond sociology concerning the importance of how people negotiate sexed and/ or sexual norms, beliefs, assumptions, desires, and expectations throughout their everyday lives, interactions within themselves, encounters with others, and interactions with broader social structures (see also Dubois 1928; Foucault 1976; Goffman 1977; Plummer 1995; Rubin 1984; Warner 1999). Further, they called for systematic examination of the role of sex and sexual meanings in the reproduction, challenging, and/or maintenance of societal inequalities along lines of race, class, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, and other social locations (see also Duggan 2003; Schrock, Sumerau, and Ueno 2014; Ward and Schneider 2009). The combination of these insights reveals the importance of sex and sexualities in all domains of social and sociological life. In this special issue, we endeavor to encourage the continuation of such consideration within the context of sociological teaching. To this end, this special issue draws inspiration from prior works by sexual-minority teachers concerning the negotiation of sexual topics and coming out in classrooms (see, e.g., Adams 2010; Connell 2014; Miller and Lucal 2009). We also draw inspiration from Attwood and Hunter’s (2009) special collection of journal articles in Sexualities focused on strategies for teaching sexual media and politics in college classrooms. We further draw inspiration from sociological teachers writing about, for example, teaching statistics in ways more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations (Nowakowski, Sumerau, and Mathers 2016); coverage of sexuality in sociology textbooks (Suarez and Balaji 2007); teaching about the relationships between gendered symbols, embodiment, and homophobia (Edwards 2010); strategies for understanding the impact of sexualization on girls and women (Moloney and Pelehach 2014); and the use of community-based research techniques in sexualities instruction (Bach and Weinzimmer 2011). In line with these previous endeavors, this special issue seeks to extend and encourage the further expansion of sociological teaching on sex, sexualities, and social life. As a result, we sought to create a collection of articles that both (1) highlights innovative strategies for teaching sexualities and (2) complements, rather than replicates, other recent collections geared toward teaching and studying sexualities sociologically. In the first case, we sought to highlight techniques sociology teachers are utilizing to deliver lessons about sex and sexuality in relation to both positive and negative impressions of the subject within and beyond a given sociology department or classroom. In the second case, we considered submissions that went beyond the scope of many sociological volumes for teaching and studying sexualities with an eye toward granting space to aspects of teaching sexualities or strategies for such instruction that are less visible. Further, we sought to be inclusive of a diversity of authors in terms of race, gender identity and expression, and career stage. As such, we see this special issue as complementing and expanding the conversations in existing collections on sex and sexualities. To this end, we also encourage sociology teachers to explore other recent edited collections concerning sex, sexualities, and the teaching of such topics. Currently in its fifth edition, for example, Sex Matters (Stombler et al. 2018) represents a long-standing text for teaching sexualities that curates a collection of essays and studies on a wide 1025826 TSOXXX10.1177/0092055X211025826Teaching SociologyEditorial research-article2021

Contemporary Sociology, Mar 1, 2021

true and unquestionable heirs of the nation. The second claim is that contemporary political ‘‘tr... more true and unquestionable heirs of the nation. The second claim is that contemporary political ‘‘tribalism’’ is a result of individuals having been ‘‘released from parties’’ (p. 112), as the latter’s political relevance has been sidelined by charismatic candidates. While it is true that U.S. parties have become internally weaker (e.g., in their ability to select candidates), voters’ partisan identities have been growing consistently stronger, in sharp contrast to the situation in Europe. In turn, strengthened partisanship has exacerbated partisan sorting, elite polarization, and negative partisanship, thereby contributing to the instability of U.S. politics. Contrary to the book’s suggestion, voters do not make choices by browsing the aisles in an open market of ideas—they vote first and foremost based on their deep loyalty to a party, which shapes what issues they care about, what solutions they favor, and which candidates they prize. Moreover, it is this powerful collective affiliation, reinforced by race, religion, and sense of place, that leads many Americans to loathe their political opposition and view it as un-American. As with nationalism, Kamens eventually circles back to polarization, but in a way that is at odds with his earlier individualism thesis. As a result, the book misses a valuable opportunity to connect polarization with identity-based coalition politics as central factors in the rise of radicalism. There is, however, another way to read this book: not as a theoretical explanation of populism but as a synthetic account of the temporal antecedents of today’s fragmented politics. Even if this reduces the book’s ambition, it highlights its primary virtues: a skillful weaving together of institutional and cultural trends, a convincing interpretation of the post-New Deal era as a radical departure from traditional U.S. politics, and a wide-ranging overview of both the political ills plaguing the United States today and their possible future consequences. These elements add up to a capably curated and engaging historical narrative. From this perspective, The New American Creed makes a useful contribution to political sociology and is well worth reading. The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood, by Grace Kao, Kara Joyner, and Kelly Stamper Balistreri. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2019. 208 pp. $29.95 paper. ISBN: 9780871544681.

Rutgers University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2023

Social Forces, Nov 21, 2020

Sociology of race & ethnicity, Jun 14, 2021

Based on 29 in-depth interviews during the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we exam... more Based on 29 in-depth interviews during the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we examine how Trump supporters engaged in a form of identity work that we call signifying aggrieved white selves. Taking an interactionist approach, we demonstrate how they used racial discourse and emotional communication to engage in three distinct forms of racial identity work: (1) othering racialized freeloaders, (2) criminalizing racialized others, and (3) discrediting racialized dissenters. Our study contributes to research on racial discourse and emotions and research on race and the 2016 presidential election, which emphasize linguistic or cultural frames and/or subjectivity rather than the dramatization of racial selfhood. We propose that signifying aggrieved white selfhood is a generic process and that racial identity work is a useful lens for analyzing how a foundational concept of critical race theory—namely, that race is a social construct—is reproduced in everyday life.

Information, Communication & Society, Apr 6, 2017

Oxford University Press eBooks, Nov 10, 2021

Since the early 2000s, researchers have illustrated the primacy of online spaces for people to fi... more Since the early 2000s, researchers have illustrated the primacy of online spaces for people to find platonic, sexual, and/or romantic intimacy. Online dating has increasingly become among the most common ways for couples of all sexual orientations—particularly heterosexuals and gay men—to meet in the United States. As the study of online and offline intimacy moves forward, it is necessary not only to assess the effects of political contexts and discrimination but to consider how marginalized groups like queer women, trans and nonbinary people, fat, and/or disabled people rely on and navigate these spaces in their efforts to fulfill their sexual lives and find romance. This article provides an overview of existing sociological research on online dating to illuminate the ways dating websites/apps are shaping contemporary relationship formation along the axes of race, gender, class, and sexuality, while also noting avenues for new research trajectories.

Womens Studies International Forum, May 1, 2021

Abstract This essay responds to the contemporary discourse around race, gender, and class, among ... more Abstract This essay responds to the contemporary discourse around race, gender, and class, among other factors, that informs current understandings of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. This essay lends particular focus to arguments, concerns, and insights raised by other authors in this special issue in addition to recent media interviews involving the Duchess.

Men and Masculinities, 2019

Journal of Marriage and Family

Objective: This article analyzes how some multiracial people-the "products" of ... more Objective: This article analyzes how some multiracial people-the "products" of interracial relationships-conceptualize what counts as an interracial relationship and how they discuss the circumstances that influence these definitions. Background: Scholars have argued that the added complexity expanding multiracial populations contribute to dating and marriage market conditions requires additional study; this paper expands on limited research regarding how multiracial people perceive interraciality. Method: The paper utilizes in-depth interviews with self-identified multiracial women (N = 30) who used online dating platforms to facilitate their dating lives in three cities in Texas: Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Results: In framing their relationships through lenses centered around skin color, cultural difference, and "familiarity" in terms of seeing potential partners as similar to non-white male family members, multiracial women illustrate varied and overlapping means of describing their intimate relationships, providing additional nuance to sociological understandings of shifts in preferences and norms around partner choice across racial/ethnic lines and opening up opportunities to continue exploration of the impact of racial inequality on partner choice. Conclusion: Multiracial people internalize racial, gendered, and fetishistic framings about potential partners similarly to 2 monoracial people, demonstrating how racial boundaries and degrees of intimacy are (re)constructed for this growing demographic in the United States.

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

The author explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic fe... more The author explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic female online daters use to explain their own responses to social justice movements around race and racism in the United States. These women mobilize stances on the social movement Black Lives Matter (BLM) as a metric of racial progressiveness, articulating their own political views on race. Furthermore, mixed-black women in particular describe using attitudes toward the BLM movement as a way to vet potential dating partners. The implementation of BLM as a tool in the contemporary dating “toolkit” suggests that the language around, and produced by, social movements (in terms of mainstream media coverage) influences the ways in which some women discuss race, gender, and racism. Using interview data from 30 in-depth interviews, the author shows how mixed-race women navigate racial politics on an interpersonal level during a time when U.S. media and popular culture is focused on issues of rac...

This paper explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic wo... more This paper explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic women online daters in Texas utilize to explain their own responses to social justice movements around race and racism in the United States. These women utilize stances on the issues that movements such as Black Lives Matter address as a means articulating their own political views, as well as to vet potential dating partners. The language around, and produced by, contemporary social movements in terms of mainstream media coverage and social media campaigns influence the ways in which these women discuss race, gender, and racism. The goal of this paper is to shed light on how mixed-race women are navigating racial politics on an interpersonal level during a time where U.S. media and popular culture is especially focused on issues of racism and state-sanctioned violence.

Sociology of race & ethnicity, Jul 1, 2020

We are outraged at the police brutality that allows the state-sanctioned murder of Black people i... more We are outraged at the police brutality that allows the state-sanctioned murder of Black people in the United States. Time and again we have seen Black lives cut short by the police. In addition to the actions of the police, we have repeatedly seen innocent Black people harassed or killed by their White neighbors simply because they were suspicious, were nervous, or gave in to their collective paranoia. This violence and the systemic anti-Black racism that fuels it must be dismantled. George Floyd's slow, drawn-out murder under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, while other officers looked on, is a national disgrace. The fact that his murder was precipitated by a store owner following standard procedure to report counterfeit money, which does not require arrest or physical abuse to get answers about where the counterfeit currency comes from, illustrates that even seemingly innocent "standard procedure" can result in Black people's deaths. The fact that he survived the coronavirus only to be murdered a month later illustrates the many intersections of vulnerability Black people experience. This disgrace is repeated over and over. Like Eric Garner, Black people are murdered in police custody on suspicion of minor infractions, using tactics that have already been banned. Like Breonna Taylor, Atatiana Jefferson, and Botham Jean, Black people are murdered by police in their homes. Like Tony McDade and Kayla Moore, Black transgender people are murdered, misgendered by police and the media, and even blamed for their own deaths. Like Tamir Rice, they are murdered for appearing to be "adults." Like Rekia Boyd, they are murdered even when police are "off duty." And police are not the only ones who view Black lives as expendable. Like Ahmaud Arbery, Black people are murdered by their White neighbors for jogging. Like Trayvon Martin, they are murdered by selfappointed neighborhood watches for simply walking around. Like Renisha McBride, they are murdered for seeking help after a car accident. These patterns continue because anti-Black racism is systemic in the United States, a society whose founding and economic success was based on the institution of Black slavery. Developing a view of Black people as less than human helped 941019S REXXX10.

American Journal of Sociology, Mar 1, 2023

Routledge eBooks, Apr 27, 2022

Teaching Sociology, Jul 1, 2021

Just over a decade ago, Waskul and Plante (2010) called upon sociologists to recognize the myriad... more Just over a decade ago, Waskul and Plante (2010) called upon sociologists to recognize the myriad of ways sex and sexualities shape and find voice within every social context, structure, and interaction. Rather than a singular or niche subject limited to specific portions of social life, they echoed prior theorizing within and beyond sociology concerning the importance of how people negotiate sexed and/ or sexual norms, beliefs, assumptions, desires, and expectations throughout their everyday lives, interactions within themselves, encounters with others, and interactions with broader social structures (see also Dubois 1928; Foucault 1976; Goffman 1977; Plummer 1995; Rubin 1984; Warner 1999). Further, they called for systematic examination of the role of sex and sexual meanings in the reproduction, challenging, and/or maintenance of societal inequalities along lines of race, class, sex, gender, sexuality, religion, nationality, and other social locations (see also Duggan 2003; Schrock, Sumerau, and Ueno 2014; Ward and Schneider 2009). The combination of these insights reveals the importance of sex and sexualities in all domains of social and sociological life. In this special issue, we endeavor to encourage the continuation of such consideration within the context of sociological teaching. To this end, this special issue draws inspiration from prior works by sexual-minority teachers concerning the negotiation of sexual topics and coming out in classrooms (see, e.g., Adams 2010; Connell 2014; Miller and Lucal 2009). We also draw inspiration from Attwood and Hunter’s (2009) special collection of journal articles in Sexualities focused on strategies for teaching sexual media and politics in college classrooms. We further draw inspiration from sociological teachers writing about, for example, teaching statistics in ways more inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations (Nowakowski, Sumerau, and Mathers 2016); coverage of sexuality in sociology textbooks (Suarez and Balaji 2007); teaching about the relationships between gendered symbols, embodiment, and homophobia (Edwards 2010); strategies for understanding the impact of sexualization on girls and women (Moloney and Pelehach 2014); and the use of community-based research techniques in sexualities instruction (Bach and Weinzimmer 2011). In line with these previous endeavors, this special issue seeks to extend and encourage the further expansion of sociological teaching on sex, sexualities, and social life. As a result, we sought to create a collection of articles that both (1) highlights innovative strategies for teaching sexualities and (2) complements, rather than replicates, other recent collections geared toward teaching and studying sexualities sociologically. In the first case, we sought to highlight techniques sociology teachers are utilizing to deliver lessons about sex and sexuality in relation to both positive and negative impressions of the subject within and beyond a given sociology department or classroom. In the second case, we considered submissions that went beyond the scope of many sociological volumes for teaching and studying sexualities with an eye toward granting space to aspects of teaching sexualities or strategies for such instruction that are less visible. Further, we sought to be inclusive of a diversity of authors in terms of race, gender identity and expression, and career stage. As such, we see this special issue as complementing and expanding the conversations in existing collections on sex and sexualities. To this end, we also encourage sociology teachers to explore other recent edited collections concerning sex, sexualities, and the teaching of such topics. Currently in its fifth edition, for example, Sex Matters (Stombler et al. 2018) represents a long-standing text for teaching sexualities that curates a collection of essays and studies on a wide 1025826 TSOXXX10.1177/0092055X211025826Teaching SociologyEditorial research-article2021

Contemporary Sociology, Mar 1, 2021

true and unquestionable heirs of the nation. The second claim is that contemporary political ‘‘tr... more true and unquestionable heirs of the nation. The second claim is that contemporary political ‘‘tribalism’’ is a result of individuals having been ‘‘released from parties’’ (p. 112), as the latter’s political relevance has been sidelined by charismatic candidates. While it is true that U.S. parties have become internally weaker (e.g., in their ability to select candidates), voters’ partisan identities have been growing consistently stronger, in sharp contrast to the situation in Europe. In turn, strengthened partisanship has exacerbated partisan sorting, elite polarization, and negative partisanship, thereby contributing to the instability of U.S. politics. Contrary to the book’s suggestion, voters do not make choices by browsing the aisles in an open market of ideas—they vote first and foremost based on their deep loyalty to a party, which shapes what issues they care about, what solutions they favor, and which candidates they prize. Moreover, it is this powerful collective affiliation, reinforced by race, religion, and sense of place, that leads many Americans to loathe their political opposition and view it as un-American. As with nationalism, Kamens eventually circles back to polarization, but in a way that is at odds with his earlier individualism thesis. As a result, the book misses a valuable opportunity to connect polarization with identity-based coalition politics as central factors in the rise of radicalism. There is, however, another way to read this book: not as a theoretical explanation of populism but as a synthetic account of the temporal antecedents of today’s fragmented politics. Even if this reduces the book’s ambition, it highlights its primary virtues: a skillful weaving together of institutional and cultural trends, a convincing interpretation of the post-New Deal era as a radical departure from traditional U.S. politics, and a wide-ranging overview of both the political ills plaguing the United States today and their possible future consequences. These elements add up to a capably curated and engaging historical narrative. From this perspective, The New American Creed makes a useful contribution to political sociology and is well worth reading. The Company We Keep: Interracial Friendships and Romantic Relationships from Adolescence to Adulthood, by Grace Kao, Kara Joyner, and Kelly Stamper Balistreri. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2019. 208 pp. $29.95 paper. ISBN: 9780871544681.

Rutgers University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2023

Social Forces, Nov 21, 2020

Sociology of race & ethnicity, Jun 14, 2021

Based on 29 in-depth interviews during the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we exam... more Based on 29 in-depth interviews during the run-up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election, we examine how Trump supporters engaged in a form of identity work that we call signifying aggrieved white selves. Taking an interactionist approach, we demonstrate how they used racial discourse and emotional communication to engage in three distinct forms of racial identity work: (1) othering racialized freeloaders, (2) criminalizing racialized others, and (3) discrediting racialized dissenters. Our study contributes to research on racial discourse and emotions and research on race and the 2016 presidential election, which emphasize linguistic or cultural frames and/or subjectivity rather than the dramatization of racial selfhood. We propose that signifying aggrieved white selfhood is a generic process and that racial identity work is a useful lens for analyzing how a foundational concept of critical race theory—namely, that race is a social construct—is reproduced in everyday life.

Information, Communication & Society, Apr 6, 2017

Oxford University Press eBooks, Nov 10, 2021

Since the early 2000s, researchers have illustrated the primacy of online spaces for people to fi... more Since the early 2000s, researchers have illustrated the primacy of online spaces for people to find platonic, sexual, and/or romantic intimacy. Online dating has increasingly become among the most common ways for couples of all sexual orientations—particularly heterosexuals and gay men—to meet in the United States. As the study of online and offline intimacy moves forward, it is necessary not only to assess the effects of political contexts and discrimination but to consider how marginalized groups like queer women, trans and nonbinary people, fat, and/or disabled people rely on and navigate these spaces in their efforts to fulfill their sexual lives and find romance. This article provides an overview of existing sociological research on online dating to illuminate the ways dating websites/apps are shaping contemporary relationship formation along the axes of race, gender, class, and sexuality, while also noting avenues for new research trajectories.

Womens Studies International Forum, May 1, 2021

Abstract This essay responds to the contemporary discourse around race, gender, and class, among ... more Abstract This essay responds to the contemporary discourse around race, gender, and class, among other factors, that informs current understandings of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex. This essay lends particular focus to arguments, concerns, and insights raised by other authors in this special issue in addition to recent media interviews involving the Duchess.

Men and Masculinities, 2019

Journal of Marriage and Family

Objective: This article analyzes how some multiracial people-the "products" of ... more Objective: This article analyzes how some multiracial people-the "products" of interracial relationships-conceptualize what counts as an interracial relationship and how they discuss the circumstances that influence these definitions. Background: Scholars have argued that the added complexity expanding multiracial populations contribute to dating and marriage market conditions requires additional study; this paper expands on limited research regarding how multiracial people perceive interraciality. Method: The paper utilizes in-depth interviews with self-identified multiracial women (N = 30) who used online dating platforms to facilitate their dating lives in three cities in Texas: Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. Results: In framing their relationships through lenses centered around skin color, cultural difference, and "familiarity" in terms of seeing potential partners as similar to non-white male family members, multiracial women illustrate varied and overlapping means of describing their intimate relationships, providing additional nuance to sociological understandings of shifts in preferences and norms around partner choice across racial/ethnic lines and opening up opportunities to continue exploration of the impact of racial inequality on partner choice. Conclusion: Multiracial people internalize racial, gendered, and fetishistic framings about potential partners similarly to 2 monoracial people, demonstrating how racial boundaries and degrees of intimacy are (re)constructed for this growing demographic in the United States.

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

The author explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic fe... more The author explores the discourses and logics that self-identified multiracial and multiethnic female online daters use to explain their own responses to social justice movements around race and racism in the United States. These women mobilize stances on the social movement Black Lives Matter (BLM) as a metric of racial progressiveness, articulating their own political views on race. Furthermore, mixed-black women in particular describe using attitudes toward the BLM movement as a way to vet potential dating partners. The implementation of BLM as a tool in the contemporary dating “toolkit” suggests that the language around, and produced by, social movements (in terms of mainstream media coverage) influences the ways in which some women discuss race, gender, and racism. Using interview data from 30 in-depth interviews, the author shows how mixed-race women navigate racial politics on an interpersonal level during a time when U.S. media and popular culture is focused on issues of rac...

This critical reply engages in a critique of the prominence of “white logic” and “white methods” ... more This critical reply engages in a critique of the prominence of “white logic” and “white methods” (Zuberi and Bonilla-Silva 2008) in academic publishing. We assess how the construction and proliferation of white knowledge(s) shapes analysis and interpretation, argumentation, peer review, and ultimately, publication. We call for a rejection of what we name “white distraction” and encourage the academic community to move toward more inclusive and decolonial modes of thinking, reviewing, and publishing.