It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements
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| Language: | English |
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Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
2021
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| Online Access: | http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu162704403298498 |
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ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu1627044032984982021-09-08T05:10:08Z It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements Ayala, Rene Oswald Ethnic Studies Mass Media American Studies genetic ancestry testing race ethnicity advertisements DNA testing ancestry travel The marketing of DNA ancestry tests plays a major role in circulating ideas about how the public should interpret DNA test results, the way DNA connects us to people around the world, and the connections between race, ethnicity, nationality, genetics, and ancestry. This thesis contributes to the literature on DNA ancestry testing marketing by examining themes not thoroughly explored in previous studies: ancestry travel and DNA tests as anti-racist tools. Through a textual analysis of Ancestry, 23andMe, and MyHeritage DNA television advertisements, I analyze how these advertisements represent travel based on one's DNA ancestry test, how populations and regions around the world are represented, how race, ethnicity, and nationality are discussed, and how the root causes of racism are defined. My analysis is informed by critiques of DNA tests made by scholars in ethnic studies, biology, anthropology, and science and technology studies who argue that by taking it as a given that race and ethnicity have meaning at a genetic level, genetic scientists participate in the geneticization of race. I argue that these advertisements represent ancestry travel as journeys of self-discovery where the traveler connects with others through consumption practices. The populations the traveler visits are represented without specificity and are shown in positions of service to the traveler. By promoting the idea that DNA tests are objective arbiters of belonging, these advertisements redefine race, ethnicity, and nationality as labels that describe one's genetic ancestry and remove the agency from communities to decide who is and is not a member of their community. These advertisements promote the idea that there is a genetic component to race and ethnicity and suggest that contemporary inequalities along racial and ethnic lines are a product of innate genetic difference as opposed to historical and political processes. Thus, these ads circulate ideas that echo early 20th century racial science under the appearance of scientific objectivity and support dominant ideologies that frame the contemporary social structure as inevitable and unchangeable. 2021-09-02 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu162704403298498 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu162704403298498 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws. |
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NDLTD |
| language |
English |
| sources |
NDLTD |
| topic |
Ethnic Studies Mass Media American Studies genetic ancestry testing race ethnicity advertisements DNA testing ancestry travel |
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Ethnic Studies Mass Media American Studies genetic ancestry testing race ethnicity advertisements DNA testing ancestry travel Ayala, Rene Oswald It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| author |
Ayala, Rene Oswald |
| author_facet |
Ayala, Rene Oswald |
| author_sort |
Ayala, Rene Oswald |
| title |
It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| title_short |
It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| title_full |
It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| title_fullStr |
It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| title_full_unstemmed |
It Is in My DNA: Narratives of Race, Ethnicity, and Community in DNA Ancestry Testing Advertisements |
| title_sort |
it is in my dna: narratives of race, ethnicity, and community in dna ancestry testing advertisements |
| publisher |
Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu162704403298498 |
| work_keys_str_mv |
AT ayalareneoswald itisinmydnanarrativesofraceethnicityandcommunityindnaancestrytestingadvertisements |
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1719478603131912192 |